Before and after Christmas, 9th graders are learning about the benefits and harm of Imperialism.
They even learned a brief account of the Opium Wars. These wars, which occurred in the middle of the 1800's was based on conflicts over the extent of European influence in China.
One of the complaints by China was Britain's continuing export of Indian Opium into China. The British had learned that by exporting opium to China--they could avoid having to pay cash for Chinese goods, thereby addressing the large trade deficit that Britain had with China (sound familiar?). Opium, a highly addictive substance, was desired by the Chinese and it was smoked in Opium dens throughout China, but especially in the port cities of Nanking and Shanghai.
The Opium wars are a sore spot for the Chinese. In 2001, they banned the French fragrance, Opium from being sold in China. The rationale was that the fragrance sought to glorify the "forbidden, sensual aspects of a substance that caused untold suffering for the Chinese." Opium--the fragrance--is still sold at our downtown Macy's. I even have a small bottle that students get to "sniff" in class.
In 1999, coming back from Montana, I was shown a small silver case that was a portable opium smoking kit. I did not have the money to buy it....but I remember the small little drawers where the opium seeds were crushed, oil was place with them, then the smoke traveled through a long tube. It was a fascinating piece of history.
