Editing Lin Zexu (section)

==Campaign to suppress opium==
{{See also|Destruction of opium at Humen}}

Before his famed crackdown on opium, Lin Zexu initially proposed domestic opium cultivation to counter financial losses from imports, while his primary focus was reforming the expensive grain transport system to Beijing. Western observers often mischaracterized his anti-opium campaign as a clash of civilizations; however, it was largely driven by internal Chinese imperial politics and the disruptive actions of British merchants. Lin, a meticulous bureaucrat with a passion for freight management, sought a swift success in Canton to secure a coveted governorship. His approach, though seemingly xenophobic to his British adversaries, stemmed from a desire for bureaucratic efficiency rather than inherent anti-foreign sentiment. Summoned by a distraught Emperor Daoguang, as always, Lin offered certainty with his decisive solutions, proposing immediate confiscation of smoking apparatus and a radical policy of a year's suspended death sentence for opium users to compel reform through fear and public surveillance. He even touted dubious "cures" for opium addiction. Crucially, Lin and many officials overlooked the potential international ramifications of their prohibition efforts, particularly the reaction of foreign traders in Canton. This oversight, coupled with an underestimation of British military power, led to a conflict Lin seemingly had not fully anticipated, despite later claims of foresight. The Opium War, and its profound consequences, appears to have been ignited by a fit of bureaucratic urgency and a misjudgment of external forces.<ref name=":1" />

He traveled to Canton, lasting two months from Beijing, with a remarkably small entourage, consisting of just an outrider, six guards, and three kitchen staff who remained constantly with him, preventing any opportunities for them to exploit local innkeepers along the route. This minimalist approach reflected his unwavering commitment to virtue.<ref name=":1" /> Soon after his arrival in Guangdong in the middle of 1839, Lin wrote a [[Official Communications of the Chinese Empire#Memorials|memorial]] to the "Ruler of England" in the form of an open letter published in Canton, urging England to end the opium trade.{{sfn|Teng|Fairbank|1979|p=23}} He argued that China was providing Britain with valuable commodities such as tea, porcelain, spices and silk, with Britain sending only "poison" in return.{{sfn|de Bary|Lufrano|2000|pp=201–204}} He accused the foreigner traders of coveting profit and lacking morality. His memorial expressed a desire that the ruler would act "in accordance with decent feeling" and support his efforts. Since he believed that opium was banned in the United Kingdom, he thought it was wrong for [[Queen Victoria]] to support it in China. He wrote:

{{quote|We find that your country is sixty or seventy thousand ''[[li (unit)|li]]'' from China. The purpose of your ships in coming to China is to realize a large profit. Since this profit is realized in China and is in fact taken away from the Chinese people, how can foreigners return injury for the benefit they have received by sending this poison to harm their benefactors?

They may not intend to harm others on purpose, but the fact remains that they are so obsessed with material gain that they have no concern whatever for the harm they can cause to others. Have they no conscience? I have heard that you strictly prohibit opium in your own country, indicating unmistakably that you know how harmful opium is. You do not wish opium to harm your own country, but you choose to bring that harm to other countries such as China. Why?

The products that originate from China are all useful items. They are good for food and other purposes and are easy to sell. Has China produced one item that is harmful to foreign countries? For instance, tea and rhubarb are so important to foreigners' livelihood that they have to consume them every day. Were China to concern herself only with her own advantage without showing any regard for other people's welfare, how could foreigners continue to live?

I have heard that the areas under your direct jurisdiction such as London, Scotland, and Ireland do not produce opium; it is produced instead in your Indian possessions such as Bengal, Madras, Bombay, Patna, and Malwa. In these possessions the English people not only plant opium poppies that stretch from one mountain to another but also open factories to manufacture this terrible drug.

As months accumulate and years pass by, the poison they have produced increases in its wicked intensity, and its repugnant odor reaches as high as the sky. Heaven is furious with anger, and all the gods are moaning with pain! It is hereby suggested that you destroy and plow under all of these opium plants and grow food crops instead, while issuing an order to punish severely anyone who dares to plant opium poppies again.

A murderer of one person is subject to the death sentence; just imagine how many people opium has killed! This is the rationale behind the new law which says that any foreigner who brings opium to China will be sentenced to death by hanging or beheading. Our purpose is to eliminate this poison once and for all and to the benefit of all mankind. |Lin Zexu|<ref>Lin Wen-chung kung cheng-shu, vol. 2, roll 3.</ref>}}

The letter elicited no response (sources suggest that it was lost in transit),{{sfn|Hanes|Sanello|2004|p=41}} but it was later reprinted in the London [[The Times|Times]] as a direct appeal to the British public.{{sfn|Hanes|Sanello|2004|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=j_NeegcOBWUC&q=appeal+British+monarch 41]}}

An edict from the [[Daoguang Emperor]] followed on 18{{nbsp}}March,{{sfn|Hanes|Sanello|2004|p=43}} emphasising the serious penalties for opium smuggling that would now apply.

[[File:Destruction of opium in 1839.jpg|thumb|left|Lin supervising the destruction of opium]]

In March 1839, Lin started to take measures that would eliminate the opium trade.{{sfnb|Lovell|2011|p= 53}} He was a formidable bureaucrat known for his competence and high moral standards, with an imperial commission from the [[Daoguang Emperor]] to halt the illegal importation of opium by the British.{{sfn|de Bary|Lufrano|2000|pp=201–204}}{{sfn|Ebrey|Walthall|Palais|2006|p=379}} He made changes within a matter of months.{{sfn|de Bary|Lufrano|2000|pp=201–204}} He arrested more than 1,700 Chinese opium dealers and confiscated over 70,000 [[opium pipe]]s. He initially attempted to get foreign companies to forfeit their opium stores in exchange for tea, but this ultimately failed. Lin resorted to using force in the western merchants' enclave. A month and a half later, the merchants gave up nearly 1.2 million kg (2.6 million pounds) of opium. Beginning 3 June 1839, 500 workers laboured for 23 days to destroy it, mixing the opium with lime and salt and throwing it into the sea outside of [[Humen Town]]. Lin composed an elegy apologising to the gods of the sea for polluting their realm.{{sfnb|Chang|1964|pp= 173–174}}

Lin and the Daoguang Emperor, comments historian [[Jonathan Spence]], "seemed to have believed that the citizens of Canton and the foreign traders there had simple, childlike natures that would respond to firm guidance and statements of moral principles set out in simple, clear terms." Neither Lin nor the emperor appreciated the depth or changed nature of the problem. They did not see the change in international trade structures, the commitment of the British government to protecting the interests of private traders, and the peril to British traders who would surrender their opium.{{sfnb|Spence|1999| pp = 152–158}}

Open hostilities between China and Britain started in 1839 in what later would be called the "[[First Opium War]]". The immediate effect was that both sides, by the words of [[Charles Elliot]] and Lin, banned all trade. Before this, Lin had pressured the Portuguese government of [[Macau]], so the British found themselves without refuge, except for the bare and rocky harbours of Hong Kong.{{sfn|Kuo|1935|p= }} Soon, however, the Chinese forces faced a British naval fleet, which included the [[East India Company]]'s steam warship ''[[Nemesis (1839)|Nemesis]]'' and improved weapons, and were soon routed.{{sfnb|Spence|1999| pp = 152–158}}