Bibliograph

The social life of opium in China, Zheng Yangwen

Type

Label

The social life of opium in China, Zheng Yangwen

Language

eng

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

The social life of opium in China

Medium

electronic resource

Nature of contents

dictionaries

Oclc number

76960787

Responsibility statement

Zheng Yangwen

Series statement

Cambridge Social Sciences eBooks

Summary

In a remarkable and broad-ranging narrative, Yangwen Zheng's book explores the history of opium consumption in China from 1483 to the late twentieth century. The story begins in the mid-Ming dynasty, when opium was sent as a gift by vassal states and used as an aphrodisiac in court. Over time, the Chinese people from different classes and regions began to use it for recreational purposes, so beginning a complex culture of opium consumption. The book traces this transformation over a period of five hundred years, asking who introduced opium to China, how it spread across all sections of society, embraced by rich and poor alike as a culture and an institution. The book, which is accompanied by a fascinating collection of illustrations, will appeal to students and scholars of history, anthropology, sociology, political science, economics, and all those with an interest in China.--, Provided by publisher

Creator