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Julia Lovell

The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China Hardcover – 2 Sept. 2011

by Julia Lovell (Author)

4.4 378 ratings

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On the outside, [the foreigners] seem intractable, but inside they are cowardly. . . Although there have been a few ups-and-downs, the situation as a whole is under control.

In October 1839, a few months after the Chinese Imperial Commissioner, Lin Zexu, dispatched these confident words to his emperor, a cabinet meeting in Windsor voted to fight Britain s first Opium War (1839-42) with China. The conflict turned out to be rich in tragicomedy: in bureaucratic fumblings, military missteps, political opportunism and collaboration. Yet over the past 170 years, this strange tale of misunderstanding, incompetence and compromise has become the founding myth of modern Chinese nationalism: the start of China s heroic struggle against a Western conspiracy to destroy the country with opium and gunboat diplomacy.

Beginning with the dramas of the war itself, Julia Lovell explores its causes and consequences and, through this larger narrative, interweaves the curious stories of opium s promoters and attackers. The Opium War is both the story of modern China starting from this first conflict with the West and an analysis of the country s contemporary self-image. It explores how China s national myths mould its interactions with the outside world, how public memory is spun to serve the present; and how delusion and prejudice have bedevilled its relationship with the modern West.

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Print length

352 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Picador
Publication date

2 Sept. 2011
Reading age

18 years and up
Dimensions

16.2 x 4.1 x 24 cm
ISBN-10

0330457470
ISBN-13

978-0330457477
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Product description

Review

`Making the most of her considerable gifts as a story teller and deep familiarity with the contrasting ways that the tale of the Opium War has been told inside and outside of China, Julia Lovell offers us a fresh perspective on a pivotal episode in nineteenth-century history. The result is a compulsively readable and consistently thought provoking work. It is filled with both lively accounts of things that happened long ago and insightful comments on the powerful shadows that these old events continue to cast in our still-young century.' --Jeffrey Wasserstrom, author of China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know

`Julia Lovell has written a lucid, perceptive and rich account of this much manipulated story of the first, bruising encounter between China and the West. An important and compelling book for anyone who wants to understand the uses and misuses of Chinese history.' --Chinadialogue.net

`No one who has read Julia Lovell's marvelous book on the Great Wall of China will be surprised that she has written such a great history of the Opium War. This defining passage in China's history - the beginning of a grisly century and a half of exploitation and misery - provides a rich seam of material which Julia Lovell draws on with huge narrative skill. Not the least of her attributes is her ability to show how these events have resonated down the years. A real cracker of a book.' --Chris Patten, former Governor and Commander in Chief of Hong Kong

`You cannot understand China today without understanding the huge impact the Opium Wars have had on restructuring Chinese national pride. This is the first western book I have read that does justice to that complicated story.' --Xinran, author of The Good Women of China and Message From an Unknown Chinese Mother.

`In this riveting book, Julia Lovell explores the myths surrounding opium trading and the titanic clash between Britain and China, which shaped China's perception of its place in the world for more than a century. This book is at its heart a powerful plea for deeper mutual sympathy between the West and China; with Western economies under stress and tensions rising over trade imbalances, the parallel between the 1830's and today is unmistakable . . . we would be wise to heed the ancient warning that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.'
--Tim Clissold, author of Mr China

'More than just a history... by looking at the conflict from a contemporary viewpoint, The Opium War offers insight into an Asian superpower still uneasy with its trade relations with the West.' --International Herald Tribune

About the Author

Julia Lovell teaches modern Chinese history at Birkbeck College, University of London. She is the author of The Great Wall: China Against the World and The Politics of Cultural Capital: China s Quest for a Nobel Prize in Literature and writes on China for the Guardian, Independent and The Times Literary Supplement. Her many translations of modern Chinese fiction include, most recently, Lu Xun s The Real Story of Ah-Q, and Other Tales of China.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Picador; First Edition (2 Sept. 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0330457470
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0330457477
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.2 x 4.1 x 24 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 904,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 199 in History of East Asia
- 1,436 in History of China
- 7,365 in History of Middle East Asia

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4.4 378 ratings

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Hypocrisy and misunderstandings

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 January 2020

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This detailed work chronicles the start of the first Opium War, briefly touches on the second war and ends by examining the legacy of events.

Lovell details how Britain needed to supply Opium because of its trade deficit with China, while the latter seems to have had a complicated relationship with the drug. Despite being illegal at times the drug was very popular in China and there was money to be made, by the foreigners and Chinese alike.
This is also a story of culture clash . The Qing dynasty didn't grasp the full scale of the conflict seeing it as a small pesky matter happening far south. Lovell dedicates considerable time explaining what the Empire was like, groups split along ethics and cultural lines. Far from being united against the British some southern merchants took the opportunities offered, feeling no loyalty to the distant ruling Qing.
We move onto the conflict, the Qing being misinformed and not realising the extent of British supremacy in such matters. Some Brits felt uncomfortable at the obvious one-sided nature of it all and disliked the dishonourable slaughter. Later, it was as though the Brits realised they'd pushed drugs into China and used their armies to get what they wanted (including Hong Kong) and started fearing reprisals. This fear led to silly racist anti-chinese views.
The most interesting aspect is undoubtedly the Chinese themselves. At times painting themselves as a victim of the drug pushing west but then growing their own Opium. Lovell also tells how there was an underlying self loathing in China towards the opium users and the officials who failed to protect China from the Europeans. She also claims that ultimately China was more occupied with events in China itself. The rulers were were concerned with rebellions and crises then white men in tight pants ( to the locals) pushing drugs. The war was useful propoganda when Communism took over and, as all governments know, the best way to make people forget about internal issues is to resurrect or create a external one.

This is a really great work of greedy Brits, inexperienced officials and truly shows how both sides later tried to edit or interpret it all differently to try to justify themselves.

16 people found this helpful

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Nathan

Great first half

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 June 2022

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Frankly, I’m a bit disappointed. The author does a fantastic job engaging you in the early chapters of the book, educating you on 18-19 century China and a basic understanding of how it operated.

The author goes into truly great detail on the first opium war, a plethora of charters are introduced in detail. With multiple accounts of there actions for validation and understanding. Bazaar then, that the second opium war is covered in a chapter. An event that spanned multiple years is wrapped up very quickly with very little fine detail ( considering this war involved most of the modern wold at the time)

The books takes on a weird and rushed pace after this, running through a hundred years of history in about three chapters. While this is fine to read, and fits the author narrative to show the long term implications of the opium war. The change of pace makes it feel out of place - especially given how details the previous chapters have been.

One person found this helpful

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Lutatius

Fascinating and well-written history of an important period

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 October 2022

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I was only dimly aware of the Opium War and what it meant for both China and Britain. This book is extremely well-researched, providing an excellent perspective from both sides of the conflict. The attitude and reaction of the Chinese authorities is fascinating, and to me, entirely unexpected. What was also interesting was the Qing Empire's previous dynamism having decayed so dramatically from the end of the 18th century.

The British side is also well-captured, with a very good examination of the motives and character of the key players.

Perhaps most importantly of all, the author writes in a clear, lively style, bringing what could be quite confusing events to life in an engaging manner.

Highly recommended.

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Curmo

An entertaining and informative journey through 150 years of Anglo - Chinese relations

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 November 2014

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At the time of writing this review, Hong Kong is once again in turmoil as political unrest manifests itself in street protests across the region. In seeking to understand the forces at play, Julia Lovell’s book ‘The Opium War’, provides particular insight. The book offers a meticulously researched argument that China’s relationship with the rest of the world remains firmly rooted in events that took place over 100 years ago. For it is in the 19th Century that conflicting interests over the opium trade prompted a series of wars between China and the Western powers. The author argues that it is the legacy of these wars that determines the manner in which China conducts its’ relations with the outside world today.

The author is well qualified to present the argument. Julia Lovell is a Professor of modern Chinese History at Birkbeck College, University of London. She has written extensively on China for the Guardian, the Independent and the Times Literary Supplement. In addition she is a very active literary translator.

The book takes the form of a historical chronology starting from the beginning of what, in her introduction, the author describes as ‘the beginning of the century of humiliation’. As the narrative unfolds, the author continually draws on a variety of sources to describe the connection between past and present. An extensive range of references not only supports the argument but also make this book an enjoyable and engaging read. The archive of official edits, memorials and letters put together by Yapian Zhanzheng in 1954 is just one of ten substantial Chinese primary sources used. Over the course of nineteen chapters the author describes how the Chinese leadership have synthesised the history of 19th century Western military intervention into a story of Western duplicity. The author argues that this perception permeates into every aspect of Chinese international relations today. Indeed, she goes on to argue that the enduring usage of this narrative in the media and in education is a key pillar underpinning the continuation of one party government in China.

One could misconstrue the title of this book as a reference to the first Opium War of 1839 to 1842. A cursory review of the content would reinforce this view as the 2nd Opium War, the scale of which was on a par with the preceding conflict, receives scant attention with just three pages devoted to it. However, the fact is that the author lands her argument well and whilst further historical detail would have created a more complete work, it would have done little to add anything new in terms of supporting the argument. Indeed, doubling the size of what is already a weighty tome might well have meant that fewer people would read, what is, an authoritative explanation of modern Chinese geo-political thinking.

3 people found this helpful

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The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China Hardcover – 2 Sept. 2011

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