Post by zhongguo on Dec 3, 2010 20:56:52 GMT -5
Note: The only warning I can give is that this is about opium and war. Enough said.
4 April 1839
The signs of the blistering heat and brutal humidity slowly showed itself as Yao Wang made his way through the marketplace in Guangdong. Unlike the northern part of China, where he resided, the place here, though packed, was a lot warmer, stuffier and louder. Though people in this region were able to communicate in Mandarin, there were times where he found it questionable as he nodded along in conversation. For him, it would have been much more easier if the Cantonese would just drop the Mandarin and communicate in their own dialect instead. Unlike a normal human being, Yao had lived many years and subsequently acquired the ability to speak in Cantonese with ease (though it had taken him a while to master the different tones and fluctuations).
Surrounded by the chatter of Cantonese-speakers as the Chinese made his way down the street, he did his best not to raise an eyebrow as he patrolled. For regardless of how close to the old Chinese the dialect was, there was something about the crassness of the people's word choices, the expressive nature of these particular people caused him to shake his head, suppressing the need to inquire further as he picked up bits and pieces of dialogue.
“Freshly made man tao! Right out of the oven, nice and hot!”
“Red bean, green bean, sesame or peanut here! Freshly made-!”
“Freshly caught fish, get it quick!”
Accompanied by two imperial guards, Yao continued to leisurely stroll down the streets as he made his way to the trading post that had been set up by the Pearl River. Today he had been sent to the post to inspect it, to make sure that the Europeans were respecting the laws and regulations that have been set up by the Emperor. Despite the influx of foreigners who have traveled to China to trade silver for spices, silk and tea, his people had always lived apart from them. After all, when people see those who are different from them, especially men with faces pale like ghosts, light hair and cold blue eyes, it was a natural reaction to try to put as much distance between the gui lao and themselves.
In all honesty, Yao still felt like doing that nowadays.
However, despite his reserved nature and his strong sense of pride, Yao was a businessman at the core. When the foreigners first came over, offering goods while speaking a language completely different from his own, he had felt that there was something off about the traders. No, it was not that they bore swords and large axes (they had that as well). But rather, there was always an air of greasiness that always left him with the feeling that someone had stabbed him and twisted the knife. Granted, past experience in dealing with foreigners left the Chinese man very reluctant in dealing with outsiders. It did not help that his philosophy and the advice that he had lived by throughout the century advised against opening up to the foreigners.
Considering the great demand for products from them, he knew that the Emperor would reluctantly open up a handful of trading posts so that the foreigners could get what they wanted. And for the most part, it worked. But then a handful soon grew into a large group as the talkative, friendly travelers (though one of them seemed more grumpy than the other) must have told his friends. Soon, Yao met with a female sailor, who strangely took an interest in Macau of all places, and her brother, who was even more talkative than her. The flood of visitors proved a bit overwhelming for the Chinese, who did not see the benefits of this relationship since he neither had a desire nor found a need for any of the goods brought over by them.
That was, until his people were introduced to that.
As he neared the building, he caught the lingering, nauseating smell of opium coming from an alley and struggled with his gag reflexes. No, it was not that Yao had never touched opium, for his people had used morphine as a type of painkiller and a means to numb the pain of patients that needed treatment. However, the number of people who had been smoking it increased at an alarming rate. Though some people smoke it in the comforts of their day beds at home, the deterioration of the population was evident by those who lounged around outdoors, lazy trail of smoke coming out of their opium pipes as they stared blankly at nothing. Considering a fair number of his people have been becoming addicted to the drug, Yao knew that they would have to do something. The government had issued an imperial decree forbidding the sale of opium on land in attempt to curb the addition.
Needless to say, the foreigners found a way around that. And to him, it was like a slap in the face.
In the past, Yao had watched over a lot of children, trying to help them grow up faster (he hoped that they would grow faster, taking care of children took a toll on him). Despite their antics, their acts of disobedience and fights, none of them ever pushed the Chinese to the level of irritation. Whatever happened to virtuous men, men who knew to stop at the edge of another person's personal boundaries. Considering how the British had physically complied with Emperor's request for the trade to remain in isolated parts of the kingdom, yet decided to try an indirect way to get to catch his people off-guard caused Yao to burn inside. He should have closed the door on foreign trading a long time ago, after all, they had everything that he would need to live comfortably. If it was not for the fact that they were willing to rade in silver, he would not have bothered with the arrangement at all.
“Ah, Wang-shensun, how are you?” the official greeted him with his thick Cantonese accent as he walked in, scurrying in his robe as he walked over to shake his hand. This only caused the Chinese to smile slightly uncomfortably and nod, allowing his superior to greet him before leading him into the building. Crowded with foreign faces, ghostly pale hair, eyes with colors of the rainbow and hair that framed their faces like fire, Yao could see the great volume of traffic that had gone through here. Though the trading had proved profitable to the welfare of his people, the urgency of banning opium was much more dire.
Notes:
- I'm sorry for my fail post. ;;
- Basically the European powers started to sell opium to China because they have been pouring a lot of silver into the country in order to get goods from them, but had a hard time getting the Chinese interested in buying anything from them.
- man tao: A type of Chinese bun
- gui lao: A derogatory term for Europeans (and white people in general)
The expense of a war could be paid in time;
but the expense of opium,
when once the habit is formed,
will only increase with time.
- Townsend Harris
but the expense of opium,
when once the habit is formed,
will only increase with time.
- Townsend Harris
4 April 1839
The signs of the blistering heat and brutal humidity slowly showed itself as Yao Wang made his way through the marketplace in Guangdong. Unlike the northern part of China, where he resided, the place here, though packed, was a lot warmer, stuffier and louder. Though people in this region were able to communicate in Mandarin, there were times where he found it questionable as he nodded along in conversation. For him, it would have been much more easier if the Cantonese would just drop the Mandarin and communicate in their own dialect instead. Unlike a normal human being, Yao had lived many years and subsequently acquired the ability to speak in Cantonese with ease (though it had taken him a while to master the different tones and fluctuations).
Surrounded by the chatter of Cantonese-speakers as the Chinese made his way down the street, he did his best not to raise an eyebrow as he patrolled. For regardless of how close to the old Chinese the dialect was, there was something about the crassness of the people's word choices, the expressive nature of these particular people caused him to shake his head, suppressing the need to inquire further as he picked up bits and pieces of dialogue.
“Freshly made man tao! Right out of the oven, nice and hot!”
“Red bean, green bean, sesame or peanut here! Freshly made-!”
“Freshly caught fish, get it quick!”
Accompanied by two imperial guards, Yao continued to leisurely stroll down the streets as he made his way to the trading post that had been set up by the Pearl River. Today he had been sent to the post to inspect it, to make sure that the Europeans were respecting the laws and regulations that have been set up by the Emperor. Despite the influx of foreigners who have traveled to China to trade silver for spices, silk and tea, his people had always lived apart from them. After all, when people see those who are different from them, especially men with faces pale like ghosts, light hair and cold blue eyes, it was a natural reaction to try to put as much distance between the gui lao and themselves.
In all honesty, Yao still felt like doing that nowadays.
However, despite his reserved nature and his strong sense of pride, Yao was a businessman at the core. When the foreigners first came over, offering goods while speaking a language completely different from his own, he had felt that there was something off about the traders. No, it was not that they bore swords and large axes (they had that as well). But rather, there was always an air of greasiness that always left him with the feeling that someone had stabbed him and twisted the knife. Granted, past experience in dealing with foreigners left the Chinese man very reluctant in dealing with outsiders. It did not help that his philosophy and the advice that he had lived by throughout the century advised against opening up to the foreigners.
Considering the great demand for products from them, he knew that the Emperor would reluctantly open up a handful of trading posts so that the foreigners could get what they wanted. And for the most part, it worked. But then a handful soon grew into a large group as the talkative, friendly travelers (though one of them seemed more grumpy than the other) must have told his friends. Soon, Yao met with a female sailor, who strangely took an interest in Macau of all places, and her brother, who was even more talkative than her. The flood of visitors proved a bit overwhelming for the Chinese, who did not see the benefits of this relationship since he neither had a desire nor found a need for any of the goods brought over by them.
That was, until his people were introduced to that.
As he neared the building, he caught the lingering, nauseating smell of opium coming from an alley and struggled with his gag reflexes. No, it was not that Yao had never touched opium, for his people had used morphine as a type of painkiller and a means to numb the pain of patients that needed treatment. However, the number of people who had been smoking it increased at an alarming rate. Though some people smoke it in the comforts of their day beds at home, the deterioration of the population was evident by those who lounged around outdoors, lazy trail of smoke coming out of their opium pipes as they stared blankly at nothing. Considering a fair number of his people have been becoming addicted to the drug, Yao knew that they would have to do something. The government had issued an imperial decree forbidding the sale of opium on land in attempt to curb the addition.
Needless to say, the foreigners found a way around that. And to him, it was like a slap in the face.
In the past, Yao had watched over a lot of children, trying to help them grow up faster (he hoped that they would grow faster, taking care of children took a toll on him). Despite their antics, their acts of disobedience and fights, none of them ever pushed the Chinese to the level of irritation. Whatever happened to virtuous men, men who knew to stop at the edge of another person's personal boundaries. Considering how the British had physically complied with Emperor's request for the trade to remain in isolated parts of the kingdom, yet decided to try an indirect way to get to catch his people off-guard caused Yao to burn inside. He should have closed the door on foreign trading a long time ago, after all, they had everything that he would need to live comfortably. If it was not for the fact that they were willing to rade in silver, he would not have bothered with the arrangement at all.
“Ah, Wang-shensun, how are you?” the official greeted him with his thick Cantonese accent as he walked in, scurrying in his robe as he walked over to shake his hand. This only caused the Chinese to smile slightly uncomfortably and nod, allowing his superior to greet him before leading him into the building. Crowded with foreign faces, ghostly pale hair, eyes with colors of the rainbow and hair that framed their faces like fire, Yao could see the great volume of traffic that had gone through here. Though the trading had proved profitable to the welfare of his people, the urgency of banning opium was much more dire.
Notes:
- I'm sorry for my fail post. ;;
- Basically the European powers started to sell opium to China because they have been pouring a lot of silver into the country in order to get goods from them, but had a hard time getting the Chinese interested in buying anything from them.
- man tao: A type of Chinese bun
- gui lao: A derogatory term for Europeans (and white people in general)