China and the Brave New World: A Study of the Origins of the Opium War

by Tan Chung

271 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Niko Jordman]

At times a tedious book to read, for example:


- the too many units of measurement and different currencies perverted the presented statistics from illustrative to incomprehensible; with questionably precise punctuation only making things worse (e.g. "...the sum of £63,265.18.4 to pay for the surrender of 523.58 chests of opium...")
- constant moralistic remarks detract from the book's otherwise important historical yield
- although not a complete surprise given the title, the Opium War itself gets only a fraction of the book's length and the Second Opium War is not covered at all

[Naeem]

After reading Mike Davis on what the British did in India in the 19th century, you might have thought you had read all you needed to understand that the world is run by bullies and thieves who nevertheless somehow always manage to paint themselves as the harbingers of civilization. But, outside what the Belgians did in the Congo, or what the Dutch did in Indonesia, there is perhaps no more blatant effort than the opium wars to murder a culture, make profits on it, and then declare the whole effort as ordained by God.

If you think that there is no such thing as reading too much about western hypocrisy, or if you have an unsatisfied thirst for learning about the strategies used by the British/Westerners, or if you want to know why the Chinese might have a problem or two with the West, than knowing something about the Opium Wars is a must. This book is a good place to start.