Sujet

Boiling and testing opium in China, 1881. Creator: Frank Dadd.

Légende

Boiling and testing opium in China, 1881. 'Our Special Artist in China, Mr. Joseph Bell, furnishes a series of Sketches to illustrate the processes of manufacturing opium for home consumption, as commonly practised in many large towns of the Celestial Empire. It seems to be quite a mistaken notion that the Chinese get all or most of their supply of this narcotic drug from British India, and that its use has been introduced amongst them by the questionable mercantile policy of our own Government. On the other hand, we do not intend to under-rate the serious objections, both moral and economical, to that policy, which was again discussed at an influential meeting held last week in London...The habit of opium-smoking is common all over China...the very streets of the towns and villages reek with opium fumes. The practice is there indulged in in the most open manner, and no more stigma or disgrace attaches to it than to smoking tobacco...All over Western China the conditions of poppy culture, as far as the officials are concerned, are those of perfect freedom, and even open encouragement. All the grower has to think of is his profit. Opium is a more risky crop than cereals, but it pays seven times as well'. From "Illustrated London News", 1881.

Crédit

Photo12/Heritage Images/The Print Collector

Notre référence

HRM25A43_075

Model release

NA

Property release

NA

Licence

Droits gérés

Format disponible

25,3Mo (2,7Mo) / 29,7cm x 21,4cm / 3503 x 2527 (300dpi)

Mots clés

Europe people male interior looking man men arts West industry country hot drug China art Chinese guy watching preparation continent British European heat industrial hair direction location century Britain inside squatting preparing newspapers press print hairstyle concept workshop opium boiling controversy heating B&W pigtails pigtail hairdo metaphor narcotics controversial preparations engraved engraving hairdressing narcotic 19th century Indoors black & white black and white B W cottage industry nineteenth century western The Print Collector Illustrated London News wood engraving ILN newspaper Westerner Frank Dadd Dadd Frank 19th-century The Illustrated London News Joseph Bell Bell Joseph