“A Summer of Anniversaries,” Here! Dongguan
It’s a summer of anniversaries for Dongguan’s near neighbor, Hong Kong. [Read More...]
Opium War
“The Religion of Opiates,” Here! Dongguan
He arrived in Guangdong carrying bibles on a ship that was seeking new markets for the opium trade. He remained a Man of God, they say but who can tell? [Read More...]
“Friends With (few) Benefits,” The World of Chinese
If you’re a Chinese businessman or official and you call David or James an “Old Friend,” you might as well pack up whatever it is you’re selling because they’re not buying it. It’s an old strategy, one that has been perfected over the years. But there was a time when the “old friend” routine was still a work in progress. [Read More...]
“Dens of Iniquity,” Here! Dongguan Magazine
Where do you go in Guangdong when you want to hang out and score good drugs? In the 1920s and 1930s, it would have been your friendly neighborhood opium den. [Read More...]
“The Empire Strikes Back: The Battle of Sanyuanli,” Here! Dongguan Magazine
For many, the Battle of Sanyuanli symbolized China's ability to finally stand up to the foreign invaders. [Read More...]
“Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money: Part IV”
In one of the great ironies of history, none of the treaties directly deals with the cause of the war: opium. It would take another conflict, the Arrow War of 1856-1860, which resulted in the occupation of Beijing and the looting and burning of the imperial summer palaces, to finally legalize the trade in the narcotic. [Read More...]
“Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money: Part III”
The HMS Nemesis was 56 meters long and 29 meters wide. She sailed for the China coast in 1839 carrying two guns that fired 32-pound rounds and four that fired six-pound rounds, plus a launcher for rockets and torpedoes. She could operate by either sail or steam, and her shallow draft meant that she could move as effectively on inland rivers as she could in open ocean. Her hull was protected by iron and designed with watertight compartments to keep the ship afloat even if the outer hull was breached. She was a devastating weapon of war. [Read More...]
New Post on World of Chinese: Lawyers, Guns, and Money, Part II
I started writing a little post for the World of Chinese website on The Opium War. The project has since mutated into a multi-part macro history of drugs and violence on the Chinese coast. I'm having a lot of fun writing it. I hope you enjoy reading it! [Read More...]
New Post on The World of Chinese: “Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money.”
I have a new writing gig, I’ll be [Read More...]
Google is the new opium
There are days when the state media in China just [Read More...]
Bad History: China’s Economic Policies and the Opium War
This is a longish post… A long time ago, [Read More...]
On Memories of Violence, Part 3: Opium and the Education of Patriots
This is the last of an informal three-part series [Read More...]