The story of Lin Zexu and Humen destroying opium took place in 1839. At that time, Lin Zexu, an imperial envoy of the Qing Dynasty, arrived in Guangdong to take charge of smoking ban. After arriving in Guangdong, Lin Zexu took resolute measures to ban opium trade and crack down on drug circulation. On June 3rd, Lin Zexu ordered the opium collected to be destroyed in Humentan, with a total of 19 187 boxes and 2 1 19 bags, with a total weight of 2,376,254 Jin. The cigarette selling activity lasted for 23 days and ended on June 25th.
In the process of destroying opium in Humen, Lin Zexu adopted a series of methods. First, he forced foreign opium dealers to hand over opium and confiscate drugs. Then, he set up a special place to sell cigarettes in Humentan, poured opium into the pool, and added sea salt and quicklime to destroy it. In order to ensure the complete destruction of drugs, Lin Zexu also arranged for civilian personnel to monitor the situation in the pool at all times. During the process of destruction, there was an endless stream of onlookers and a warm atmosphere.
Influence of smoking ban in Humen
The destruction of opium in Humen curbed the spread of opium in China to a certain extent and had a positive impact on the people. Secondly, the anti-smoking campaign has greatly raised the awareness of the general public in China about the dangers of opium, made many people see the essence of opium trafficking from Britain to China, and awakened the patriotic consciousness of the people in China.
After this incident, Lin Zexu, a hero who banned smoking, was honored as a national hero by the people of China. Its honesty and integrity are also respected by future generations. However, judging from the results, the achievement of "Humen exterminating opium" did not last, nor did it effectively rescue China from the quagmire, which provided an excuse for Britain to launch the war of aggression against China (previously for economic, cultural and political aggression).
The reason is that the anti-smoking movement directly harmed the interests of the British bourgeoisie, and the British government quickly decided to launch a long-planned war of aggression against China.
The above contents refer to Baidu Encyclopedia-Humen Destroying Opium.