Wu Lanxiu and Society in Guangzhou on the Eve of the Opium War

Abstract

Generally speaking, two opposing historical evaluations of the Opium War have thus far been offered, although both consider it the beginning of modern Chinese history (Inoue Hiromasa, 1975). Although research has afforded great historical significance to the Opium War, relative indifference has been displayed toward an understanding of the period preceding the Opium War namely, the toward the war. This problem is clearly related to the conception of the Opium War as the start of modern Chinese history. Understanding the Opium War as one consequence, or node, of the historical process preceding it remains an important task, first so as to compensate for the deficiencies in our research and perhaps as well to offer a more reasoned evaluation of the Opium War itself. A reinterpretation of the Canton (Guangzhou) trade system, from this perspective, is one of the present undertakings. From the year 1757 (Qianlong 22), the Qing dynasty allowed trade with Western countries only at the port of Guangzhou; and this system