JUAN YUAN'S MANAGEMENT OF SINO-BRITISH RELATIONS IN CANTON, 1817-1826
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opium grown in Turkey, the British cultivated poppy in India and brought opium into China. Selling this commodity for cash only, the British hoped to reverse the balance of trade at China's expense. In 1821, to put an end to this smuggling of opium into China and silver in the reverse direction, the Tao-kuang Emperor reiterated the court's anti-opium policy. As a result, Juan Yuan adopted strict measures against opium importation through the port of Canton. This thinking was behind his taking action against the hong merchants later on that year, in the wake of the Terranova case, especially when he removed the button from Puiqua's hat.
It was in the memorial requesting the removal of Puiqua's button that Juan Yüan's attitude on opium was revealed. He was concerned with the harmful effects of opium addiction. “Opium is grown overseas, but its harmful effects are most keenly felt in interior China. Its most serious damage lies in the moral degradation of the populace”.* The memorial also showed that Juan Yüan had known the sources of opium. He concluded that there were three major groups of foreign traders who carried opium in their cargo from West Asia and India.
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Three major groups of foreign traders are the sources for our opium. Among these traders there are a number of merchants who come from across the Atlantic Ocean. They pick up cargoes of opium on their way to China. Moreover, the British merchants, in their private capacities, also bring with them this contraband commodity when they come to Macau. The Company, franchised by the British sovereign, does not officially engage in the opium trade itself. The American ship owners and captains constitute the last group of opium smugglers. They, not having any king to restrain them, bring in the commodity themselves in the holds of their ships.*2
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These foreign traders worked with the Chinese merchants in Canton and Macau who provided them with the marketing machinery to distribute opium. For this reason, Juan Yuan blamed the Chinese merchants, especially the hong merchants, for the thriving illicit opium trade.
The hong merchants are so close to the foreign traders that, although their smuggling activities could be kept dark from the officials, it is impossible for the hong merchants not to be aware of them. How can foreign ships bring contraband commodities for thousands of miles without being assured of a market here first? They, therefore, must work hand-in-glove with the hong merchants. The hong merchants appear to consider only their