林則徐
Lin Zexu (Chinese:林則徐; pinyin:Lín Zéxú) (August 30,1785 - November 22,1850) was a Chinese scholar and official during the Qing dynasty.He is most famous for his active fight against opium smuggling in Guangzhou,which is usually considered to be the primary catalyst for the First Opium War 1839-42.
Lin was born in Fuzhou,in the Fujian province.In 1811 he received the Jinshi degree,the highest title in the imperial examinations,and the same year he was appoinyed to the prestigeous Hanlin Academy.He rose rapidly through various grades of provincial service,and became Governor-General of Hunan and Hubei in 1837.
A formidable bureaucrat known for his thoroughness and integrity,Lin was sent to Guangdong to halt the importation of opium by the British prior to the First Opium War (1838).He confiscated more than 20,000 chests of opium already at the port and supervised their destruction.He later blockaded the port from European ships.Lin also wrote a letter to Queen Victoria of Britain warning her that China was adopting a stricter policy towards everyone,Chinese or foreign,who brought opium into China.This letter expressed a desire that Victoria would act "in accordance with decent feeling" and support his efforts.The letter was however never delivered to the queen but was published in The Times[1] .Open hostilities between China and Britain started in 1839.
Lin's failure to secure a decisive victory against the British led to his replacement by Qishan in September 1840.As punishment for his failures,he was demoted and sent to exile in Ili in Xinjiang.However,the Chinese government still considered Lin to be an official of rare virtue,and sent him off to take care of difficult situations.He died in 1850 while on the way to Guangxi,where the government was sending him to help put down the Taiping Rebellion.He was a patriot of ability who attained an international reputation as "Commissioner Lin." He was opposed to the opening of the country,but felt the need of a better knowledge of foreigners,which drove him to collect much material for a geography of the world.He later gave this material to Wei Yuan,who published an Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms (Hǎiguó túzhì 海國(guó)圖志) in 1844.
June 3,the day when Lin confiscated the crates of opium,is celebrated as Anti-Smoking Day in the Republic of China in Taiwan.Manhattan's Chatham Square,in Chinatown,contains a statue of Lin,commemorating his early struggle against drug use.