The Opium War

I was fortunate to chair a session at this weekend’s excellent Cambridge Wordfest devoted to Julia Lovell’s book The Opium War: Dreams, Drugs and the Making of China (Picador). It is a superbly rich study, mining sources in both China and the UK, which examines the eponymous conflict of 1839-42.

The book is especially interesting in its account of the contrasting historiographies of the conflict as it is viewed from China and Britain. The Opium War still leaves a bitter taste in China, while the UK’s amnesia about it is symptomatic of a general ignorance in Britain of both Chinese history and current affairs -  witness the farrago over the wearing of poppies (albeit of the field variety) on David Cameron’s 2010 trip to China which sought to boost trade between the two countries, shown in the picture above.

Lovell also turned out to be a superb speaker, captivating and stimulating a sell-out audience. Her book is highly recommended and she can be heard discussing, among other things, the rise of the historical novel in China and the country's spiritual vacuum along with History Today contributor Jonathan Fenby on the latest episode of Radio 4’s Start the Week.

Paul Lay is editor of History Today and author of History Today... And Tomorrow

From The Archive:

The Wars of the Poppies

Leslie Marchant sees the Opium Wars as a philosophical clash between two cultures and two notions of government and society.