Margo Gewurtz estimates opium addicts within China “were often ruined by it because a serious addict spent half his time smoking and half sleeping of the effects, and without capable non-addicted subordinates to attend to business, a smoker could be ruined.” Throughout the 19th and early 20th century, indulging in the opium trend was a frequent practice among numerous amounts of people in China. However, the serious physical and mental mark left by opium was only slightly comprehensible due to insufficient scientific resources and knowledge. This insufficient awareness proceeded to damaged and ruin the lives of addicts, which resulted in harming China on a national level. Despite of the slight insight the population had of the damage that
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These illogical acts consisted of selling all their valuables including their wives and children to slavery to obtain short term satisfaction. Margo Gewurtz is an emeritus professor at York University with concentration on China featuring gender issues, modern china, and religion. Gewurtz has a PhD from Cornell University and has written several books specifically on several aspects of China. While reviewing the book Crusaders against Opium: Protestant Missionaries in China, 1874—1917 by Kathleen L. Lodwick, Gewurtz writes, “Female addicts were most often found among the gentry class as they had the money and leisure to pursue the habit, and usually became addicts following the example of their husbands.” Gewurtz states that female opium addicts …show more content…
Throughout this time period, as amounts of addicts steadily increased it resulted in a declining economic status leaving an abundance amount of people with decreasing living conditions. Yangwen insists many people in the lower class smoked opium because “it lessened their pain and helped them to carry on the burden of living” and insists the lower class "smoked opium because the private bitter sensation prevented their current situation from becoming further aggravated.” Yangwen here is conveying that peasants used opium to relieve themselves of their struggles and suffering from the worsening economy. By looking at the evidence from earlier, a repeating cycle can be identified involving the opium trend and the worsening economy. The cycle consists of middle and upper classes smoking opium in efforts to achieve higher social and economic status, which results in the middle class to spend tremendous amount of their wages to indulging in opium and eventually losing all their money to the practice. With the middle class losing wealth to international opium corporations, the amount of money within China’s economy declined. As China’s economy plummets, the peasants living conditions rapidly declines. In efforts to relief economic stress, the lower class invest increasing amounts of
These illogical acts consisted of selling all their valuables including their wives and children to slavery to obtain short term satisfaction. Margo Gewurtz is an emeritus professor at York University with concentration on China featuring gender issues, modern china, and religion. Gewurtz has a PhD from Cornell University and has written several books specifically on several aspects of China. While reviewing the book Crusaders against Opium: Protestant Missionaries in China, 1874—1917 by Kathleen L. Lodwick, Gewurtz writes, “Female addicts were most often found among the gentry class as they had the money and leisure to pursue the habit, and usually became addicts following the example of their husbands.” Gewurtz states that female opium addicts …show more content…
Throughout this time period, as amounts of addicts steadily increased it resulted in a declining economic status leaving an abundance amount of people with decreasing living conditions. Yangwen insists many people in the lower class smoked opium because “it lessened their pain and helped them to carry on the burden of living” and insists the lower class "smoked opium because the private bitter sensation prevented their current situation from becoming further aggravated.” Yangwen here is conveying that peasants used opium to relieve themselves of their struggles and suffering from the worsening economy. By looking at the evidence from earlier, a repeating cycle can be identified involving the opium trend and the worsening economy. The cycle consists of middle and upper classes smoking opium in efforts to achieve higher social and economic status, which results in the middle class to spend tremendous amount of their wages to indulging in opium and eventually losing all their money to the practice. With the middle class losing wealth to international opium corporations, the amount of money within China’s economy declined. As China’s economy plummets, the peasants living conditions rapidly declines. In efforts to relief economic stress, the lower class invest increasing amounts of