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The article presents the discussion on Opium War or the Anglo-Chinese war of 1839-42. Topics include Qing government anticipated while easily dealing with the imperialist power and putting the ban on Opium trade; and new ideas and concepts being spelled out adding new slogans and eloquence to the language system.

This article argues that Amitav Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies combats monologic discourse by channeling what Mikhail Bakhtin calls the dialogic imagination. The first installment in the Ibis Trilogy, exploring the events leading up to and following the First Opium War, the novel follows the overlapping trajectories of six characters who undergo significant transformations as they cross the Indian Ocean aboard the eponymous ship. While much scholarship on the novel has discussed how barriers of caste, race, gender, and class crumble aboard the Ibis, this essay contributes to a growing corpus that attends to the novel’s imbrication of language and politics. This essay contends that it is through its linguistic inventiveness, specifically its multilingual wordplay, that the novel undermines the grand monologic narratives of history. Insisting on the narrative’s inventiveness allows this essay to discuss how it provides access to the past rather than the mold of academic history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amitav Ghosh's Sea of Poppies is about the world just before the start of the Opium Wars. It centres on the Ibis, an old slaving-ship travelling around and across the Indian Ocean. The dynasty is set to cross continents, races and even generations. The novel captures a wide range of countryside, right from the flourishing poppy fields of the Ganges to the crowded backstreets of China. The novels rich variety of the characters makes the book interesting and occupying. In short, it is a work of art truly. The present paper deals with the colonial complexity and the history presented in the novel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers the author's insights on the neo-racism in China against African American people. Topics mentioned include the historical events and factors that led to discrimination of African descent people, and the racism shown in popular media and advertisement. It also mentioned the Opium War and exposure to western entertainment.

Researchers at home and abroad have concentrated their attention on two aspects of the treaties: their unequal nature and the change of trade regulations. That is to say, the focus of attention has been on the political and economic effects rather than the social influences of the treaties from the perspective of a peripheral society. The connection between China and the West after their collisions in the modern age was the establishment of diplomatic relations and the flow of goods and people. It is important for us to put our emphasis on the establishment of port cities and a peripheral society between China and foreign countries as they were the appeals of "Nanjing Treaty" and a series of other treaties. Therefore, a shift in research perspective is necessary. This paper starts from an analysis of the relationship between the internal state and the coastal society within China, the diplomatic relations between China and foreign countries, and the problems in those relations. This reexamination of the treaty negotiations and their connotation following the Opium War will lead to a deeper understanding of "Nanjing Treaty," of the appeals and concerns of both parties of the negotiations, and of the influences of this series of treaties on the Chinese society and on the relationship between the state and the society. The direct cause of the Opium War was the trouble in trade and diplomatic mechanisms between China and the UK. One major problem was that in spite of the huge trade volumes between the two countries, their transaction had been monopolized by the East India Company and the Hong Merchants of Canton, impeding the formation of port cities and a mature coastal society. This situation seriously limited the sales of British products in China, causing trade imbalance and the opium trade thereafter. In the meantime, the conflicts between the royal court and the peripheral coastal society within China since the Ming and Qing dynasties had resulted in many problems such as the undeveloped coastal society, the barriers between China and foreign countries and the lack of mutual trust between the dynasty government and the coastal society, which even caused a traitor panic on a large scale during the Opium War. Therefore, this series of treaties and trade regulations signed after the Opium War, mainly expressing the demands of Britain, America and France, etc., were focused on the following targets: clearing away the trade barrier between China and other countries, breaking the Hong Merchants' monopolies and setting up the so-called free trade. In other words, it was necessary to build unrestricted social communications and employment relations between China and other countries and to form a peripheral port society in order to expand trade space and seek commercial profits. However, the rulers of the Qing dynasty were only concerned about the safety of their regime and the maintenance of a relative separation between the Chinese society and foreign countries. Therefore, in the course of the negotiations, China did her best to meet the foreigners' demands on trade and tax, but had a fierce argument with Britain and France on the two issues of releasing traitors by publishing Tenghuang and the free propagation of Catholicism in China. The purpose of the argument was to prevent the emergence of a Sino-foreign hybrid peripheral society. This is the key point of this series of treaties and also the concern of both parties of the negotiation. Previous researches have ignored this aspect of the treaties, which this paper attempts to cover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In his many writings, Huang Renyu elaborates the "long--term revolution" which is interpreted by him as China's social change and reform since Opium War. The occurrence of the "long--term revolution" is inevitable and its process is complicated. In the 20th century, the "long --term revolution" has undergoes a breakthrough which is demonstrated on the re--construction of KMT's high- level institution, the transformation of Communist Party's low- level organization and the redefining of the connection between the upper and the lower by Deng Xiaoping and the subsequent successors. Under the guidance of the "big history", Huang Renyu reexamines the major historical events and figures in China's modern history in his brief discussion on the " long--term revolution". His interpretation is fresh, which is closely related to his experiences. From the perspective of academic study, his " long--term revolution" theory is considerably valuable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the historical path created by the occurrence of rivers, which served as indispensable transportation aides for British and French imperialist interests in Southeast Asia, particularly in the Yunnan province of Qing era China. Until the mid-19th century British trade concentrated on textiles and spices, when raw materials, especially tea, became highly desired commodities. This eventually led to the opium trade and the consequent Opium Wars. Other topics discussed include the English East India company, English river exploration, and the French claiming of the Mekong River.

Focuses on novelist and statesman Victor Hugo's comments on the barbaric acts of the Chinese. Views on the opium war of 1840; Victory of the French and English armies in China in 1860.