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Auction: 21042 - The Opium Wars Collection
Lot: 193

The Later Opium Trade
1908 an Emperor Memorial ordering the relevant officials into an investigation into the quantity of imported and domestically produced opium and to consider the effective control measures and distribution by the government; the private sector not being allowed to run the business. The Memorial requested to firstly conduct a survey by dedicated office in each relevant province to grab statistics of local production and import from foreign countries. In particular, some provinces such as Yunnan, Sinkiang and Gansu provinces are far from reach to understand their actual circumstances of supply and demand situations. It also demanded that the survey should be done in another 6 months at the maximum.
The front of this Memorial is stamped with the large character zou. This was an important official memorial in understanding the development into a public distribution system for sake of better opium controls by the government towards the end of Qing dynasty. This was a very aggressive opium control measure instead of imposing a strict prohibition of opium sales in China. In a very fine state of preservation. Very scarce

The Opium Suppression Movement, beginning late in 1906 and by 1908 had succeeded in curtailing the cultivation and consumption of opium at home and to gain assurances from the British to gradually terminate opium imports.


1908年皇帝奏章,命令有關官員調查進口和國產鴉片的數量, 並考慮政府採取有效的管制措施和分配; 不允許私營部門經營業務. 紀念館要求首先在各相關省的專門辦公室進行調查, 以獲取當地生產和從外國進口的統計數據. 尤其是雲南,新疆, 甘肅等省區的實際供需情況, 還遠未全面了解. 它還要求最多於6個月內完成調查. 這件奏章的正面印有大字"奏". 這是了解清末政府為了更好地控制鴉片而發展為大眾分配製度的重要官方文件. 這是一項非常激進的管制鴉片措施, 而不是在中國嚴格禁止鴉片銷售. 保存完好, 非常稀有.

Sold for
HK$14,000

Starting price
HK$7000