Reign As Emperor and The Opium Trade
In September 1820, at the age of 38, Mianning inherited the throne after his father the Jiaqing Emperor suddenly died of unknown causes. Now known as the Daoguang Emperor, he inherited a declining empire with Westerners encroaching upon the borders of China. During his reign, China experienced major problems with opium, which was imported into China by British merchants. Opium had started to trickle into China during the reign of his great grandfather Emperor Yongzheng but was limited to approximately 200 chests annually. By the time of Emperor Qianlong's reign, this amount had increased to 1000 chests, 4000 chests by Jiaqing's era and more than 30,000 chests during Daoguang's reign.
He issued many edicts against opium in the 1820s and 1830s, which were carried out by Commissioner Lin Zexu. Lin Zexu's effort to halt the spread of opium in China led directly to the First Opium War. With the development of the Opium War, Lin was made a scapegoat and the Daoguang emperor removed Lin's authority and banished him to Yili. Meanwhile in the Himalayas, the Sikh Empire attempted an occupation of Tibet but was defeated in the Sino-Sikh war (1841–1842). On the coasts, technologically and militarily inferior to the European powers, China lost the war and surrendered Hong Kong by way of the Treaty of Nanking in August 1842.
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Grace is the partner of the throne;
Thy grace and justice mighty Lord,
Shall well divide our last reward.”
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“Even the emperor has straw-sandaled relatives.”
—Chinese proverb.
“And I said,
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no one worries about it except liars.”
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—Robert Pirosh, U.S. screenwriter, George Seaton, George Oppenheimer, and Sam Wood. Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush (Groucho Marx)