If you trace the origins of Opium back to a certain date you’ll find that your going to be going a long way back. Opium has been used for many centuries and was a key asset and even was the reason behind certain organizations fall from power. The use of opium is no secret, it started off like most drugs do as a cure for an illness or ailment. However after a while people began to discover it’s true properties and began finding themselves using it for purposes other than just illness and ailments. Perhaps the biggest thing to take from this part is the fact that from all the way back then to now, people still continue to abuse drugs especially opium which of course has made it’s way into today’s society as a more lethal compound of a drug called heroin. However, as we go back through time we notice that the influence of opium was so great that it caused two wars. First the was the Opium War from 1839 to 1842 and the Second Opium War from 1856 to 1860. It was these wars that separated China from the rest of the world. The Opium Wars were not just about the drug itself but what else they represented which was the civilization of China as a whole and the balance between nations especially between the British.
The influence and impact of opium has taken cities by storm and cultivated a flurry of outbreaks throughout Britain and Eastern Asia as well as other places all around the world. The main source, spread and usage of opium however can be traced back to China. The Chinese relied heavily on China so much so that not only did it cause two wars but it left a big mark on the culture today as well. One of the main reasons I decided to write a book about opium wasn’t because of it’s checkered past but because of it’s past in general and that fact that the past has rolled over into the present day today and we here in America face the same struggles with drugs as they did in China with opium all those years ago. However let it be understood and noted that my book is of course written of fiction. While the location and places are of real nature the purpose of the book is to entertain and also enlighten a reader. To entertain them with a tale of a fictional 1920's Shanghai but to also perhaps tell the of a tale that reads all to close to home from the fact that opium is still alive and used today and that back then talks of it were in a fascinating state to which the people did not see the fears we face today. The book’s foundation and the main plot is just that; mixing in the past and the present to create a medium which is 1920's Shanghai.
For more information on the origin, usage and impact of Opium in China feel free to read the following https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_opium_in_China" target="_blank">article
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26090434-opium-warfare?ac=1" target="_blank">Click here to find out more about Opium Warfare
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