In the 19th century, the defeat of the two Opium Wars forced the Qing court to open its doors to the inland market for Western goods. At the same time, many Chinese have traveled thousands of miles to make a living in the new world on the other side. As a result, they, who were originally victims, actually exported their opium smoking habits to Europe and the United States.
Chinese laborers who took a boat to San Francisco
According to statistics, in 1852 alone, as many as 30,000 Chinese laborers went to San Francisco to pan for gold. By 1870, there were 50,000 Chinese labourers in Australia. At that time, European and American countries were already experiencing labor shortages due to the abolition of slavery, so they were in great need to supplement it by bringing in cheap labor. Unexpectedly, in addition to the landing of the other party, it also introduced a leisure place with oriental characteristics - the big smoke house.
18th-19th century Containers for medicines used to store opium
In fact, in the 19th century, countries in Europe and the United States had not yet ruled that opium was an illegal addiction. Therefore, anyone can buy it openly in a pharmacy and soak it in medical alcohol and drink it. Until the Civil War, opium was widely used by Americans as an analgesic. It was even used as a secret "quiet" ingredient and added to infant medicines, which was not as strict as it was later.
Late 19th century Glass medicine bottles used to store opium
But for the big smoke houses opened by Chinese workers, the Western observers had a completely different feeling: through the choking smell of evil, the curious Europeans saw in the room the smoke of opium and the weak Chinese, their faces like those beasts that had fallen into hell but thought they were in heaven, and the worst of all, European maidens,.... About 16 years old, seduced by the sheen of silk and the jingle of gold outside the door, they stayed. Scattered in this terrible lair, they were eventually expelled from the door with the smell of filth and decay.
19th-century Chinese smoke house scene
Although the above description has a racist tone, it also reflects the style of smoke houses in Chinese ghettos. At that time, there were a large number of single Chinese who gathered in foreign countries, engaged in very heavy manual labor, and lived a depressing life with little hope. Since the Qing government did not allow women to go to sea, it was difficult for lonely men to start families overseas. So he indulged in opium smoking, hoping to relieve physical fatigue and nostalgia with hallucinogenic effects. As a result, the supply of opium has become a condition of recruitment for some employers. So much so that although many laborers did not smoke opium, they still made the tobacco house a hallmark of the Chinese settlement.
After the gold mines in California dried up, Chinese laborers began to run various shops
In California, for example, in 1848, the fledgling gold rush also attracted Chinese laborers. After the gold mines were exhausted, these men turned to butchers, laundries and small shops, including, of course, large tobacco houses, which became centers of criminal activity. The bosses not only peddled opium, but also dabbled in prostitution, gambling, usury, and other models. The hard-earned $1 a day for laborers is often taken away at night by smokers, gambling and white prostitutes. As a result, they work all year round but are destitute, and become a puppet of criminal groups such as triads.
The Great Smoke House is also a gathering place for many criminal activities
As the western United States prospered, almost every city had a Chinese presence. But in every Chinese community, there will be at least one smoke house. It can usually be used by dozens of customers at the same time, and gradually attracts other skin tones. As a result, by 1885, the United States needed to import a total of 200,000 pounds of opium, most of which was used to supply tobacco houses.
Over time, many low-level American workers became addicted to opium
Because of this, the drug subculture based on tobacco houses and opium has become popular in the United States:
Smoking a cigarette bubble in one breath is called "a mouthful"
The person who prepares the smoking gun and the smoke bubble is called the "cook"
Opium smoking itself is called yen, which is the "smoke" in the Beijing dialect
The big smoke house is also a classic material for anti-Chinese posters
In the long run, the existence of the big smoke house will inevitably arouse the disgust of the local society. There have been claims of seeing white half-naked girls aged 16-20 lying on the floor with their lovers and spitting mist together. Such racially charged rumors have spread far and wide, and have played a role in fueling the anti-Chinese trend in the United States.
The opium epidemic eventually caused widespread concern in American society
It is clear that the US government cannot remain indifferent to this. Initially, they hoped to limit the spread of opium economically by imposing a heavy tax of 75 cents per ounce. But the effect was almost zero, not only did it fail to stop the growth of opium consumption, but instead made the Chinese gangsters led by the triads make a lot of money!
At first, the U.S. government hoped to limit the spread of opium with additional taxes
In 1909, the United States officially passed the Opium Monopoly Act, which stipulated that it could only be used for medical treatment and not for daily consumption. But similar to the infamous prohibition that followed, a superficial outright ban only drove up black market prices. As a result, not only can the Chinese gangsters make more money, but even the local gangsters in the United States have also taken the opportunity to make a big profit.
Due to the huge demand, opium consumption supports the lucrative black market for smuggling
As a result, the consumption of opium among ordinary Chinese laborers plummeted, and it was replaced by the upper class. Because it can pass the time and is a new gadget with its own oriental mystery, the act of smoking opium is gradually favored by the wealthy. In Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles, the Great Smoke House has quickly evolved from a black store serving laborers to a hidden spot filled with celebrities. The underworld made rich profits by sheltering these elites, and even invented a term called hop, which specifically referred to the sensual party that owned both opium and beautiful women.
Upper-class American men and women at early 20th century hop parties
Of course, the large-scale anti-drug operation also saved many low-level Chinese. A total of 1,300 people were arrested during the 1913 crackdown on tobacco houses. In addition to the seizure of opium and smoking guns, most of the tobacco parlors operating in a semi-public name were also closed. According to the verification of the Los Angeles Police Department, some of the smoking guns shipped from Guangdong have a history of nearly 100 years of use. On the other hand, 13 countries, led by the United States and China, jointly established the Opium Committee in Shanghai. However, the commission did not include some of the major opium-producing countries, including their contemporaries Turkey and Persia.
Early 20th century American police officers dealing with contraband
After the end of the First World War, the newly formed League of Nations set up the "Advisory Committee on Opium and Smuggling" to work to eradicate the problem of opium smuggling. However, after the Xinhai Revolution, China was deeply divided by warlords, and all forces regarded opium as an important source of revenue. Thus, the foreigners' committees were only able to ensure that opium did not flow to the Anglo-American market, and the restraint on other regions remained rather weak.
1909 The Shanghai Conference was the beginning of the international joint anti-drug effort
Ironically, it was not the anti-smoking campaign that ultimately pulled the big tobacco restaurants out of the European and American markets, but the epidemic of new drugs such as cocaine and heroin. It turned out that some Chinese tobacco dealers found that Mexico, which borders the United States, was more suitable for opium cultivation, so they brought poppy seeds to the area and further purified them. However, the purity is always limited, so it is doped with a large amount of milk powder or powdered sugar for filling. Unexpectedly, these new drugs were quickly phased out of traditional opium because of their portability, high profit margins, and lack of complex tools. By the time of World War II, all opium smokers in the United States had disappeared.
The advent of white powder allowed opium to be purged from the American market
However, the damage to the image of the Chinese people is stubborn and long-lasting. As one senator put it: Chinese migrated to the United States en masse as laborers, miners, and servants. We welcome them, we welcome them as laborers, we welcome them as citizens, because there are only a million white people from Missouri to Kinmen. But if they came with opium, we couldn't welcome them!
(End of full text)