Lesson Two

The First Opium War – Lesson 02

Views of Opium Production, Part Two

Introduction
Lesson 02 complements and extends Lesson 01 and is designed to accompany a classroom unit on the Opium Wars. Prior to conducting the lesson, students should have knowledge of the opium trade's economic and human effects on China, Chinese government efforts to halt the trade including negotiations with Britain, and the increasing hostility leading to the First Opium War in 1841. If they have not already done so, students should read The First Opium War by Peter Purdue.

Grade level
High school world history, Asian studies, U.S. history.

Objectives
At the conclusion of this activity, students will be better able to:

Discuss the causes and results of the Opium War.

Analyze individual and national perspectives on British opium production in its Indian colony in the 19th century and compare and contrast these narratives.

Develop visual literacy and historical document analysis skills.

Time required
One class period.

Materials and preparation
Online access to Lesson Two Mini-database (or printed copies) for all students.

Procedure
1. Explain to students that both the British and Indian artists’ depictions of opium production portray only one chapter of the larger process of the opium trade in the 19th century. Ask students to think about the images they studied in Lesson 01, or project one or both of the Lesson One Mini-databases so that students can view them as they comment. What “chapters” of the opium trade are not depicted in these images? Students should recognize that the transport and sale of the opium are not depicted, nor is the use of opium and its impact on the user. Explain that while these “chapters” were not part of the story for the artists, including them might change one’s view of the opium trade—a very emotionally charged subject at the time.

2. Students will now analyze two images of the consumption stage of opium use, a painting and a photograph of Chinese opium smokers, and consider how these visuals add to their understanding of the opium trade.

3. Turn students attention to the two images: image one is a painting, and image two is a photograph. Through class or small group discussion, ask students to consider what each image tells the viewer about opium smoking. Some questions to guide discussion include:

What is the effect on the smoker?

What reaction does the image elicit in the viewer?

Which image elicits a stronger reaction from the students, and why?

If one of these images was in your textbook, what message would you take away about the 19th-century opium trade and its impact on China and Chinese people?

4. To conclude the activity, have students work alone or in small groups. Ask each of them to select the most powerful image of the two and to create a poster promoting the cessation of the opium trade in mid-19th-century China.

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