China has a long history, and there are rare great men and national heroes in each era. As an outstanding representative of the late Qing Dynasty, Lin Zexu is the most dazzling star of this era. He not only started the process of modern history and became the founder of the world, but also influenced the development of China and even the world.
The statue of China in the American Square.
When it comes to its influence on the world, we have to mention the famous statue incident in America. It started around 1960, just after the fascinating World War II. Because of the special geographical position of the United States, which is close to Colombia and Mexico, drugs were introduced to China rapidly, and many Americans became addicted to drugs. According to relevant statistics, from its introduction into China to the early 1990s, the number of drug addicts in the United States has reached more than 40 million, which makes the American government shudder, because this set of data directly shows that one in every eight Americans takes drugs, which undoubtedly makes the United States, with a total population of only 300 million at that time, even worse.
In addition, many countries are also deeply affected by drugs, so many countries have joined forces and decided to designate June 26 as the International Day against Drugs, considering its harm and influence on other countries. As this day happened to be the last day of opium destruction in Humen, inspired by Huang Keqiang, Lin Zexu Foundation was established in the United States. Subsequently, 1997, many Chinese Americans joined the Anti-Drug Foundation and participated in this activity to promote national heroes. After two years of hard work, a statue of Lin Zexu with a total height of about 3.2 meters was finally built in the Chinatown Center in New York, USA.
The opium destruction in Humen, which affected the world.
According to historical records, Britain and China often face trade deficits when they participate in trade transactions. The reason for this situation is very simple, because western industrial products can't open the traditional agricultural society in China. As a result, China's silk tea sets are exported abroad in large quantities, while the industrial products sold in Britain are neglected. So when Britain invaded China, they still faced a huge trade deficit, even reaching tens of millions of taels of silver.
Judging from the situation, the British royal family was the first-class colonial overlord at that time. Seeing this situation, Britain could not afford such a huge loss, so the British began to consider opening the China market with opium. Because of this, opium spread all over China, and successfully made many officials and ordinary people addicted to drugs.
The situation is just as Lin Zexu said at that time. More than half of the elite and the strong in this country are addicted to opium. If they are immersed in this for a long time, the country will have no effective fighters available, and the national treasury will be in deficit sooner or later. The emperor realized that the crisis was coming, so he appointed Lin Zexu to sell cigarettes in Humen.
Lin Zexu, who took this task, is not only the first person in the world, but also has great lethality to opium. He set a goal to put an end to all this from the root. So, at the beginning of 1839, Lin Zexu officially conducted a large-scale opium investigation and destruction in Guangdong. At that time, many people bribed Lin Zexu to escape legal sanctions, but Lin Zexu turned a blind eye and unswervingly carried out the anti-smoking activities to the end.
Lin Zexu's contribution has finally achieved initial results. Through unremitting efforts, * * * seized 2.376 million Jin of opium and destroyed all these opium in Humen in front of everyone. Although his behavior offended many opium dealers, it also impressed many foreign opium dealers. Since then, opium has been hit to varying degrees in China, and more and more enlightened people have consciously resisted opium. Lin Zexu successfully defended the dignity and interests of the people of China through this great move.
This incident also frustrated the British and took the initiative to go to war with China. Although we didn't win the battle later, it was the strong will of China people that was affirmed by everyone, and Lin Zexu was also remembered by everyone.
Lin Zexu's background
As a typical representative of national heroes, who is Lin Zexu?
Lin Zexu was born in August 1785. His single name is Fu Yuan, also known as Shilin. My ancestral home is Houguan County, Fujian Province. He was a famous thinker, writer and politician in the middle of Qing Dynasty. He was remembered as a "national hero" for his efforts to destroy opium in Humen.
Lin Zexu's representative event was 1839, when Guangdong banned smoking on a large scale. During this period, many people were sent to secretly check the origin of opium, which hit the plans of foreign businessmen and opium dealers and destroyed countless dens. In June of the same year, opium was successfully seized on a large scale and destroyed centrally. At the same time, this move also made the relationship between the British army and the China army deteriorate rapidly, which became the fuse of the Opium War.
Although Lin Zexu hated Britain's use of opium to open the door to China, he always maintained a neutral attitude towards western science, technology and culture. He is not only proficient in English and Portuguese, but also has made some contributions to the translation of western books, among which he participated in the famous Chronicle of the Four Seas and Atlas of the Sea. These two books not only had a far-reaching impact on modern history, but also inspired the Westernization Movement.
Reflection behind the incident
From the case of Lin Zexu and the case of destroying opium in Humen, we can see that what is really beneficial is not unique to one country, but enjoyed by many countries. Because of the breakthrough changes in opium destruction in human history, when the United States encounters the same problem, it will learn from its practices and publicize its spirit. At the same time, it also shows that the national spirit is basically the same in the world. Both Lin Zexu's indomitable spirit and America's will to overcome difficulties are a kind of learning national spirit from a macro perspective.
Now it is the international community. Faced with challenges and difficulties, people all over the world should unite as one. For example, the International Anti-Drug Day mentioned in this article is a good example. Even though our country was not strong enough and was often invaded by foreign countries, today's motherland is prosperous and strong, not only can it stand on its own feet, but can even lend a helping hand to other countries. COVID-19, which swept the world this time, is a clear proof, and it is also the first essence of the great rejuvenation of our Chinese nation.
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From the whole incident, we can see that only by taking multilateral cooperation and combining the advantages and disadvantages of the national conditions can we create a perfect social system and a bright future. We should learn from each other and cooperate with each other in the face of difficulties. Lin Zexu's thoughts and actions also tell us that only cooperation can achieve a win-win situation.