Lin Zexu.

Opium is more harmful than scourges. This is the content of Lin Zexu’s letter to Emperor Daoguang before the Opium War. Original text: "The harm of opium is worse than that of scourges. If this disaster is not eradicated, in ten years the Central Plains will have no soldiers to defend the enemy, and no food to pay for it."

It means: If opium is allowed to spread widely in the world, the harm will be very huge, so it should be strictly controlled. If we don’t take it seriously, in a few decades, China will have no soldiers capable of fighting, let alone military spending.

Character Introduction

Lin Zexu (August 30, 1785-November 22, 1850), also known as Yuanfu, also known as Shaomu and Shilin, and later nicknamed Qicun Laoren , Qicun Retired Old People, Seventy-two Peaks Retired Old People, Pingquan Jushi, Lishe Sanren, etc. were natives of Houguan County, Fujian Province. They were politicians, thinkers and poets during the Qing Dynasty, and celebrities in water control in history.

He reached the first rank and served as governor of Huguang, Shaanxi-Gansu and Yunnan-Guizhou. He was appointed imperial envoy twice. Because of his advocacy of strictly prohibiting opium, he was known as a "national hero" in China. In June 1839, Lin Zexu destroyed opium in Humen, which dealt a heavy blow to the British invaders, inspired the national spirit, and demonstrated the strong will of the Chinese people to resist foreign aggression and safeguard national dignity.