DeLorean: Jach Reads the Opium and Tea Leaves

Opium and Tea Leaves by jachanothergirl featuring Meissen

Note: I am not advocating any consumption of illegal substances, but the early thirties Shanghai is pure romantic bohemia of the East.

The actual history of the opium trade in China is, however, devastating.  In the nineteenth century, the opium trade was a highly lucrative industry for the British from the poppy fields to the prevalent commercial consumption. Yet, with the increasing infamous rise of opium in public popularity, the Opium Wars soon followed, along with famine and political upheaval. 

Although, opium has declined in popularity--the nineties witnessed the return of the opiates in the modern form of heroin. 

To Read:

Thomas de Quincy's Confessions of an English Opium-Eater. 

"There is always a need for intoxication: China has opium, Islam has hashish, the West has woman."
-Andre Malraux

“Opium: that terrible truth serum. Dark secrets guarded for a lifetime can be divulged with carefree folly after a sip of the black smoke.” 

“In general I strive for greatness and rational achievement, but I admit to you I’ve a terrible fondness for women, a tendency towards drunkenness, and a weakness for the fumes of the poppy—opium and other miserable beauties.” 

-Roman Payne