Anti-drug Crusades in Twentieth-century China
Nationalism, History, and State Building

Drugs have been linked to every aspect of China's economy, polity, society and culture since the early 19th century. This analysis chronicles the evolution of China's anti-narcotics movement from its shaky beginnings in 1906, through its dramatic success in the early years of the communist regime.

Central to China's identity, drugs have been inextricably linked to every aspect of the country's economy, polity, society, and culture since the early 19th century. The first comprehensive analysis of anti-drug crusades in 20th century China, this book chronicles the evolution of China's anti-narcotics movement from its shaky by enthusiastic beginnings in 1906, through its dramatic success in the a ears of the communist regime, to its continuance today in the face of resurgent opium and heroin use. The author explores how anti-drug policies became an important tool in both state building and the consolidation of national authority. He traces the essential role that nationalism has played in all of China's anti-drug crusades by providing the motivation, legitimacy, and emotional charge needed for Chinese authorities t take an anti-drug stance. The author's detailed description of the CPP's successful opium eradication campaigns in the early 1950s, includes previously unavailable archival information and personal interviews.

Nationalisation, reform, and anti-opium mobilisation in late Quing
nationalism and the anti-drug mobilisation of the Shanghai elite, 1924-1927
society versus state - NAOA and opium policies of the nationalists, 1927-1934
the six-year opium suppression plan and the new life movement
nationalism, identity, and state building - anti-drug crusades in the Peoples' Republic, 1949-1952
facing drugs again - anti-drug campaigns in the 1990s.