Emperors, princes, Baylor, queens, princesses, eunuchs, senior bureaucrats and senior literati all tirelessly smoked opium, and opium became the fashion of the upper class. In fact, opium has the most characteristics of luxury goods used for conspicuous consumption as Van Buren said. It is a royal item in the palace, even used by the emperor, so it is a symbol of nobility; It is extremely expensive and comes from the other side of the ocean, so it is a symbol of wealth; It takes enough leisure time to smoke it, and only the idle class who are not busy with their livelihood can lie down and smoke it leisurely, so it is a symbol of leisurely and high-quality life; A high-ranking official, a scholar, an actor and a high-ranking prostitute, smoking together under their service is a symbol of romance and sexual ability and charm. Therefore, smoking opium has become an elegant thing enjoyed by the upper class.
2. Hurt the lower class and weaken the national strength.
The elegance of the upper class is gradually imitated and copied by the middle and lower classes who pursue fashion, and spread to the whole society. Generally speaking, the things used by emperors in history cannot be surpassed by others, and neither the upper class nor the lower class has the right to enjoy them. In order to achieve this goal, the state prohibits the following acts by law: the state also excludes the invasion of the lower class by monopolizing the production of luxury goods. However, these measures have been difficult to be effective in the Qing Dynasty. Although domestic absolutism reached its peak, capitalism flourished internationally, and the information of domestic pursuit of opium fashion was captured by international opium dealers who pursued profits. They smuggle opium in large quantities, so the price keeps falling, so that all the bottom traffickers and pawnbrokers can have a sip and experience the rich taste of the high society.
3. Corrupt the social atmosphere and cause war.
When noble opium can be sucked away by drivers and pulp sellers, it has long lost its elegance and rich aura. At this time, the upper class in turn cursed the hooligans in the lower class for taking opium, which ruined the simple social atmosphere, infected the upper class and advocated smoking ban. Opium finally degenerated into a street mouse that everyone shouted at, and the Opium War broke out under this background.