The pros and cons of the Opium War

Before the Opium War, China was an independent feudal country. Due to China's dominant natural economy, China is in a superior position in legitimate trade between China and Britain. In order to change the situation of trade into the United Kingdom, the British smuggled opium to China. The importation of opium brought serious disasters to the Chinese nation. The people strongly demand a ban on smoking. The anti-smoking movement led by Lin Zexu dealt a heavy blow to the British invaders. In 1840, Britain launched the Opium War to invade China. During the war, the patriotic officers and soldiers and the people of Sanyuanli fought bravely. However, due to the compromise policy pursued by the Qing government, the war eventually failed. In 1842, the British forced the Qing government to sign the Sino-British Treaty of Nanjing. China's independence and territorial integrity began to be undermined, and China's feudal society began to decline into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. During the war, some patriotic intellectuals were awakened, and a new trend of "learning from the West" emerged.

The Second Opium War from 1856 to 1860 was a war of aggression against China launched by Britain and France in order to expand their aggressive rights. The United States and Russia are reaping the benefits. The "Tianjin Treaty" and "Beijing Treaty" that the four countries forced the Qing government to sign caused China to lose more territory and sovereignty, and foreign aggressive forces expanded to coastal provinces and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The degree of semi-colonialization of Chinese society has further deepened.

To put it in detail, the Opium War had very little benefit and did more harm than good. The disadvantage is that China will fall into a semi-colony.