Intoxicating Manchuria

Alcohol, Opium, and Culture in China's Northeast

By Norman Smith
Categories: History, World History, Regional & Cultural Studies, Asian Studies, Health, Social Work & Psychology, Health & Medicine, Social Sciences, Sociology
Series: Contemporary Chinese Studies
Publisher: UBC Press
Hardcover : 9780774824286, 312 pages, October 2012
Paperback : 9780774824293, 312 pages, October 2013
Ebook (PDF) : 9780774824309, 312 pages, October 2012
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Table of contents

Introduction

1 Alcohol and Opium in China

2 Manchurian Context

3 Evaluating Alcohol

4 Selling Alcohol, Selling Modernity

5 Writing Intoxicant Consumption

6 The Hostess Scare

7 Reasoning Addiction, Taking the Cures

8 The Opium Monopoly’s “Interesting Discussion”

Conclusion

Glossary

Notes

Bibliography

Index

An illuminating and fascinating analysis of the connections between Japanese imperialism, narratives of addiction, and Chinese popular culture in the early twentieth century.

Description

Intoxicating Manchuria reveals how the powerful alcohol and opium industries in Northeast China were altered by warlord rule, Japanese occupation, political conflict, and a vigorous anti-intoxicant movement. Through the lens of the Chinese media’s depictions of alcohol and opium, Norman Smith examines how intoxicants and addiction were understood in this society, the role the Japanese occupation of Manchuria played in the portrayal of intoxicants, and the efforts made to reduce opium and alcohol consumption. This is the first English-language book-length study to focus on alcohol use in modern China and the first dealing with intoxicant restrictions in the region.

Awards

  • Winner, Gourmand Best Drink History Book (Canada-English), Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2013