Huang Juezi (1793 – 1853) was a Chinese

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

scholar and civil servant and a fervent opponent of the

opium trade Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid m ...

. His 1838 official memorial to the

Daoguang Emperor The Daoguang Emperor (; 16 September 1782 – 26 February 1850), also known by his temple name Emperor Xuanxong of Qing, born Mianning, was the seventh Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the sixth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning ...

detailing the problems caused by opium helped lead to the appointment of

Lin Zexu Lin Zexu (30 August 1785 – 22 November 1850), courtesy name Yuanfu, was a Chinese political philosopher and politician. He was the head of states (Viceroy), Governor General, scholar-official, and under the Daoguang Emperor of the Qing dynast ...

as Imperial Commissioner responsible for tackling the opium problem, p 53 a move that would ultimately result in the

First Opium War The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...

with Great Britain.

Early life and career

Born in

Yihuang County Yihuang County () is a county of Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. It is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Fuzhou Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the ca ...

, Jiangxi Province, by the age of seven Huang could compose classical poetry. In 1808 during the reign of the Qing

Jiaqing Emperor The Jiaqing Emperor (13 November 1760 – 2 September 1820), also known by his temple name Emperor Renzong of Qing, born Yongyan, was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the fifth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, fro ...

he entered the government school and in 1823 graduated as a chosen scholar or Jìnshì (进士/進士). Thereafter he held a series of positions at the Imperial Court including Imperial Censor (御史''Yù shǐ''), Minister of Works (工科给事中''Gōngkē gěi shì zhōng'') and Minister Herald (鸿胪寺卿/鴻臚寺卿 ''Hóng lú sì qīng'').

Petition to the emperor

By the early years of the

's reign, the pernicious influence of

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

had spread all across China, leading to a serious outflow of

silver bullion Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of chemical element, elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. ...

and a society wide crisis. In 1838, Huang, by now Minister Herald, presented the emperor with a petition entitled "Plug the leak firmly to grow the country" (严塞漏卮以培国本疏 ''Yán sè lòu è yǐ péi guó běn shū'') - the leak in question being of silver bullion. In his memorial Huang asked the emperor to grant a one-year period of grace after which ordinary citizens who continued to smoke opium would face the death penalty while officials would face the same punishment with their offspring banned from sitting the

imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

. The petition gained the support of officials including Lin Zexu and

Tao Zhu Tao Zhu (; 16 January 1908 – 30 November 1969) was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party . Biography Born in Qiyang, Hunan, Tao Zhu was Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and Commander of the ...

, as well as praise from the emperor himself. On the eve of the

, Huang knew that control of China's coastal regions was vital to the suppression of the opium trade. He made two trips to

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

Province and presented the emperor with a map showing suggested coastal defences, the ''Hǎifáng túbiǎo'' ().

Later career

When the First Opium War broke out in 1839, Huang joined

Deng Tingzhen Deng Tingzhen (; 1776–1846) was a Chinese politician who served as the Governor-General of Liangguang (Guangdong and Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes) ...

in resisting the British army then later took charge of the Yuzhang Confucian Academy (). He died in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

in 1853; thereafter his body was returned to Yihuang County for burial.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huang, Juezi 1793 births 1853 deaths Chinese scholars Politicians from Fuzhou, Jiangxi People of the First Opium War Qing dynasty politicians from Jiangxi Writers from Jiangxi Qing dynasty writers