The British East India Company transported about 7,900 boxes of opium to China per year between 1820 and 1824. In the five years since then, the average annual import volume exceeded 10,000 boxes.
In 1823, Emperor Daoguang of Qing dynasty ordered the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs and the Ministry of War to draft the "Regulations on Dereliction of Duty," punishing officials who neglect their duty of banning on opium-smoking and the opium trade. According to the Regulations, the officials will be punished in the light of the quantity of opium smuggled to China. Those leaving out over 100 jin of opium will be fined one year of salary, those leaving out over 1,000 jin will be reduced to a lower grade but remain in office and those leaving out more than 5,000 jin will be degraded and transferred to another post.
In 1830, Emperor Daoguang announced an edict, prohibiting planting and selling poppy and manufacturing opium. Those disobeying the order will be punished as opium smugglers, either being exiled or be bludgeoned 100 times and then sentenced to three years' imprisonment, meanwhile pulling up the poppy and confiscating their lands. Since then, Chinese government formed a complete legislative system on anti-opium measure.
In 1833, the trade patent of British East India Company was abolished by the British government. The British private merchants began opium smuggling and the number of opinion doubled with 10,000 boxes as basic number.
In 1835, the number of opium addicts reached more than 2 million in China, spreading from upper-class society to all ranks of society. All sorts of people including government officials, workers, merchants, women, monks, priests, eunuchs, soldiers and beggars began smoking opium, which seriously devastated the overall quality of Chinese people.
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