778 
Opium  in  China. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
December,  1919. 
the  people,  opium  in  China  was  given  many  very  interesting  names. 
The  principal  ones  are  "  Kung-yen  "  (public-smoke),  "  Kung-kao  " 
(public-extract),  "  Kung-tu  "  (public-earth),  and  "  Kung-pan-tu," 
from  the  Chinese  name  for  the  East  India  Company,  Kung-pan-ya. 
These  terms  are  also  used  for  Patna  opium  and  for  the  "  first- 
class "  quality.  Another  name  for  Patna  opium  is  "  Ta-tu  "  (big- 
earth),  while  the  Malwa  is  known  as  "  Hsiao-tu "  (small-earth). 
"Yen-tu"  (smoke  -  earth),  "  Yang  -  tu  "  (foreign  -  earth),  and 
"  Kwang-tu  "  (Canton-earth),  are  common  names  for  opium,  while 
"Hei-tu"  (black-earth)  is  a  slang  term  for  it.  The  commonest  col- 
loquial term,  however,  is  "Yang-yen"  (foreign-smoke).  The  for- 
eign drug  is  considered  the  best,  and  is  not  noticeably  replaced  by 
the  native  article,  although  this  latter  is  called  "  Chuan-tu  "  (Chuan- 
earth),  and  in  favorable  years  can  be  produced  at  about  half  the 
cost  of  the  Indian  drug.  It  is  made  to  imitate  Malwa  opium,  and 
has  been  found  to  contain  6.94  per  cent,  of  morphine.  Yunnan 
opium,  and  that  from  Kwei-chou,  are  called  "  Nan-tu  "  (southern- 
earth),  while  that  from  Kansu,  Shensi  and  Shansi  is  called'"  Hsi-tu  " 
(western-earth).  These  all  represent  good  qualities  of  the  native 
drug. 
Opium  Smoking. 
During  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  or  since  i860, 
the  luxury  use  of  opium  spread  with  appalling  rapidity.  Fifteen 
years  ago,  seventy  times  as  much  opium  were  used  as  that  used  in 
1800.  Annually  twenty-two  thousand  tons  of  the  drug  were  ab- 
sorbed, most  of  it  converted  into  thick  smoke  and  inhaled  by  a 
legion  of  smokers  estimated  to  number  at  least  twenty-five  millions. 
In  Yunnan,  the  principal  inquiry  in  matrimonial  negotiations  was, 
"How  many  opium  pipes  in  the  family?"  this  being  a  certain  indi- 
cation of  its  financial  standing.  Whole  populations,  including  offi- 
cials, gentry,  students,  merchants,  and  farmers  had  given  themselves 
up  to  the  seductive  pipe  and  were  sinking  into  a  state  of  inde- 
scribable lethargy,  misery  and  degradation.  The  pipe  has  a  peculiar 
seduction  for  these  people,  because  their  lives  are  so  bare  of  interest. 
The  lack  of  indulgence  in  the  innocent  companionship  of  men  and 
women  which  contributes  such  a  charm  to  life  is  the  chief  cause 
which  led  the  Chinese  to  such  vice.  They  take  it  as  a  relief  from 
the  dreary  flatness  that  results  from  sacrificing  most  of  the  things 
that  make  life  interesting  in  the  foolish  endeavor  to  maintain  the 
