Lin Zexu
| Lin Zexu | |
|---|---|
An 1843 drawing of Lin
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| Viceroy of Liangguang | |
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In office 21 January 1840 – 3 October 1840 |
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| Preceded by | Deng Tingzhen |
| Succeeded by | Qishan |
| Viceroy of Shaan-Gan | |
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In office 1845 |
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| Viceroy of Yun-Gui | |
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In office 1848 |
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| Preceded by | Li Xingyuan (Li Hsing-yüan) |
| Succeeded by | Cheng Yuzai (Ch'eng Yü-tsai) |
| Viceroy of Huguang | |
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In office 1837–1839 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
30 August 1785 Fuzhou, Fujian Province |
| Died | 22 November 1850 (aged 65) Puning, Guangdong Province |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Military service | |
| Battles/wars | First Opium War |
| Lin Zexu | |||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 林則徐 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 林则徐 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Courtesy name | |||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 元撫 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 元抚 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Lín Zéxú |
| Gwoyeu Romatzyh | Lin Tzershyu |
| Wade–Giles | Lin2 Tse2-hsü2 |
| IPA | [lǐntsɤ̌ɕy̌] |
| Eastern Min | |
| Fuzhou BUC | Lìng Cáik-sṳ̀ |
| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Yuánfǔ [y̯ɛ̌nfù] |
| Gwoyeu Romatzyh | Yuanfuu |
| Wade–Giles | Yüan2-fu3 |
Lin Zexu (30 August 1785 – 22 November 1850), courtesy name Yuanfu, was a Chinese scholar-official of the Qing dynasty best known for his role in the First Opium War of 1839–42. He was from Fuzhou, Fujian Province. Lin's forceful opposition to the opium trade was a primary catalyst for the First Opium War. He is praised for his constant position on the "moral high ground" in his fight, but he is also blamed for a rigid approach which failed to account for the domestic and international complexities of the problem. The Daoguang Emperor endorsed the hardline policies advocated by Lin, but then blamed Lin for the resulting disastrous war.
Lin was born in Houguan (侯官; modern Fuzhou, Fujian Province) towards the end of the Qianlong Emperor's reign. His father, Lin Binri (林賓日), served as an official under the Qing government. He was the second son in the family. As a child, he was already "unusually brilliant". In 1811, he obtained the position of a jinshi in the imperial examination, and in the same year he gained admission to the Hanlin Academy. He rose rapidly through various grades of provincial service. He opposed the opening of China but felt the need of a better knowledge of foreigners, which drove him to collect material for a geography of the world. He later gave this material to Wei Yuan, who published the Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms in 1843. He became Governor-General of Hunan and Hubei in 1837, where he launched a suppression campaign against the trading of opium.
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Wikipedia