Culture | The Opium Wars

Be careful what you wish for

A time when the West clamoured for free trade with China

Dude, where’s my rickshaw?

The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams, and the Making of China. By Julia Lovell. Picador; 480 pages; £25. Buy from Amazon.co.uk

This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Be careful what you wish for”

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