Lin Zexu
2 min readLin Zexu（1785-1850）was a Chinese scholar and official during the Qing dynasty.He is most famous for his active fight against opium smuggling in Guangzhou，which is usually considered to be the primary catalyst for the First Opium War 1839-1842.
Lin was born in Fuzhou，in the Fujian province.In 181l he received the Jinshi degree，the highest title in the imperial examinations，and the same year he was appointed to the prestigious Hanlin Academy.He rose rapidly through various grades of provincial service，and became Governor-General of Hunan and Hubei in 1837.A formidable bureaucrat known for his thoroughness and integrity，Lin was sent to Guangdong to halt the importation of opium by the British prior to the First Opium War（1838）.He confiscated more than 20000 chests of opium already at the port and supervised their destruction.He later blockaded the port from European ships.Lin also wrote a letter to Queen Victoria of Britain warning her that China was adopting a stricter policy towards everyone，Chinese or foreign，who brought opium into China.This letter expressed a desire that Victoria would act“in accordance with decent feeling”and support his efforts.The letter was however never delivered to the queen but was published in The Times.Open hostilities between China and Britain started in 1839.
Lin’s failure to secure a decisive victory against the British led to his replacement by Qishan in September 1840.As punishment for his failures，he was demoted and sent to exile in Ili in Xinjiang.However，the Chinese government still considered Lin to be an official of rare virtue，and sent him off to take care of difficult situations.He died in 1850 while on the way to Guangxi，where the government was sending him to help put down the Taiping Rebellion.
