| Description |
viii, 232 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 23 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-232). |
| Contents |
The herb of joy: historical background -- Flower power: the cultivation and harvesting of opium -- Papaver somniferum: the pharmacology of opium -- Alkaloids and alchemy: physical and cerebral effects -- The velvet underground: psychological and social aspects -- A decision to be taken: addiction and withdrawal -- Swallowing clouds, spewing fog: opium smoders-past and present -- "Pipe dreams" and "the alchemist's song": opium poetry by Martin Matz -- To smoke or not to smoke: reviewing the evidence -- Black gold: refining and blending the smoking mixture -- Smoking guns: Chinese opium craft -- The way: the art and philosophy of smoking opium. |
| Summary |
"In Opium Culture Peter Lee presents a narrative that covers every aspect of the Chinese art and craft of smoking opium. Starting with a concise account of opium's long and colorful history and the story of how it came to be smoked for pleasure in China, Lee offers detailed descriptions of the growing and harvesting process; the exotic inventory of tools and paraphernalia required to smoke opium the Chinese way; its transition from a major healing herb to a forbidden substance suppressed by the modern pharmaceutical industry; its connections to the I Ching Taoism, and Chinese medicine; and the art, culture, philosophy, pharmacology, and psychology of this traditional Asian custom. Highlighted throughout with interesting quotes from literary and artistic figures who were opium smokers, such as Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso, Emily Hahn, and Graham Greene, the text is studded with gems of long forgotten opium arcana and dispels many of the persistent myths about opium and its use as a relaxant."--Jacket. |
| Subject |
Opium.
|
|
Opium abuse.
|
|
Opium abuse -- China -- History.
|
|
Opium. (OCoLC)fst01046557
|
|
Opium abuse. (OCoLC)fst01430932
|
|
China. (OCoLC)fst01206073
|
| Genre/Form |
History. (OCoLC)fst01411628
|
| ISBN |
1594770751 |
|
9781594770753 |
|
