This poem was personally written by Lin Zexu, a famous official in the late Qing Dynasty, which fully reflects his patriotism.
Lin Zexu’s poem in the late Qing Dynasty, the opium burning in Humen was his masterpiece. The country was suffering from internal and external troubles, and many ministers were wise to protect themselves. Lin Zexu wrote it in this environment, which means that when the country is in danger, everyone should sacrifice themselves for the country. We should not care about blessings and misfortunes.
Lin Zexu
Lin Zexu (August 30, 1785 - November 22, 1850), also known as Yuanfu, Shaomu, Shilin, and later nicknamed Qicunlaoren, The retired old people from Qicun, the retired old people from 72 Peaks, the lay people from Pingquan, the Sanren from Lishe, etc. were natives of Houguan County, Fujian Province. They were politicians, writers, thinkers and national heroes in the late Qing Dynasty of China.
Lin Zexu was a Jinshi in the 16th year of Jiaqing (1811). He had served as Hanlin editor, Jiangsu inspector, governor of Donghe, governor of Jiangsu, and governor of Huguang. In the 19th year of Daoguang's reign (1839), when the imperial envoy went to Guangdong to ban smoking, he sent people to conduct overt inspections and secret inspections, forcing foreign opium merchants to hand over their opium, and confiscated the opium and destroyed it in Humen. This incident is considered to be the trigger for the First Opium War.
Not long after the war broke out, Lin Zexu was framed and dismissed from his post and sent to Xinjiang to guard the border. In the 25th year of Daoguang's reign (1845), he was re-appointed and served successively as governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, governor of Shaanxi, governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, and the crown prince. In the 30th year of Daoguang's reign (1850), Lin Zexu died of illness in Puning, Chaozhou on his way to suppress the uprising of the God Worshipers Association. He was awarded the title of Prince Taifu and was given the posthumous title "Wenzhong". There are works such as "Lin Wenzhong's Public Affairs Book" handed down from generation to generation.
Lin Zexu traveled throughout his life and made outstanding achievements in governance. Although they fought against Western invasion in Guangdong and Guangxi, they maintained an open attitude towards Western culture, technology and trade, advocating learning from their best and using them. The "Four Continents" compiled by him and the "Hai Guo Tu Zhi" compiled by Wei Yuan were inspiring to the Westernization Movement in the late Qing Dynasty and even Japan's Meiji Restoration.