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You are here: Home / What’s on / Past exhibitions / Griffith John / British and Chinese Relations

British and Chinese Relations

When Griffith John arrived in China foreign trade was restricted to just five ports, including Canton and Shanghai. This restriction made trade between the British and the Chinese very uneven.

Low Chinese demand for British goods and high British demand for Chinese goods (tea, silk, porcelain) meant that British traders had to pay for goods with money rather than by trade.

In an effort to find a new market in China, Britain began importing opium. Opium addiction became a serious problem amongst the Chinese population. Griffith John saw the damaging effects that opium was having on smokers and their families. He remained opposed to opium throughout his time in China. In 1890 he became a founding member of the Permanent Committee for the Promotion of Anti-Opium Societies.

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Griffith John: The Opium Wars 

 Chinese Opium smokers [Click to enlarge image]

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Coronavirus

In line with government advice, Swansea Council has suspended many non-essential services to help the community fight coronavirus. This includes those places where public gather such as museums and galleries, and as a result Swansea Museum is temporarily closed.

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Swansea – A Photographer’s Dream
In ‘Swansea – A photographer’s Dream’ Colin Riddle’s pictures of Swansea in the 1960s represent images of a lost age, and though much of what he photographed still exists for the keen historian to seek out, much has also disappeared.

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