Statue of Lin Zexu (1785 - 1850), Chinese Gardens, Singapore. He is recognized for his conduct in fighting against the opium trade in Guangzhou. Non-medicinal consumption of opium was banned by Emperor Yongzheng in 1729 but by the 1830s China's economy and society were being seriously affected by huge imports of opium from British. He opposition to the trade on moral and social grounds is considered to be the catalyst for the First Opium War of 1839–42.