The pervasive teaching systems of Confucianism were ingrained into the impressionable minds of Chinese scholars and lay citizens alike, as people thrived off of philosophical thought during the 5th century and dispersed its message quickly. The longevity of the Qing dynasty, which lasted from 1644 to 1912, demonstrates the crystallization of governmental and social institutions through the adherence of piety and hierarchy laid out in Confucius’s Analects. This societal harmony, however, was perturbed by the ever-expansive Britain in the late 1800’s, who began to smuggle large chests of opium in order to promote global trade and to receive silver from China. Lin Zexu, a confucian scholar and administrator, was sent to the only port in Canton by the Daoguang Emperor in 1838 to eliminate all illegal trade of opium, for he was already renowned for his role as a provincial administrator in Hubei. Lin publicly renounced opium for its effect on the Chinese masses and epitomizes Confucian ideology at play because his public displays of destroying opium were clearly aimed at pushing out British influence and maintaining the Qing legacy. As a result, Lin Zexu’s exaggerated take on the suppression of opium offended Britain’s capitalistic motives of free trade and triggered the Opium War in 1840.