In 1729, Emperor Yongzheng of China issued an edict prohibiting opium smoking and its sale in response to growing concerns over addiction and its societal impacts. This ban reflected the government's attempts to address public health issues and maintain social order amid rising opium use. The edict marked the beginning of a long struggle against opium consumption in China, influencing policies and attitudes toward drugs in the years to come.

The ban on opium smoking in China in 1729 set the stage for later literary tensions between East and West. European poets like Samuel Taylor Coleridge exoticized opium culture, reflecting on its allure and the moral complexities surrounding addiction, often using it as a metaphor for escapism and the search for transcendence.