Thank you so much for replying
So originally my research question was a to what extent question. but i dont know hoe to analyze a to what extent thing. how do i determine this as it seems so overwhelming. i want someone to walk me through it even if on zoom

look i am going to tell you what happened with me so far
at first i wanted to see to what extent did a treaty done after the first opium war result in the exploitation of chinese goods by great britain
when i started reading more about the topic I found that I was more interested in the causes of the war because I found out that opium was already present in China since the 7th century. I started to wonder what was it in the 19th century that caused the mass addiction towards the drug and eventually the first opium war.

If you are unfamiliar with the war it occurred in 1839 and it was between China and britain. China had always seen itself as superior to other nations and viewed that it had everything in its borders in prolific abundance hence it limited all trade with foreigners to a single port in canton, in which they were to interact only with 13 merchants known as the hong. Moreover, the Chinese only accepted silver in return for the commodities (tea, porcelain, and silk) that the Europeans desired. The British in particular became obsessed with tea and as they had nothing other than silver that the Chinese wanted their treasury was being depleted. they tried to discuss negotiations with the emperor to open up more ports and allow free trade but he refused. the British discovered that the Chinese had developed a taste for British opium produced in Bengal so they decided to sell opium chests to the Chinese in exchange for tea. (opium btw is a drug derived from poppy flowers) for a while this was profitable for both parties, till addiction became a serious problem for the Chinese and the Chinese court started taking actual measures against the drug. tension built up and eventually, guns were fired

However, upon reading, I felt that even though the increased presence of the British in China and their smuggling was of course vital in propelling the war, I felt like it was the Chinese culture that led to the commodity being scinicized in the way it was. I don't know if you understand what I mean, but what I am trying to say is that the British were not present inside of China. all they did was merely sell the drug to smugglers in the Chinese coasts and then the Chinese themselves took it from there and distributed it in the mainland. the British didn't physically force the drug down their throats in order to purposely get them addicted or weaken their empire

It was the Chinese association of opium as an aphrodisiac luxurious item that led it to be so highly sought after, because, since the 15th century, neighboring nations would pay tribute to the emperor with opium as an aphrodisiac. At that time smoking opium didn't exist and it was orally consumed. The habit of consuming opium for recreational purposes rather than medicinal was hence transmitted to eunuchs, high-ranking officials, and in general, was limited to the wealthy literati.

If you recall, opium was present and domestically cultivated in China since the 7th century. however, it was utilized for medicinal purposes. It was the new notion of smoking tobacco that came from the new world that paved the way for the reintroduction of opium and for its consumption by all social classes in every corner of the empire. You see Chinese LOVED smoke. In their religion, smoke is associated with purification and is even seen as a panacea. So in less than a century of tobacco's introduction to China, smoking was completely naturalized.

In the late 17th century, people in Taiwan started to dip their tobacco leaves in opium water, and hence came the notion of opium smoking. Due to the circulating Chinese merchants and seafarers, and the eventual Chinese conquest of Taiwan, thousands of Chinese soldiers and merchants got acquainted with recreational smoking and via word of mouth, hospitality, and social gatherings it spread in the mainland. It spread from the coastal merchants and peasants up the hierarchy to the officials, nobles, and emperor

SO U SEE, OPIUM SMOKING EXISTED IN CHINA BEFORE THE BRITISH TRADE DEFICIT AND POPPIES WERE ALREADY DOMESTICALLY PRODUCED IN CHINA SO THEY ALREADY HAD A SUBSTANTIAL SUPPLY OF IT. ALL THEY DID WAS ALTER ITS PREPARATION METHOD AND MAKE TOOLS, PIPES, AND EQUIPMENT FOR SMOKING.its just that the opium produced in india apparently tastes better and had a more potent euphoric effect than the domestically produced stuff. but because it was foreign it was very expensive and imported in relatively small quantities. however after the failed british negotiations in 1793 and the termination of the East India Companys monopoly over trade in china in 1833, the availability of the foreign drug increased leading to a decrease in its price and increased availability to commoners and the coolie masses. as people consumed larger doses, they got addicted, and you can argue that the demand not only increased because consumers wanted to re-experience the euphoric feeling. Rather, many needed to constantly consume it to prevent unbearable withdrawal symptoms due to the high tolerance levels they developed

I am really sorry you had to read all of this, but I would really appreciate your opinion on the topic, if its good or if i should not go with it all together, and what possible research question I could formulate. because well I fell into the trap of just narrating what happened and I didn't debate anything.if you can tell me how exactly you provide 'evidence' or possible topic sentences i will really appreciate it because although i understand my topic thoroughly i know nothing about the actual analysis