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Surprisingly, This Was China’s First Cigarette!!
Introduced from Foreign Lands
According to research, tobacco was introduced to China during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty (late 16th century to early 17th century) through four routes:
- Via the Philippines, transferred through Taiwan, then introduced to Fujian and Guangdong, and later spread to central regions like Jiangsu and Hubei from Fujian.
- Starting from the Tianqi period of the Ming Dynasty, it entered Guangdong from Southeast Asia and then spread northward.
- “Invading” from the north—from Japan to Korea, then to the Liaodong Peninsula.
- Introduced to Xinjiang from Russia. This route began slightly later than the first three, around the second half of the 18th century, and flourished in the early 20th century.
When cigarettes were first introduced, they had various names, such as “golden silk tobacco,” “lovesick grass,” and “octagonal grass.”
The First Cigarette Appeared in Shanghai
In 1897 (the 23rd year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign), China’s first cigarette appeared in Shanghai. It was brought by an American named Felik for retail sale, with brands including “Pin Hai” and “Lao Che,” priced at 3 coins per cigarette.
Rise of Domestic Brands
In 1905 (the 31st year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign), Jian Zhaonan, an overseas Chinese in Japan, founded the “Nanyang Tobacco Company” in Hong Kong, producing China’s first cigarette that defeated foreign brands.
With his successful marketing strategy of “Chinese people smoke Chinese cigarettes,” domestic brands such as “Double Happiness” and “Flying Crane” regained the market that had long been dominated by foreign merchants, defeating famous brands of the British-American Tobacco Company like “Three Castles” and “Pall Mall.” This laid the foundation for the future development of China’s tobacco industry.
Early Cigarette Factories
In 1902 (the 28th year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign), the Sino-foreign joint venture “Beiyang Tobacco Company” opened in Tianjin. Subsequently, the “British-American Tobacco Company” from the Duke family, the American tobacco tycoons, also began selling cigarettes in China and searching for suitable places to grow tobacco.编辑分享
将中国第一支香烟的传入路线翻译成英文
用英文详细介绍中国第一支香烟的发展历史
中国第一支香烟是什么牌子？
