Chinese Opium Smokers

Title
Chinese Opium Smokers
Year/Period
Early 20th century
Region
Singapore
Dimension
Image size: 8.9 x 13.8 cm
Accession No.
2000-03159

The two Chinese men lying on the bed are smoking opium, while those seated are smoking water pipes. In 19th-century China, opium smoking was accepted as a social grace throughout society. To both the elite and the poor, offering a guest an opium pipe was likened to serving tea. With the wave of Chinese migration to the Straits Settlements during the 19th century, the practice of opium smoking was also brought to Singapore.