During the 1800s, Europeans attributed medicinal qualities to green tea because of the reduction of cholera and such in tea drinkers. In actuality, it was primarily the boiling of the water to brew the tea that killed water borne pathogens which was tea drinkers’ greatest benefactor. This dynamic helped create a great demand for tea, which the Chinese were only too happy to supply. However, China would only accept silver. When the Europeans could no longer provide the required silver, trouble with the British ensued (Opium Wars) with China being forced to accept opium as payment for the tea and to surrender Hong Kong to the British. This was followed by other European and American imperialistic ventures (Boxer Rebellion, etcetera) which then led to Japanese imperialism, hence WWII, etcetera.
As the story of the Pacific Rim saga continues to unfold, China is seemingly returning the favor(s). Thus, I deem it appropriate that my retelling of this story both begins and ends with microbiology (I.e., first, cholera and then later, corona family viruses).
So, if we choose to call COVID-19 the Chinese flu, then we need to at least take responsibility for our ‘group karma’.
Search: ‘China history opium wars imperialism’
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