Nose pipe

Author: Li Jiufang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-12-01
Features: The habit of inhaling snuff originated from the Native Americans in America. They added prepared tobacco leaves to flowers and other plants, grinding them into powder for inhalation, which was said to relieve fatigue, cure headaches, and treat colds. In the early 16th century, after Columbus's second voyage to the American continent, he spread the techniques of tobacco cultivation and snuff production to Europe. Subsequently, the habit of inhaling snuff gradually spread in Europe and was highly favored by the nobility.
According to historical records and the analysis of physical artifacts, the earliest appearance of snuff and snuffboxes in China should be during the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1662–1722). The book Xiangzu Biji, written in the 44th year of Kangxi's reign (1705), records: "Recently, in the capital, there has been the production of snuff, which is said to improve eyesight and has the effect of preventing epidemics. It is stored in glass bottles, with various shapes and colors, including red, purple, yellow, white, black, and green. The white ones are like crystal, the red ones like fire rain, and they are extremely beautiful to play with. A spoon is used to inhale it through the nose and then returned to the bottle. They are all manufactured by the imperial court, and the common people have also imitated them, but they are ultimately inferior." The author of this book, Wang Shizhen, was a minister during the Kangxi era and had a deep understanding of the imperial court. The specific details he recorded should be reliable.
Additionally, according to relevant records, in the 23rd year of Kangxi's reign (1684), the emperor made his first southern tour and met the Western missionaries Bi Jia and Wang Ruwang in Jiangning (now Nanjing). The two presented valuable gifts brought from the West to Emperor Kangxi, including snuff. This indicates that snuff was introduced to China during the Kangxi era with the arrival of Western missionaries and first became popular among the imperial family and nobility. It was not until the 18th century that it spread to the general public.