Two coins with the image of Tang Jiyao (唐继尧) adorn this silver opium box. General Tang (1883 – 1927) was a warlord during the Warlord Era of Republican China. When Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself as the emperor of China (See Quick Find 0818) in December 1915, Tang announced the independence of Yunnan province where he was Military Governor. He then fought successfully against the army of Yuan Shikai during the ‘National Protection War’. Tang started an opium trafficking scheme in Yunnan where large amounts of opium were produced from poppy plants. He transported opium via Indochina to China and became a very wealthy man. Six days after the death of Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of the Republic of China in 1925, Tang claimed to be Sun's successor and head of the Kuomintang but the party flatly rejected his claims. As a reaction he started invading Guangdong and Guangxi province but was defeated. Tang's claim to military leadership was most probably a pretext and he only seems to have been interested in the opium routes through Guangxi province. He died in 1927 in Kunming one month after he was ousted in a military coup which made him lose all of his power in Yunnan. The coins at the ends of this box were struck between 1907 and 1918 so we assume that this opium box which was once owned by a supporter of Yuan, was made around 1915. It weighs a hefty 63 grams. Height 4.3 cm. Diameter coin 3.4 cm. Diameter box 3.0 cm. Scratch on lid.