In the 19th century, after the Qing Dynasty was forced to open its country, it has been widely criticized by the international community for its harsh punishments and dark prisons. The Qing Dynasty judiciary was in a humble position internationally. In view of the situation at home and abroad, the Qing Dynasty did not have to start reforming prisons, and prison reform was one of the important contents of the New Deal in the late Qing Dynasty.
In 1903, the Qing Dynasty established the Jingshi Model Prison in the Yaojiajing area, south of Caishikou, Xuanwumen, Beijing. Jingshi Prison has been renamed several times. **In the early years, it was renamed Jingshi No. 1 Prison. During the national ** period, it was the first prison in Hebei.
In terms of prison structure, equipment, and organization, the new prison has increased the number of cells, sick cells, sports grounds, and workshops, expanded the types and scope of labor, and improved the living and sanitary conditions of prisoners.
This is the scene in the courtyard of the second prison of the Beijing Division. In the open space in the courtyard is a brick factory, and the made brick embryos are neatly stacked.
In addition to serving their sentences here, the prisoners are also required to engage in labor reform. On the roof of the prison, there is an observation post, and the prison guards keep an eye on the movements of the prisoners.
The overall design of Jingshi Prison is comprehensive and advanced. Designed by Dr. Shijiro Kogawa, the prison is equipped with a training center, a prisoner's workshop, a library, a reading room, a prisoner's interview room, a sports field, a medical room, and a bathroom.
This is the scene in a cell in the second prison of the Jingshi. When it was built, it borrowed the form of a Western prison. On both sides of a corridor, there are many prison cells. The upper part of the corridor has a sloping ceiling and is installed with glass, which has good lighting.
This ** was also taken in the second prison of the Beijing Division. Several inmates are working in a weaving workshop. They sit in front of a traditional loom and work diligently. A total of 5 people have been detained in Jingshi Prison80,000 people, both detained and released, must be signed by the prison director.
If you look closely, you can see that they are still wearing iron chains on their feet. On the back of each person's shirt, their name is written. The expressions on the faces varied.
* In the early days, standing on a high place overlooking the second prison in Beijing. Many of the prison cells are centered on the prison tower, radiating to the surrounding areas, and are divided into men's and women's prisons, which are not small. In the distance, you can see the watchtower on the roof.
This is the spinning workshop located in the second prison of the Beijing Division, and the prisoners are sitting on low stools, busy nervously. On the walls, there are a lot of made ropes. Look closely, each of them has chains on their feet.
A prison guard stands in front of a gate with the words "Jingshi Separate Prison" above the lintel of the gate. Two large and heavy iron doors, with only a small side door open.
In 1994, the Jingshi Prison was demolished, and it has a history of 84 years. In May 1997, Jingshi Prison was reopened to the public.
In the early years, some foreign friends came to the Beijing Division to inspect and visit here. They stood in front of the office building and took a group photo. Judging from **, there are foreigners, there are locals**, and there are also military personnel.
The prisoners in the Beijing Division are working. They sit at the table and make matchboxes by hand. A prison guard dressed in ** stood nearby. Behind him, the shelves were filled with crafted items.
* In the early years, some criminals were allowed to go out of the prison and let off steam. They still have chains on their feet. Judging by the different clothes they wear, there are peasants, peddlers, and intellectuals.
The people who went to the Jingshi sub-prison to inspect came to a gallows located in the prison. A prison guard explains how to use it to people standing in front of a wooden gallows.
Everyone looked solemn and listened attentively. In front of the gallows, visitors recorded the scene with a camera equipped with a tripod.
This is a tailor's workshop located in the Jingshi sub-prison. Several prisoners are sitting on chairs, pedaling on sewing machines to make various clothes. On the table against the wall, there are various fabrics arranged neatly arranged.
A prison guard wearing a ** stood in the workshop, monitoring the criminals' every move.
Facing the photographer's lens, the criminals who were letting off wind in the courtyard of the Beijing Division Sub-prison gathered around curiously**.
In front of the camera, they showed a variety of different expressions. Some of them are older, some are younger.
This is a mill in the Jingshi sub-prison. Several criminals are pushing the stone mill to grind the noodles. They have a clear division of labor, and each person has a different character. If you look closely, you can see that they still have iron chains on their feet.
* In the early years, several criminals in the Jingshi sub-prison were letting off steam. They were imprisoned here for different crimes, serving their sentences and undergoing re-education through labor. Some of them are very young, but their faces are full of uncertainty about their future.
These buildings were also a juvenile prison in Beijing in the early years. The prison cells are also centered on a circular prison tower in the middle, which is distributed radially in all directions. The purpose of the new prison is to rehabilitate people.
On the playground of the juvenile prison, dozens of teenagers are lining up in a neat line, contacting the queue and marching amid the instructor's command. The people who are being held here are troubled teenagers. They are not very old, but they make mistakes for various reasons.
This is the training room located in the juvenile prison. There is a podium in the house, surrounded by a wooden fence. On the wall behind the podium, there are portraits of Confucius, Mencius and other saints.
In normal times, prison guards and instructors will educate teenagers here, learn from celebrities, and reform and establish correct values and outlook on life.
Some of the children in the juvenile prison are busy in a workshop, and they are not very old, some are only seven or eight years old. They are holding wattles in their hands, and they are weaving = baskets and other utensils. Facing the photographer's lens, the children had an innocent smile on their faces.
You must be wondering, what kind of device are these wooden boxes? It turned out that it was a confinement cell located in a juvenile prison.
Juveniles who make mistakes are locked up in these narrow wooden boxes, with only their heads exposed, until they are allowed to be released. Two visitors curiously burrowed into the confinement chamber and experienced what it was like to be confined.
* Period, the prison reform in the late Qing Dynasty was continued, and various new prisons were built. According to statistics, by 1926, there were only 63 new-style prisons in the country, and the rest were still old-style prisons. Most prisons were converted from temples and training grounds, and it was believed that prisoners were suffering inside.
*This prison was an old-style prison at the time. A note with the words "Room One" on the door was attached. It looks very dilapidated and backward, and some people describe it: the earthen room is thorny and dark; Ochre clothes and black clothes, miserable and confined.
This is a prisoner who was serving a sentence in an old-style prison at the time. Their prison quarters are rudimentary and their living conditions are poor. They stood in the yard basking in the sun. They all wore iron chains on their feet. There is no hope for the future life on everyone's face.
The punishment was harsh and the prison was bad, this is the Western view of Qing Dynasty prisons. At the "Hague Peace Conference" held in 1910, the Qing Dynasty was demoted to a third-class country due to poor laws, and the Qing Dynasty also realized that it would be difficult to survive on its own without improving the prison system.
* In the early days, in some remote places, convicts in old-fashioned prisons stood in the courtyard to be examined. They were dressed in different costumes and wore iron chains on their feet.
The new type of prisons piloted by the Qing Dynasty on the model of prisons in capitalist countries made great progress in terms of structure, management, and equipment, and set a precedent for the reform of prisons in China.
In an old-fashioned cell, several criminals sit on the floor. A sturdy wooden fence was added around the room to prevent them from escaping. They had no beds, but mats spread on the floor, which were both chairs and beds.
In the new type of prisons, separate rooms are introduced, and a system of hard labor, education, and education is introduced, so that prisoners can begin to "have vocational training" and can be used to earn a living after being released from prison, opening up a new way for convicts to reform.
* In the early years, some inmates returned to prison in a queue after completing their labor. They still have chains on their feet. Everywhere I went, I was stopped by passers-by.
Closing Remarks:Looking back at the prison reform at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China a hundred years ago, 25 old ** reflect the differences between the old and new prisons. The establishment of new-style prisons has opened up new ways for the rehabilitation of criminals. Every old ** has a story. It is not easy to collect the old **, and it is worth cherishing.