Shanghai The Tilanqiao West Prison And Prison Improvements, The Late Qing Dynasty

Since the year of 1843,Shanghai has become an international trading port from a small town,then formed parts:Chinese City,International Settlement and French Concession,where also existed three sets of comparatively independent justice and prison institutions.This thesis will focus on how the public change their impressions about the location of locking up prisoners with Chinese nationality in International Settlement:Shanghai Municipal Gaol,as well as the improved status of prisons in Chinese City.In the 19^th Century,the gentry went abroad on a tour of investigation and some of them introduced the establishment of western prisons and management regulations with their praises.However,when the western prisons presented in China,Chinese people felt terrified and nervous at the very start.The uneasiness was caused by the differences of Chinese and western customs and the barriers of language.During the suspicion,in order to contest women prisoners,an obverse conflict happened by both sides,which was brought in a huge backwash in society during that time,even strikes were aroused and astounded the whole country.The Chinese government strived for its own benefits during the process of negotiation,and self-reflected the broken status in quo of the Chinese prisons and finally took back the power of detaining women prisoners because of this case,and also produced the idea of constructing a western style of prison which would completely control by Chinese people.After the drastic collision,there was a course of amicable settlement.Shanghai Municipal Council invited the reporter of 'Shen Bao' and the official of Mixed Court to visit Shanghai Municipal Gaol;meanwhile,sent some persons to inspect the place of Mixed Court and both parties understood each other by the manner of peace.Basically,the year of 1906 could be seen as a division,the western prison had been published frontally by some newspapers,which was a public voice preparation for the full-scale imitation of western prison in shanghai.Government of Qing Dynasty had pushed New Deal in the early of the 20^th Century,judiciary had been reformed in the process of 'prearrangement of constitutionalism',and prisons had also been aroused an extraordinary attention around the whole country.To improve the old prison,the government of Qing and local officers dispatched students to Japan continuously and assessed the system of prisons in Japan.These students played a significant function when they were back to China.The prisons in Shanghai had also lunched into the improvement.Because of the special geographical location,an almost certain reform would take place.In 1907, the Ministry of Law in the government of Qing,Zhaopan Han,inspected the prisons in Shanghai.The differences between Chinese and western prisons were considerable. Shortly soon,the improvement of prisons was commenced in Shanghai,which was completely imitated the western system,the reform of prisons had been basically fulfilled when the government of Qing fell.The reform of Shanghai prison at the end of Qing was a silhouette of the movement of the prison improvement in the whole country,from which the reasons, processes and results of the reform of prisons could be seen clearly.Shanghai was located in such special place,so these experiences had more significant meanings.