Outline of the History of Chinese Prisons

Author: Guo Ming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: Within the existing legal knowledge system in China, the study of penology has not received the attention it deserves. As for the history of penology, it is even less discussed. This book covers nearly all the available materials on Chinese penology since the late Qing Dynasty. From this book, it can be seen that Professor Guo Ming's research on the history of penology is at the forefront in China. — Professor Chen Xingliang, Peking University Law School
In the scope of law I have encountered in China, the study of the history of penology remains a blank area. The author has conducted a textually constructive study and writing on the little-known state of penology under the integration of Chinese and Western culture and law. It provides an invaluable window for Chinese legal scholars to observe history. — Professor Liu Zuoxiang, Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Dr. Guo Ming has courageously and enthusiastically collected as much material as possible, using modern theories and analytical frameworks to outline the tortuous process of the transformation and development of Chinese penology since the late Qing Dynasty. This is an effort to fill a gap in the field. — Professor Zhang Zhongqiu, Law School, China University of Political Science and Law
China's modern penology was introduced from Japan in the late Qing Dynasty, coinciding with the process of Western legal concepts spreading eastward. As an important part of the reform movement of the legal system in modern China, the improvement of the prison system could not directly draw on effective knowledge resources from ancient Chinese legal traditions to meet the needs of reform. Therefore, the adoption and transplantation of Western penology became a reasonable path for the emergence of modern Chinese penology. In terms of the external influences on Chinese academia over the past century since the late Qing Dynasty, it is perhaps roughly correct to say that Chinese penology has gone through three different stages: "learning from Japan," "learning from the Soviet Union," and "learning from the United States." This process reflects the shared intellectual fate of Chinese social sciences in the 20th century and has accumulated different academic experiences and lessons. As far as I know, to date, although there have been some systematic research achievements in the field of legal history studies on "the history of Chinese prison systems," there are still no specialized works focusing on the overall research object of "the history of Chinese penological scholarship."