From Buddhist Temple to Notorious Prison

The story of Gongdelin begins in the Jin Dynasty (1115–1234) as a Buddhist temple in Beijing’s Deshengmen district. By the Qing Dynasty, it had transformed into a charitable porridge kitchen before taking on a darker role in 1905 as a “reform through labor” facility. Under the Republic of China, progressive thinker Liang Qichao allocated 80,000 yuan to expand it into a modern prison.

During Chiang Kai-shek’s rule, Gongdelin became the “Hebei Second Prison,” infamous for incarcerating and executing Communist revolutionaries. After Beijing’s peaceful liberation in 1949, the People’s Republic repurposed it to detain high-ranking Nationalist officers—creating what one prisoner wryly called “an exclusive club where you needed qualifications to enter.”

The Arrival of China’s Former Ruling Class

By January 1956, nearly 200 Nationalist elites filled Gongdelin’s cells, including:
– Wang Yaowu (Shandong Governor)
– Fan Hanjie (Deputy Commander, Northeast Bandit Suppression HQ)
– Liao Yaoxiang (9th Corps Commander)
– Xu Yuanju (Southwest Zone Chief of Secret Police)

Initial terror gripped the prisoners. Many believed they faced mass executions, especially during the 1951 “Suppress Counterrevolutionaries” campaign. Yet Communist leadership issued explicit orders: “Not a single one shall be executed.” Instead, they implemented a rehabilitation program with unprecedented freedoms—electing inmate committees, receiving family visits, and addressing each other as “classmates.”

The Psychology of Defeat: Three Revealing Cases

### Wen Qiang: The Defiant Scholar
The great-grandson of national hero Wen Tianxiang, Wen boasted extraordinary connections:
– Cousin to Mao Zedong (through Mao’s mother)
– Classmate of Lin Biao at Whampoa Military Academy
– Former Communist Party official before defecting to the Nationalists

When ordered to write a repentance letter, he retorted: “If Mao and Zhou Enlai couldn’t guide me right, why should I repent?” Yet this hardliner surprised guards by drafting prison rules and excelling in labor tasks. His poem after witnessing the 1959 National Day parade revealed shifting loyalties: “The tides of history leave no room for error / Joyful news races past my ears like drunken melodies.”

### Du Yuming: From Suicide Attempt to Gratitude
The Whampoa graduate and mechanized warfare expert hid 60 sleeping pills in his clothes, convinced he’d be executed. His transformation began when prison doctors:
– Diagnosed four chronic diseases
– Custom-built a plaster bed for his spinal tuberculosis
– Provided scarce penicillin (then embargoed by the West)

The Korean War became his epiphany. Having trained with U.S. forces, Du initially dismissed the PLA’s chances against America. The armistice shocked him into admitting: “Under Communist leadership, China has truly stood up.”

### Huang Wei: The Stubborn Scientist
The last Nationalist commander captured in the Huaihai Campaign (1948) refused cooperation, even sparking a fistfight over a sarcastic poem. Yet when treated for five concurrent tuberculosis infections—with medicines smuggled from Hong Kong—his defiance softened. Visiting construction projects like the Wuhan Yangtze Bridge, he privately acknowledged Communist achievements while obsessively designing perpetual motion machines (dismissed by the Academy of Sciences).

Life Behind Bars: Unexpected Humanity

Gongdelin’s routines humanized former adversaries:
– Comedic Struggles: Sichuan warlord Wang Lingji didn’t know how to squeeze toothpaste or shave without cutting himself (Du Yuming became his barber).
– Academic Pursuits: Fan Hanjie studied advanced mathematics hoping to teach; Huang Wei drafted perpetual motion blueprints.
– “Pork Campaign”: Eight generals once chased a runaway pig—mockingly dubbed “the Nationalists’ only successful encirclement battle.”

Not all interactions were gentle. When secret police chief Xu Yuanju (architect of Chongqing’s executions) demanded “freedom to come and go,” guards snapped: “Did you give our comrades in Baigongguan such liberties?”

The Road to Redemption: Phased Amnesty

The 1959–1975 amnesties unfolded in stages:

### First Wave (1959)
10 Gongdelin prisoners gained freedom, including Du Yuming and “Model Prisoner” Wang Yaowu. The carefully staged ceremony—held at the Great Hall of the People—signaled rehabilitation over retribution.

### Cultural Revolution Interruption (1966–1975)
Paradoxically, remaining prisoners felt safer inside as released peers faced Red Guard persecution. Some like Shen Zui voluntarily returned to custody.

### Final Release (1975)
Mao’s order—”Forced reeducation isn’t good”—freed the last 293 war criminals. Huang Wei wept uncontrollably; Wen Qiang penned repentant poetry. Most received political appointments, with Du becoming a National People’s Congress delegate.

Legacy: Reconciliation’s Quiet Triumph

In 1985, 82-year-old Huang Wei revisited his prison cell, now a museum. His planned Taiwan reunion tour—intended to bridge civil war divides—was thwarted only by a fatal heart attack. His final letter captured Gongdelin’s ultimate lesson:

“All hearts yearn for reunification. When unity comes, I shall toast with you in Taiwan.”

The prison’s story endures as China’s most extraordinary experiment in converting enemies into citizens—not through force, but through healthcare, education, and time. Today, its octagonal watchtower still stands near Beijing’s Fourth Ring Road, a silent witness to history’s capacity for unexpected mercy.