Jiabiangou
Encyclopedia
Jiabiangou Labor Camp is a former farm labor camp (laogai)
located in the area under the administration of Jiuquan
City in the northwestern desert region of Gansu
Province. The camp was in use during the Anti-Rightist Movement
in the years from 1957 to 1961. During its operation, it held approximately 3,000 political prisoners, of whom about 2,500 died at Jiabianguo, mostly of starvation.
Jiabiangou was a camp for "re-education through labor" that was used to
imprison intellectuals and former government officials that were declared to be "rightist" in the Anti-Rightist Movement
of the
Communist Party
. Some inmates were sent to Jiabiangou on the grounds that they had relatives who had owned a business or held a position in the Kuomintang
government. Originally designed as a prison to hold 40 to 50 criminals, the camp was overcrowded with 3,000 political prisoners. The camp is located 27 kilometres (16.8 mi) to the northeast of Jiuquan City, on the edge of the Badain Jaran Desert
. As a consequence, agriculture in the camp area was limited to small patches of grassland in an oasis surrounded by salt marshes and desert. Yet, no external food supplies were offered to the prisoners. The result was a famine that started in the fall of 1960. In order to survive, prisoners ate leaves, tree barks, worms and rats, human and animal waste, and flesh from dead inmates. The bodies of the dead were left unburied on the sand dunes surrounding the camp as the surviving prisoners were too weak to bury them. The starvation at Jiabianguo took place during the Great Leap Forward
(1958-1961) and the Great Chinese Famine (1959-1962), which is estimated to have caused many millions of excess deaths .
In December 1960, senior officials of the Communist Party learned of the situation in the camp and launched an investigation. As a result, amnesties were issued to the survivors and the camp's remaining population evacuated early in 1961. In October 1961, the government ordered the closure of Jiabiangou as well as a cover up. Authorities in Gansu assigned a doctor to the fabrication of medical records for every dead inmate stating various natural causes of death, but never mentioning starvation.
Partially fictionalized accounts of firsthand recollections from 13 survivors of the camp have been presented in the book Woman from Shanghai: Tales of Survival From a Chinese Labor Camp by Xianhui Yang (originally published as "Farewell to Jiabiangou", , translated into English by Wen Huang with support from a 2007 grant from the PEN
Translation Fund). The book was adapted into Wang Bing
's 2010 film
The Ditch
. Another account based on interviews with survivors is given in The Tragedy at Jiabiangou by Xu Zhao (2008), Laogai Research Foundation Publications .
Laogai
Laogai , the abbreviation for Láodòng Gǎizào , which means "reform through labor," is a slogan of the Chinese criminal justice system and has been used to refer to the use of prison labor and prison farms in the People's Republic of China . It is estimated that in the last fifty years more than...
located in the area under the administration of Jiuquan
Jiuquan
- Suzhou town :The administrative center of the "prefecture-level city" of Jiuquan is the "District" of Suzhou , which occupies 3,386 square km in the eastern part of Jiuquan "prefecture-level city", and had a population of 340,000 as of 2002....
City in the northwestern desert region of Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
Province. The camp was in use during the Anti-Rightist Movement
Anti-Rightist Movement
The Anti-Rightist Movement of the People's Republic of China in the 1950s and early 1960s consisted of a series of campaigns to purge alleged "rightists" within the Communist Party of China and abroad...
in the years from 1957 to 1961. During its operation, it held approximately 3,000 political prisoners, of whom about 2,500 died at Jiabianguo, mostly of starvation.
Jiabiangou was a camp for "re-education through labor" that was used to
imprison intellectuals and former government officials that were declared to be "rightist" in the Anti-Rightist Movement
Anti-Rightist Movement
The Anti-Rightist Movement of the People's Republic of China in the 1950s and early 1960s consisted of a series of campaigns to purge alleged "rightists" within the Communist Party of China and abroad...
of the
Communist Party
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
. Some inmates were sent to Jiabiangou on the grounds that they had relatives who had owned a business or held a position in the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
government. Originally designed as a prison to hold 40 to 50 criminals, the camp was overcrowded with 3,000 political prisoners. The camp is located 27 kilometres (16.8 mi) to the northeast of Jiuquan City, on the edge of the Badain Jaran Desert
Badain Jaran Desert
The Badain Jaran Desert is a desert in China which spans the provinces of Gansu, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia. It covers an area of 49,000 sq. kilometers ....
. As a consequence, agriculture in the camp area was limited to small patches of grassland in an oasis surrounded by salt marshes and desert. Yet, no external food supplies were offered to the prisoners. The result was a famine that started in the fall of 1960. In order to survive, prisoners ate leaves, tree barks, worms and rats, human and animal waste, and flesh from dead inmates. The bodies of the dead were left unburied on the sand dunes surrounding the camp as the surviving prisoners were too weak to bury them. The starvation at Jiabianguo took place during the Great Leap Forward
Great Leap Forward
The Great Leap Forward of the People's Republic of China was an economic and social campaign of the Communist Party of China , reflected in planning decisions from 1958 to 1961, which aimed to use China's vast population to rapidly transform the country from an agrarian economy into a modern...
(1958-1961) and the Great Chinese Famine (1959-1962), which is estimated to have caused many millions of excess deaths .
In December 1960, senior officials of the Communist Party learned of the situation in the camp and launched an investigation. As a result, amnesties were issued to the survivors and the camp's remaining population evacuated early in 1961. In October 1961, the government ordered the closure of Jiabiangou as well as a cover up. Authorities in Gansu assigned a doctor to the fabrication of medical records for every dead inmate stating various natural causes of death, but never mentioning starvation.
Partially fictionalized accounts of firsthand recollections from 13 survivors of the camp have been presented in the book Woman from Shanghai: Tales of Survival From a Chinese Labor Camp by Xianhui Yang (originally published as "Farewell to Jiabiangou", , translated into English by Wen Huang with support from a 2007 grant from the PEN
International PEN
PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
Translation Fund). The book was adapted into Wang Bing
Wang Bing (director)
Wang Bing is a Chinese director, often referred to as one of the foremost figures in documentary film-making. Wang is the founder of his own production company, Wang Bing Studios, which produces most of his films...
's 2010 film
2010 in film
The year 2010 saw many new films released worldwide. 2010 saw a dramatic increase and prominence in the use of 3D-technology in filmmaking and film releases after the success of Avatar in the format, with releases such as Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, Jackass 3D, all animated films and...
The Ditch
The Ditch
The Ditch, also known as Goodbye Jiabiangou is a 2010 fiction film produced and directed by Wang Bing, an independent Chinese filmmaker better known for his work on documentaries...
. Another account based on interviews with survivors is given in The Tragedy at Jiabiangou by Xu Zhao (2008), Laogai Research Foundation Publications .