The highest-ranking prisoner, served by a personal cook, pays more for a day's meal than the prison guards' salary!
Prisoners are often of low status because they are usually put in jail for violating regulations or offending the government.
Of course, some people from unique backgrounds, prominent positions, and special status still received better treatment in prison, such as Zhang Xueliang and Puyi, who were under house arrest by Chiang Kai-shek, a puppet emperor, who was captured by soviet troops at the end of World War II and tried to flee to Japan. Today I want to tell a Confucian story from the Republic of China period.
Zhang Taiyan was born on November 30, 1869, in the seventh year of Tongzhi. He had a good family and received a good education from an early age. Zhang Taiyan was very talented and could read various ancient books when he was young.
Twenty years after Guangxu, the Sino-Japanese War broke out, and China was defeated. Seeing the humiliation of poor and weak China, Zhang Taiyan resolutely stepped out of the study and joined the strong society established by Kang Youwei. Under the guidance of Kang Youwei and others, he became the mainstay of the Restoration School.
However, with the failure of the Qing Restoration Movement, Zhang Taiyan was completely disappointed in the Qing Dynasty. In the thirty-second year of Guangxu, the Chinese League secretly sent someone to take him to Japan. Zhang Taiyan later joined the Chinese League to fight against the Qing Dynasty.
After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Zhang Taiyan lived in Beijing. He was active in the newspapers, wandering between the lines and mercilessly attacking the government of his successor, Yuan Shikai. With Yuan Shikai's various retrograde behaviors, Zhang Taiyan became even more vicious, so Yuan Shikai put him under house arrest in Beijing. He was not released until Yuan Shikai's death in 1916.
Although Zhang Taiyan became a prisoner, he was still treated the highest. Zhang Taiyan is a well-known Confucian in China. Killing him would definitely cause people's anger, so Yuan Shikai did not dare.
Zhang Taiyan's range of motion is not too large, but it is not a small cage. He was imprisoned at The Longquan Temple in Beijing under Yuan Shikai's arrangement, and newspapers were delivered every day. Zhang Taiyan can walk in the courtyard and easily read the newspaper every day.
In order to express his anger, Zhang Taiyan wrote three words "Yuan Shikai" on paper every day, and then beat him hard with a crutch. Although the soldiers yuan shikai arranged to take care of them saw it, they didn't say anything because they had special instructions before.
In Zhang Taiyan's hall, eight-foot-tall rice paper hung high with the word "dying" written on it. This man's arrogance is evident. Yuan Shikai, after inquiring about Zhang Taiyan's situation, was so angry that he wanted to kill him, but he turned his head and wondered why he was arguing with a crazy person. "That crazy man, why should I take it seriously?" Speaking of folk, they callEda Zhang Taiyan "the balance of the Republic of China."
Zhang Taiyan received special hospitality. Although under house arrest, Yuan Shikai would send him 500 yuan a month to let his family go out to buy him daily necessities. For Zhang Taiyan's food, Yuan Shikai's government has a subsidy of two silver dollars for each meal, and is equipped with a special chef to cook for Zhang Taiyan.
At that time, the monthly salary of the prison guards added up to less than 6 silver dollars, which also showed that Yuan Shikai attached great importance to Zhang Taiyan, but Zhang Taiyan insisted on being light.