Philip F. Williams is Professor and Head, School of Language Studies, Massey University, New Zealand. His previous books include Village Echoes: The Fiction of Wu Zuxiang (1993). Yenna Wu is Professor of Chinese and Director of the Asian Languages and Civilizations Program at the University of California at Riverside and author of The Chinese Virago: A Literary Theme (1995), Ameliorative Satire (1999), among other books.

• List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Cultural Foundations of China's Prison Camp System 2. The Development of the Chinese Communist Prison Camp 3. The PRC Prison Camp (I): From Arrest of Forced Labor 4. The PRC Prison Camp (II): From Struggle Sessoins to Release or Death 5. Prison Writings Conclusion Bibliography Chinese Character Glossary Index

"The authors look at every facet of China's prison camp system, place it within China's historical tradition, and compare it with modern analogs. Throughout, literary and autobiographical sources give the 'feel' for the deadening world of the camps." - Perry Link, author of The Uses of Literature"