In the Qing Palace film and television drama, there will be such a group of characters, dressed in official clothes, all over the palace, responsible for protecting the safety of the emperor, these people are the Qing Dynasty imperial guards with knives. In ancient and modern China and abroad, the more rich people are, the more worried about their own lives, therefore, it is very normal for dignitaries and nobles to hire bodyguards, as the emperor of the feudal dynasty, it is naturally very normal to have bodyguards to protect their own safety.
Emperor of the Qing Dynasty
However, there is still a question that makes everyone wonder, although the role of the guards is to protect the safety of the emperor, but the so-called forest is big and there are birds, among the many guards, will there be people who guard and steal? These guards, who themselves carried swords and were still close to the emperor, were bound to be very dangerous if they rebelled. So, did the emperor worry that they would be assassinated by his own bodyguards? Since this possibility exists, why can the imperial guards carry a knife? Wouldn't the Emperor be afraid of being assassinated by their imperial bodyguards?
Qing Dynasty bodyguards in imperial uniforms
The reason why the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty did not worry about being assassinated by the imperial guards was mainly for the following reasons. First: The criteria for selecting imperial guards are relatively strict, because there are various restrictions, so ordinary people are not easy to be elected to the position of imperial guards. According to the Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, in the early years of the Qing Dynasty, the imperial guards were selected among the Sons of Manchuria and Mongolia in the Shangsan Banners, and these people first excluded the Han army in the Shangsan Banners, not to mention others who were hostile to the Qing Dynasty.
Therefore, only the requirements of identity and the restrictions of ethnic conditions have excluded some guards with assassination intentions. Only in the late Qing Dynasty, the selection criteria for imperial guards were gradually expanded to the Eight Banners and martial artists regardless of the flags, but for these personnel, their resumes were required to be innocent, and naturally the possibility of assassinating the emperor was fundamentally limited.
Guard waist card
Second: The status of the imperial guards is already very high, and the future is also very promising. The Imperial Guard was a presence that consolidated imperial power and provided a shortcut for the children of Manchurian aristocratic bureaucrats to enter the imperial ranks. If the children of the Manchurian magnates wanted to enter the army, they did not need to obtain meritorious names through ten years of hard study, and the system of bodyguards implemented by the Manchu Qing was the political privilege implemented by these Manchurian children. For example, Qianlong's favorite ministers Fu Heng and Fu Ankang's father and son all embarked on their careers through the position of imperial bodyguard, they were the most favored first-class sword-bearing guards around the emperor, and later they were quite favored and trusted by the emperor, and made great contributions to the Manchu Qing.
The bodyguards around Qianlong when he hunted
It can be seen from this that the position of imperial guard was extremely attractive to the Manchurian magnates, because it could maintain the imperial power while allowing the Manchurian magnates to inherit the bureaucratic political privileges for generations. Under such specific political conditions, the selected imperial guards must be people who serve the Manchu Qing royal family wholeheartedly. In this way, the chances of the imperial guards who want to assassinate the emperor will be greatly reduced.
Late Qing guards
Third: Even the imperial sword guards selected from among the martial artists must pass strict inspections before they can enter the company. One is to ensure the safety of the emperor, and the other is to prepare for the storage of military talents. According to historical records, there were indeed "Han guards" among the guards with swords in front of the imperial court, and these people were basically from the martial arts. They were uniformly selected by the emperor, and after a series of training and inspections, they were eligible to serve as bodyguards at the emperor's side. In addition to the innocent family lineage, there will be special observations and understandings of the appearance, temperament, characteristics, and talents of the former guards.
Because the imperial guards were not only responsible for the emperor's safety, they were also a private unit of the emperor, for example, in the early years of the Qing Dynasty, the emperor Taiji led his imperial guards to conquer Jinzhou City. It can be seen from this that the imperial guards who can participate in military battles must be the emperor's confidants and deeply trusted by the emperor. So how could such a person assassinate the emperor?