In recent years, TV dramas about the Ming Dynasty have emerged one after another, giving us a glimpse of the style of this era. Among the many institutions, the three major punishments of the Ming Dynasty are particularly eye-catching, and today I will take you to find out.
The first to bear the brunt is the famous brocade guard.
In the fifteenth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang, Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, established this institution. Jinyiwei can be described as a spy organization in the Ming Dynasty, and its function is quite similar to that of modern intelligence agencies such as the KGB and the CIA. It served the emperor directly and had great responsibilities. On the one hand, the Jinyi Guard was responsible for the imperial court's janissaries and the imperial court's honor guard, and on the other hand, it was the emperor's eyes and ears, responsible for monitoring the ministers and arresting courtiers who committed crimes. For this reason, Jinyiwei set up a prison to calm down the prison, which is what we usually call the edict prison. The punishment was particularly cruel and frightening.
When the people in the capital heard the names of Jinyiwei and Zhenfu Prison, they were all terrified. In the eyes of the officials of the capital, this place is synonymous with blood and cruelty. Even if there is an urgent matter, they will try to avoid this place. At that time, if there was no emperor's holy decree, the Criminal Department would not dare to enter the Zhenfu Prison without authorization to arrest people.
The backyard of the Zhenfu Division is the well-guarded edict of the famous Jingshi Division. When the officials led the prisoners into the prison, they had to go through three turns and nine turns until they came to a very hidden courtyard. There are many guards here, which are specially used to detain special people such as nobles, relatives, princes and ministers, who commit crimes. Important ministers such as Yu Qian, the secretary of the Ministry of War, and Xia Yan, the first assistant, will be imprisoned here once they commit a crime.
The second is the East Factory.
The East Factory was set up by Zhu Di, the king of Yan. Initially, Dongchang and Jinyiwei had a clear division of responsibilities: Dongchang was responsible for detecting and arresting people, while Jinyiwei was responsible for interrogating prisoners. However, over time, Dongchang gradually developed its own prison and gained the power to be heard.
The prefects of the East Factory were known as the Eunuchs of the East Factory Palm Seal and the Governor of the Factory, and they had great power, second only to the eunuchs who were the eunuchs of the Celebrant Seal Seal. In addition, there are also thousands of households, hundreds of households, foremen, and other positions in the East Factory, and the chief and the officer who are responsible for specific investigation affairs are the chief and the officer. Since the establishment of the East Factory in the eighteenth year of Yongle, it has accompanied the Ming Dynasty for more than 200 years together with Jinyiwei.
The last thing to mention is the prison of the Criminal Department.
According to historical records, the Criminal Department is located on the west side of the Imperial City, and is placed alongside the Metropolitan Procuratorate and Dali Temple, which together constitute the Three Law Divisions. The Criminal Department is mainly responsible for hearing cases of ordinary people, and most of the cases of rape and murder of bandits in the capital are handled by the Criminal Department. However, although most of the prisoners in the prison are civilians, the methods of punishment are equally cruel and chilling.
In general, these three major punishments in the Ming Dynasty, whether it was the edict of Jinyiwei, the prison of Dongchang, or the prison of the Criminal Department, were all famous for their cruel punishment methods. They were not only an important part of the judicial system of the Ming Dynasty, but also a microcosm of the social landscape of that era.