The guard system has a very long history in the mainland, and it has a variety of titles such as Langzhong, cowardice, and Jinyi captain in the past dynasties, and is the close attendant of the monarch, and the guard system reflects the different political characteristics of each dynasty. As the last dynasty established by ethnic minorities on the mainland, the Qing Dynasty highlighted the historical traditions of its own nation while drawing on the system of the previous dynasties, and gradually formed a complete and distinct political system, which played a pivotal role in the political life of the Qing generation. Let's talk about the guard system of the Qing Dynasty.
发轫于入关前
The emergence of the guard system in the Qing Dynasty can be traced back to before the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, as early as the beginning of Nurhachi's army, he had already relied on his family, brothers, nephews and nephews of the attached tribes, and tribal warriors to establish his own pro-army to fight with him in the north and south. Subsequently, with the expansion of the number of guards, there were also guard generals, such as Eyidu and Huerhan among the five ministers. After Hulhan's death, Nurhachi was so grieved that he "came to mourn and weep in person."
With the advancement of time, the guard system of the Qing court was gradually standardized, and Emperor Taiji of the Qing Dynasty began to make clear regulations on the number, source, and rank of the guards, the so-called "forty members of the guards, who were exempted from service at the time of Taizu, or the son of an uncle and brother, or the son of a Mongolian beyler, or the son of an official, or the son of my coat", and these guards were almost all selected from the two yellow flags. According to the "Manchu Archives of the Inner Academy of History in the Early Qing Dynasty", there was already a clear difference in the rank of the guards in this period.
The Records of Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty records the number and source of guards during the Huang Taiji period
Translation and Compilation of Manchu Archives of the Chinese Academy of History in the Early Qing Dynasty
侍卫制度的定型、侍卫处侍卫的待遇以及职掌
The guard system of the Qing Dynasty had begun to take shape before it entered the customs. With the entry of the Qing court, its system construction was further standardized, the ruling institutions were adjusted, the civil and military officials were determined, and the guard system was basically finalized in the Shun and Kang years, and a special agency was established, that is, the "Guard Office", and then there was only fine-tuning, because this institution was closely responsible for the safety of the emperor, and the political component pursued absolute reliability, and its personnel were almost only selected from the three banners, "At the beginning of the country, the eight banners were pacified in the sea, and the three flags of yellow, yellow, and white were all the army of the Son of Heaven. Use the guards to prepare the guards, and regard the duties of the ancient feather forest, the tiger ben, and the brigade ben".
"Listening to the Rain"
The full name of the "Guard Office" is the "Guarding Minister's Office", and the rank of the Minister of the Guard is grand, and it is a military position of the first grade, with 6 people, and 2 people are selected from each of the three flags of inlaid yellow, positive yellow, and positive white. There are also 6 ministers of the interior, who are also military positions, responsible for the military and political affairs of the commander-in-chief and the pro-army, "the government order of the three banners and the pro-army". Judging from the records of the "Great Qing Huidian" of the Jiaqing Dynasty, it is mainly handled to select guards from the three banners; the formation of a pro-army of guards; training pro-army martial arts, battle formations, and cavalry archery; Obey the Holy Driver; Guards are punished for lifting and elevating; out of the patrol escort; Imperial court etiquette and other matters. Under the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of the Interior, there are a number of ministers of the rank of the first rank to assist in handling affairs, and the ministers of the Interior of the Guard, the Minister of the Interior, and the Minister of the Interior of the Guard, and the Minister of the Interior are "all filled with the princes of Shiyin and the sons of the princes".
Led the Guard and the Minister of the Interior
The core personnel of its guards are mainly composed of Manchu and Mongolian children of the Three Banners, "select the capable people of the Manchurian and Mongolian children of the Three Banners as the guards", and the establishment of 60 first-class guards (Zheng Sanpin), 150 second-class guards (Zheng Sipin), 270 third-class guards (Zheng Wupin), 4-class guards (not listed, and no fixed number), and 90 Lanling guards (Zheng Liupin), these Shangsanqi guards are the core part of the guards. With the passage of time and the expansion of the ruling base of the Qing Dynasty, there were also additional clan guards, Han guards, foreign domain guards, Fanzi guards, Huizi guards, etc., all of which did not have a certain number of posts except for the clan guards, and did not occupy the establishment of guards, which will be discussed below. For every 10 people, there is 1 person.
The Eight Banners of the King James
From the perspective of the categories of guards, they are divided into imperial guards, Qianqingmen guards, and three banner guards. "On the other day, the servants of the forbidden court tended to leave, and they were called the imperial guards. A little later, he said that he was a guard at the door. Those who stay at the palace gate are collectively called the Three Banner Guards". These three kinds of guards have a higher status of the imperial guards and the Qianqingmen guards, and are personally selected by the emperor, and there is no quota of personnel, which is equivalent to the emperor's senior attendants. During the Kangxi period, the imperial ministers were set up, with "the ministers of the princes and relatives as the ministers, and the position was extremely respected", commanding the imperial guards and the Qianqingmen guards to be responsible for the emperor's security work, and their status was obviously higher than that of the ministers of the guards. The minister of the guard is only responsible for the palace gate guard and the patrol guard, so the three banner guards are also called the gate guards.
In general, the Minister of the Interior of the Guard is in charge of commanding the guards and the pro-army, and with the assistance of the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Scattered Rank, they perform the duties of the guards, and the six ministers of the Interior of the Guards are divided into six shifts, leading the guards of each class to take turns on duty, and are divided into inner and outer classes according to the location of the rotating portal. Inner shift: 2 guard foremen, 2 office foremen, 30 guards on duty to clean the door; Outer shift: 1 minister of scattered ranks, 10 guards and pro-army guards on duty in the middle and hall; There are 3 guards and 30 guards on duty in the Taihe Palace.
Inner and outer guards
The former minister of the imperial court led the imperial guards and the guards of the Qianqing Gate to be responsible for the internal court attendants, inspecting the entry and exit of officials, leading the recommended officials into the palace, and traveling with the emperor. It should be noted here that although the guards of Qianqingmen have the word "Qianqingmen", they are not specifically guarding Qianqingmen (this matter is done by the guards of the Three Banners), but obeying orders under the eaves of the palace where the emperor is located. The basic tasks of the guards are relatively heavy, including the deacons on errands in the court, listening to the political servants at the imperial gate, sending and receiving the folds, being sent and being sent with the encirclement, the big parade guards, the messenger sacrifices, and the police escorting and so on.
In addition, the guard office also set up an "assistant affairs guard leader" in the guard stall, with a total of 12 people, 4 people for each flag; 1 principal; 3 acting directors; 12 people in the pen and post style; 15 people signed the pen post, "palm chapter and text transfer".
Jiaqing Dynasty "Great Qing Huidian"
From the point of view of treatment, the guards are issued according to their grades, the so-called "Eight Banners military officials from the first to the ninth grade of silver are the same as the civilian officials, but the support is right", and the first class guards of the third grade are 130 taels of silver and 65 stones; The fourth-grade second-class guard is 105 taels of silver, 52.5 stones, the fifth-grade third-class guard is 80 taels of silver, 40 stones, the sixth-grade Lanling guard is 60 taels of silver, 30 stones, and the fourth-class guard is not listed in the ranks, and the fourth-class guard is not listed as a silver 70 taels of silver, and there is no rice.
In Beijing, the civil and military officials are Yu Lu
Of course, it is not enough to maintain daily expenses. So in the Qianlong period, he started to raise his military integrity, and for those high-ranking officials in the Guard's Mansion, their lives were greatly improved, such as the Minister's Pension reached 900 taels; The Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Scattered Rank are 400 taels.
Although there is no clear standard for guards at all levels, the Qing court also gave certain subsidies, and the higher the level of guards, the more generous the subsidies. For example, the imperial guards and the Qianqingmen guards are the emperor's senior attendants, and compared with the guards of the Three Banners, the treatment is indeed outrageously high. And the subsidy of the Three Banners guards is relatively pitiful, "The guards of the Three Banners will give two taels of silver per flag day." The guards on the outside shift each were given five dollars for food. The guards are on duty, and everyone is given food and silver." In addition to fixed salaries and subsidies of the nature of maintenance, there are also various types of rewards, which will not be mentioned one by one, and everyone will look at the following chart for themselves.
The Qing court gave the guards a pension, preferential allowance and subsidies
侍卫的任用原则和前途
In terms of the source and selection of guards, the Qing court has extremely strict norms and certain principles, the most important thing is to highlight the two principles of "first worship of Manchuria" and "grace and honor", after all, this is the pillar of the Qing court to maintain the rule, the selected guards should not only highlight the word "can" (such as archery, horse riding and archery, etc.), the origin is also quite good, especially the imperial guards, selected by the emperor himself, "mostly to princes, sons, relatives, ministers." And the status of the guards of the Qianqing Gate is also quite grand, "standing in the eaves, and the arch is forward, all in and out of Chengming, in order to show closeness." Generally speaking, the imperial guards are promoted from the guards of the Qianqing Gate, and these two kinds of guards are generally mostly served by the sons and daughters of the nobles who are on the three banners and full of eight banners. Typical families such as Guerjia Fei Yingdong and Niu Colu Eyidu are really guards, and there are not a few people who are from guards to high-ranking officials, such as Guerjia Aobai and Niu Colu Kubilong are typical cases.
"Lang Qian's First Writing"
In order to get closer to the noble and high-ranking officials, it is simply a routine operation to let their children become guards. For example, in the four years of Shunzhi, in view of the fact that "the governors, governors, and general soldiers above the three grades in Beijing and abroad are all national propaganda forces", "no matter the old or the new, each is allowed to send a parent and son to the court guard", such examples are numerous in the Qing Dynasty, and it is also a means of grace to the meritorious heroes, such as during the Qianlong period, the minister of the guard, Niu Colu Aligon, handled the military affairs of Junggar excellently, and his son Feng Sheng's forehead was personally selected by Qianlong as the Lanling guard.
"Records of Qing Shizu"
In the guards also retained the establishment of the "clan guards", which was set up to solve the difficulties of the children of the clan, according to the "Xiaoting Miscellaneous Records" record: Kangxi, Ren also gave the Nian clan Fan Yan, there was no way to enter the office at the beginning, but the guard 90 people, all ordered the clan to pick up and make up. This record basically says the time period for the establishment of the clan guards, but it is worth noting that according to the records of the "Qing Huidian Case", the number of clan guards was not determined during the Kangxi period, and the post of 90 people was determined to be in the Yongzheng period, to be exact, in the seventh year of Yongzheng.
The clan picks up the guards
"Xiaoting Miscellaneous Records"
In order to encircle and control the outer Mongolia, the early Qing Dynasty promoted the Mongolian princes of the outer domain as guards, and most of them were born in the Borzigit family, and the Mongolian princes were often able to obtain the position of the minister of the guard because of their close relationship with the Qing Dynasty emperor, such as the three-tone Noyan department, one of the four Khalkha departments, due to the trust of the Qing court, "after the ministry of the Ministry of Tsengling, Prince Lavan Dorji, Cheden Baur, Dalma, Nayantu to the former minister, the minister of the guard, It is beyond the reach of the Outer Zazak tribes."
《Manuscript of Qing History》
And in order to further attract talents, all the guards who were born through the Wujin Shi, "regardless of their origin in the Manchu Han Dynasty", are all "Han guards", which were implemented in the 29th year of Kangxi, and the fifth year of Yongzheng is awarded different guard titles according to the rank of martial arts, "a Wujin Shi is awarded as a first-class guard, two and three are awarded as second-class guards, ten people are selected as third-class guards, and ten people are selected as third-class guards, and ten people are selected as third-class guards, which is always a rule." However, the Han guards are generally gate guards, and after the completion of the study period of the guards, they are often sent to the green camp to be ordained, and they cannot go further on the road of guards.
Wu Jinshi conferred the title of squire
With the expansion of the scope of rule, the Qing court also further set up Hui guards and Fanzi guards, in this way, to favor and cultivate the descendants of the upper echelons of the ethnic minorities in the frontier, and strengthen the connection between the frontier and the central government, so as to disintegrate the centrifugal force.
And to join the guards of the Eight Banners, it is extremely convenient to enter the office, and there is no need to obtain fame through the so-called ten-year cold window. The story, the children of the ministers of the inner and outer Manchus, once every five years, pick the guards, worship Tang A, think they are idle people, honor the old family, once selected, enter the guards, and the outside is simple, and the people who have become prominent in the past few years are also Bibi also". For example, Fukangan was composed of guards, then by the household servants, the deputy capital of Mongolia, and then to the scholars and military ministers, and the guard system ensured the inheritance of the privileges of the nobles of the Eight Banners, so that they could serve the royal family wholeheartedly.
《Manuscript of Qing History》
However, the beneficiaries of the guard system were not only the children of the Manchurian aristocracy, but also the upward channel of the new Manchuria and other ethnic minorities in the northeast was also guaranteed, especially the guards from Heiji, such as Hailancha, Anabao, and Seleng, all of whom came to the area with the merits of the guards. Mutar, a native of Xiaojinchuan, was first awarded the guard, and then was given the second rank, and was the deputy general of the Sichuan management descent, and repeatedly made military exploits, was commended, and won the honor of the image purple light pavilion.
"Qing History Manuscript" Mutar Biography
加强清廷统治
In the Qing Dynasty, in order to strengthen the imperial power, the Qing court fully and effectively ensured the operation of the guard system all the time, which is evident from the guards, especially the imperial guards, who are in and out of the prime minister. Not only that, but the guards, as close attendants, were also a tool for the emperor to observe the situation and supervise other bureaucrats. For example, in the eleventh year of Kangxi, the guard Wu Dan and the scholar Guo Tingzuo explored the situation of the Yellow River breach together and drew a drawing.
"Records of the Ancestors of the Qing Dynasty"
In military affairs, the guards not only sent a large number of officers to control the army. They also often go out with the army, take on the responsibility of supervising the army and spying on the military situation, and the guards can be seen in the war of pacifying Dinghui, conquering Burma, and driving out Tibet during the Qianlong period. For example, when the rebellion of Daxiao and Zhuo was suppressed, "the guard Tiqitu, who had returned from Yarkand this time, witnessed the situation there, and immediately galloped to Beijing for inquiry." It is worth mentioning that Qianlong also asked the guards to play a leading and exemplary role when leading the troops, leading the people to fight hard, and severely punishing the guards who were cowardly and disobeyed the command. For example, because the third-class guard Badama could not be delayed in the battle, he roared at the commander Hailancha, and was whipped by Qianlong in the army, and was punished for meritorious service after being dismissed.
In the Jiaqing Dynasty's "Great Qing Huidian", the guards were released as officers
Badama
With the decline of the Qing Dynasty, the guard system also began to decay, the phenomenon of extravagance and corruption of the guards, and non-compliance with the code and discipline were not uncommon, and the role of the guard system was also sharply weakened, until after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the guard system also ended the historical mission of maintaining imperial power.
Citations: "Records of Qing Shizu", "Records of Qing Shengzu", "Records of Qing Gaozong", "Cases of Qing Huidian", "Jiaqing Dynasty", "Eight Banners of the King James Dynasty", "Qing Historical Manuscript", "Listening to the Rain", "Lang Qian's Chronicles", "Butha Zhiluo", "Xiaoting Miscellaneous Records"