Jinyiwei

The Jinyiwei (simplified Chinese: 锦衣卫; traditional Chinese: 錦衣衛; pinyin: Jǐnyīwèi; literally: "brocade-clad guard"), also known as the Embroidered Uniform Guard was the imperial military secret police that served the emperors of the Ming dynasty in China. The Jinyiwei was founded by the Hongwu Emperor in 1368 to serve as his personal bodyguards and it developed into a military organisation the following year. They were authorised to overrule judicial proceedings in prosecutions, with full autonomy granted in arresting, interrogating and punishing anyone, including nobles and the emperor's relatives.

The Jinyiwei were also tasked with collecting military intelligence on the enemy and participated in battle planning stages. A Jinyiwei guard donned a distinctive golden-yellow uniform, with a tablet (pictured) worn on his torso, and carried a special blade weapon.

The Jinyiwei originated as early as 1360. They served as Zhu Yuanzhang's personal bodyguards and defended him during a battle with the warlord Chen Youliang. After Zhu founded the Ming dynasty and became the Hongwu Emperor, he doubted his subjects' loyalties towards him and was constantly on guard against possible rebellions and assassinations. One of the early duties of the Jinyiwei was to help the emperor spy on his subjects. The Hongwu Emperor increased the Jinyiwei's duties later, allowing them to inspect his officials at work in the capital city, before formally establishing the organisation in 1382, with about 500 members. Their numbers increased to around 14,000 in three years.

In 1393, the Hongwu Emperor reduced the Jinyiwei's duties after they allegedly abused their authority during the investigation of a rebellion plot by Lan Yu, in which about 40,000 people were implicated and executed. When the Yongle Emperor ascended to the throne, he was afraid that his subjects might be discontented with him, because he came to power by usurping his nephew's throne. He reinstated the Jinyiwei's authority to increase his control over the imperial court. The Jinyiwei was disbanded after 262 years of existence when Li Zicheng's rebel forces overthrew the Ming dynasty in 1644.

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