Eastern Depot or Eastern Bureau () was a

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

spy and

secret police Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of a ...

agency run by

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

s. It was created by the

Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...

History

After the

usurped the throne in 1402 from his nephew, the

Jianwen Emperor The Jianwen Emperor (5 December 1377 – ?), personal name Zhu Yunwen (), was the second Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1398 to 1402. The era name of his reign, Jianwen, means "establishing civility" and represented a sharp chan ...

, he attempted to retain the officials who served in Jianwen's court, but some of them opposed him. In 1420, in order to suppress political opposition, Yongle decided to create the Eastern Depot (named as such because it was located east of the imperial palace), a spy and secret police agency run by eunuchs. They were responsible for spying on officials of any rank, including military officers, scholars, rebels and the general populace. The Eastern Depot would investigate and arrest suspects, and then hand them over to the

Jinyiwei The Embroidered Uniform Guard () was the imperial secret police that served the emperors of the Ming dynasty in China. The guard was founded by the Hongwu Emperor in 1368 to serve as his personal bodyguards. In 1369 it became an imperial milit ...

for interrogation. In the late Ming dynasty, the Eastern Depot had its own tactical forces and prisons, and became so powerful that even officials were ordered to

kowtow A kowtow is the act of deep respect shown by prostration, that is, kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground. In Sinospheric culture, the kowtow is the highest sign of reverence. It was widely used to show reverence ...

to the Depot's leaders. The Eastern Depot lasted to 1644, the end of the Ming Dynasty. There was also a government department called the Western Depot (Xichang) established by the

Chenghua Emperor The Chenghua Emperor (; 9 December 1447 – 9 September 1487), personal name Zhu Jianshen, was the ninth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, who reigned from 1464 to 1487. His era name " Chenghua" means "accomplished change". Childhood Zhu Jianshen wa ...

in 1477, originally to search for witches, but became a rival to the Eastern Depot; it lasted, except for an interval from 1482 to 1506, until 1510. A third security apparatus, created to counter the two depots and the Jinyiwei, was called the Inner Branch Depot (Neixingchang) and lasted from about 1505, in the reign of the

Zhengde Emperor The Zhengde Emperor (; 26 October 149120 April 1521) was the 11th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1505 to 1521. Born Zhu Houzhao, he was the Hongzhi Emperor's eldest son. Zhu Houzhao took the throne at only 14 with the era name Zhen ...

, also until 1510. Shih-shan Henry Tsai (1996), p. 104 The Inner Branch Depot was briefly reestablished sometime during the long reign of the

Wanli Emperor The Wanli Emperor (; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun (), was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was the ...

Famous chiefs of the Eastern Depot

* Wang Zhen *

Liu Jin Liu Jin (; 28 February 1451 – 25 August 1510) was a powerful Ming dynasty Chinese eunuch during the reign of the Zhengde Emperor. Liu was famous for being one of the most influential officials in Chinese history. For some time, Liu was the em ...

* *

Wei Zhongxian Wei Zhongxian (1568 – December 12, 1627), born Wei Si (魏四), was a Chinese court eunuch who lived in the late Ming dynasty. As a eunuch he used the name Li Jinzhong (李进忠). He is considered by most historians as the most notorious eunuc ...

History

Famous chiefs of the Eastern Depot

References

See also