Was there really such an organization as Six Doors in the Ming Dynasty? What is it like?
"Three divisions" refer to the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple and Duchayuan. It is a state organ that accepts and handles cases, which is equivalent to the current public security law.
The work functions of Liumenmen are basically the same as those of the Third Division, and they are all centered on maintaining the Daming Law. The difference is that Liumen has the privilege of secret arrest, secret trial and secret execution, and its nature is equivalent to the Kuomintang Military Bureau.
The original name of Six Doors was called "Three Laws Department Yamen". Because of its special structure, the yamen exit is called "Six Gates" by the people.
The architectural structure of the Ming government and yamen is very particular. The exit of the yamen must face south. There is a saying in Augmented Xianwen: "The eight-character yamen faces south, and you can't get in without money."
The south symbolizes "submission" and the east symbolizes "avenue", so most ancient palaces face east, and the gates of ancient governments and yamen must face south to show their loyalty to the emperor.
The door of the six doors faces south, and there stands a big door. This door is not what we subjectively think, but a "door-shaped house". This house is deep into three rooms, each with two dark and heavy doors, a total of six doors, hence the name "six doors".
"Six Gates" is the highest specification of ancient yamen. There are only two ordinary yamen, four state yamen, and only the central yamen is qualified to be the "six gates".
In the Ming dynasty, only the three-way yamen, that is, six doors, were qualified to be equipped with "six doors" In the Qing Dynasty, only the "step army commanding the yamen" managed by the "Nine Magistrates" was qualified, so it can be seen that the rights and status of the "Six Gates" were extraordinary.
The arresting officers in the Six Doors are very different from those in the ordinary yamen, because the tasks performed by the Six Doors are extremely special, so most of the arresting officers in the Six Doors are composed of ouchi guards and martial arts masters with superb martial arts. Every catcher has a special waist tag. During the official duties of the "Six Doors" Arrester, as long as the waist tag is displayed, all provincial and municipal government offices should cooperate with the "Six Doors" Arrester in handling cases.
"Six Doors" mainly accepts some major cases, such as investigating rebellion, exterminating cult organizations, arresting court officials, and executing major Jianghu cases. The "Six Doors" were under the direct command of the imperial court, and other local officials had no right to order the "Six Doors" except the central government.
There is also a special function of "Six Gates", that is, "undercover", and large gangs such as "Salt Gang", "Horse Gang" and "Shuilubazi" in the Jianghu all have "Six Gates" as their captors.
Once these gangs have a tendency to rebel against the imperial court, the "six sects" have the right to destroy them directly, so all the major Jianghu sects in the Ming Dynasty have heard about it.
Six doors are almost everywhere because of their fierce means, strange actions and great power. So for a long time, they have almost become a powerful force in the Jianghu.
During the Wanli period, Ming Shenzong carried out the "one whip" terror policy, and the voices of civil resistance were endless. As a judicial organization against terrorism and violence, Liumen secretly suppressed small-scale civil uprisings many times, which was greatly appreciated by Zongshen.
During the Chongzhen period, Liumenmen performed well in the case of "Wei Zhongxian" and was commended by Emperor Chongzhen. After the demise of the Ming Dynasty, the mysterious judicial organization "Six Doors" also disappeared and became a legend in Jianghu.