告密 1(1)
Illustration by: Wang Siqi
ANCIENT HISTORY

Ancient Snitches: How China’s Emperors Encouraged Informants

From Wu Zetian to Emperor Yongzheng, China’s imperial rulers were obsessed with people conspiring against the throne and came up with various systems to encourage informers

One day in 684, a group of imperial guards gathered in China’s then-capital Luoyang for a drink. They had no idea that most of them would be dead soon.

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