Imperial Guards (Qing dynasty)
| Imperial Guards | |
|---|---|
| 侍衛 | |
| Active | 1644–1924 |
| Disbanded | 1912 |
| Country | China |
| Allegiance | Emperor of China |
| Type | Imperial guard Infantry |
| Role | Close protection |
| Garrison/HQ | Forbidden City, Beijing |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Zaitao Zaifeng, Prince Chun |
The Imperial Guards (Chinese: 侍衛; pinyin: shìwèi, Manchu: ᡥᡳᠶᠠ, Möllendorff: hiya) of the Qing dynasty were a select detachment of Manchu and Mongol bannermen responsible for guarding the Forbidden City in Beijing, the emperor, and the emperor's family. For the majority of the dynasty's history, the Imperial Guards were divided into three groups: the Guard Corps, the Vanguard, and the Imperial Bodyguard.
The original Imperial Guards units were mostly destroyed by foreign troops during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. During the late Qing military reform in the following decade, the Qing government established a new imperial guard formation as a regular military unit, the size of a division, and its training was overseen by Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army.
The Qing imperial guards also practiced Shuai Jiao, a form of jacket wrestling.