During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there was no separate intelligence agency. The role of this task is mostly played by military strategists, military experts and diners of various governors, but there is no separate institution.

In the Tang Dynasty, Wu Zetian set up an internal security service, which was a relatively complete secret service agency.

The name of the specific organization in the Song Dynasty is not very clear, but the Privy Council has subordinate intelligence personnel.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were not only Royal Guards, but also three agencies, namely East Factory, West Factory and Inner Factory, which were relatively complete spy agencies.

In addition, the Ming Dynasty Post Station also undertakes the work of collecting information, and is the peripheral organization of the Royal Guards.

The sticker is a private institution of Yongzheng. In the Qing Dynasty, there was no separate intelligence department, but some emperors' confidants served as relevant intelligence gathering tasks. The most famous is Cao Xueqin's home, Jiangnan Weaving, which was actually planted by Kangxi in Jiangnan to monitor local officials.