The Hong Kong TV series "The Four Catchers Return to the Jianghu" is about the life of the catchers. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was called catching fast. Arresters are the collective names of captives and automatic catchers. They are responsible for arresting criminals, summoning defendants and witnesses and investigating criminal evidence. "seize the service, arrest the bandit official service"; And "Aauto Quicker, the official service to catch thieves", because of its similar nature, is collectively called catching thieves quickly.
On weekdays, the catcher wears casual clothes, a waist tag indicating his identity, and carries iron ruler and ropes. The foreman is called "the head catcher" and "the monitor". The common people call catching fast men "catching the master", "blocking the head", "head Weng" and "Kaweng" and so on. In the legal provisions of Ming and Qing dynasties, it is called "the person who should be arrested" or "the person who should be arrested", that is, "the person who should be responsible for arresting criminals". In some states and counties, fast catchers are often equipped with horses to perform official duties, so they are also called "fast horses". On the other hand, hikers are called "trots", "trots" or "ancestors". The number of "regular service" catchers in each state and county depends on the size of the state and county.
The detection tasks undertaken by the arresting personnel are time-limited, which is the so-called "comparative limit". Generally, five days is a comparison, and three days for major murders is a comparison. After a "limit", you can't solve the case, and you will be beaten if you catch it quickly.
Catching fast was a kind of "cheap job" in ancient times, and it was strictly stipulated that its descendants could not take part in the imperial examination for fear of humiliation. Even if they leave the fast food industry, their descendants must be three generations later to qualify for the imperial examination.
Catch fast food without pay. The annual food expenses are only about twelve taels of silver, which makes it difficult to support the family. Therefore, extortion has become a trend. They often collect money in various names, even collude with state and county officials, or create unjust, false and wrong cases, or extort money from ordinary people and arrest people at will.
In the poems of past dynasties, the eagle dog, as the ruling class, often became the object of whipping. Guo Tingming, a man of A Qing Dynasty, wrote in "Abuse of Police Arresting People": "Tramps are forced to become thieves; Arresting people is also a thief. Why do you say it here? There are still a few refugees in the world, and the government is arresting people. " Refugees are driven into thieves by life, but the real thieves are the arresting officers all over the government. Another Qing Dynasty man, Jiang Tan, also described the miserable living conditions of poor farmers: "The former is poor, the latter is poor, the old grain is full, and the new grain urges. Xiang Si's tender cloth shirt is broken, and the quality library cries. " However, the yamen rent collection is in a hurry to spark, and if it is not paid, it is necessary to arrest people quickly. "There is no money in the Ming Dynasty, and the old man will be caught after death." It can be seen that arresting officers often take orders from the governor to participate in activities such as rent collection, arresting people and arresting people.
During the Republic of China, the detective team of the old Beijing police station also belonged to the nature of catching fast. They all wear gray coats, but the difference is that "only the members of the detective team sometimes don't button up, sometimes only button up a few buttons, and lean forward when they leave ... the lower members of the detective team shave their heads all year round, even in winter. Don't wear a hat. There is always a' sweat towel' hanging on the waist. From the outside of the gown, it seems that there are' two boxes' bulging. " Their duty should be to deal with thieves and robbers, but in fact they have the ability to bully ordinary people, which makes people gnash their teeth.