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Babutai: Nurhaci's Ninth Son

English editorial translation of the Chinese source entry

Babutai, Nurhaci's ninth son, was a member of the early Qing imperial clan and a military participant in the state's expansion. He joined operations against the Hurha in the tenth year of Tianming and became involved in administering affairs of the Plain Yellow Banner the followi…

Written by MING YEPeople & BiographiesManchuCulture Wiki
Source-based English editorial manuscript · Historical details subject to final source verification.

Overview

Babutai, Nurhaci's ninth son, was a member of the early Qing imperial clan and a military participant in the state's expansion. He joined operations against the Hurha in the tenth year of Tianming and became involved in administering affairs of the Plain Yellow Banner the following year. In the fourth year of Tiancong he served with Amin around Yongping in Ming territory. Following the loss of Luanzhou and other failures, he was removed from office; later allegations involving the concealment of captured property resulted in additional discipline. His career was therefore not an uninterrupted progression of honors.

Historical Background

In the sixth year of Chongde, Babutai received the imperial-clan rank of third-class fengguo jiangjun. In Shunzhi's first year he accompanied Qing forces through the Great Wall and pursued Li Zicheng's troops toward Qingdu. He later joined Lekedehun's operations in the Huguang region, taking part in military activity around Nanzhang and Xiangyang. In Shunzhi's fourth year he advanced to the clan title fuguo gong. He joined the suppression of Jiang Xiang's rebellion in Shanxi in the sixth year and was promoted to zhenguo gong. Babutai died in the twelfth year of Shunzhi and received the posthumous name Kexi.

Sources and Interpretation

The clan rank containing the Chinese words “general of the state” should not automatically be equated with an ad hoc battlefield commander-in-chief. His Banner administrative duties and operational assignments also require separate documentation. The grades subsequently inherited by descendants could decline under the succession rules. Babutai must not be confused with his similarly named younger brother Babuhai, whose disciplinary history and family were different.

Sources and Bibliography

  1. Historical text at Wikisource
  2. Historical text at Wikisource
  3. Historical text at Wikisource

Links reproduce references supplied with the Chinese editorial manuscript; they do not establish that every individual statement has undergone independent archival verification.