Yu Ding

Overview

"Yu Ding" was a term used in Qing Dynasty banner documents to refer to people outside the established military quotas and ranks. The emphasis was on the relationship between the population and existing corvée labor and vacancies, not that these people were inactive in society. The Eight Banners both registered the population and selected soldiers according to quotas; population growth and the number of soldiers eligible for pay were not always synchronized. The *Draft History of the Qing Dynasty* records that when there were many surplus men in Manchu and Mongol banners, banners could be established according to regulations. The *Imperially Commissioned General History of the Eight Banners* discusses the increase of Han troops, mentioning that surplus men stationed in provinces, their accompanying sons, and idle able-bodied men in Beijing could be selected to supplement the military quota based on certain conditions. These examples illustrate that surplus men could become a source of later recruits, but they did not automatically receive the same pay upon registration. Selection also considered banner affiliation, banner affiliation, official status, or household registration, and verified age, skills, and physical condition. Surplus men and young men were not interchangeable with those already receiving pay as cavalry or guards: the former emphasized surplus quotas, young men emphasized age, and the latter two referred to specific military branches and status. When studying the life of a soldier, one can add information about the shortage of soldiers based on the example of Yu Ding, but one cannot simply use this term to fill in the gaps in the experience of poverty, unemployment, or participation in a battle for each person.