He He Li

Overview

Heheli was an important figure in the Dong'e clan of the Manchu Plain Red Banner during the early Qing Dynasty. Originally the leader of the Dong'e tribe, he led his people to submit to Nurhaci, married his eldest daughter, and became a prominent minister in the early Qing. The official clan genealogy of the Qianlong era, *The General Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, Volume 8, records that Dong'e was originally a place name, and the clan took its name from the place. Heheli commanded the assigned Zuo Ling (military units) and participated in battles such as Zhakuta and Ula, earning the hereditary title of Third-Class Viscount.

The *Draft History of the Qing Dynasty* includes a biography of Heheli, recording his participation in the Sarhu and Liaoshen campaigns, and his death in the ninth year of the Tianming era. This name and early titles of merit in the *General Genealogy* corroborate each other, but the hereditary titles of General and other high-ranking officials under the old system should not be directly interpreted as later military officers. Marital status, tribal leadership, banner official positions, and military merit ranks are different levels and cannot be simply written as a single official title.

The fourth son, Heshuotu, inherited the title and continued to serve in the military. The family's nobility underwent complex changes in rank due to imperial edicts, military merits, and subsequent reductions in rank. The fifth son, Dulei, received additional military merits and a marriage into the imperial family, placing him in a separate branch. In the ninth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, the original scribe posthumously conferred upon him the title of Duke Heheliyongqin; however, this posthumous conferment cannot be considered a title he held during his lifetime. Details regarding the modern Dong'e settlement and the succession of various branches still need verification. This article describes the individual and his descendants separately, without using the highest rank conferred by a descendant to represent the individual's life.