Hu Lehu

Overview

Hu Lehu was a member of the Dong'e clan of the Plain White Banner of the Manchus in the early Qing Dynasty. He was of the same clan as He Heli, and his family had lived in Dong'e for generations before submitting to the Qing Dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty. The official clan genealogy of the Qianlong era, *The General Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, Volume 8, records that his eldest son, Yue Duohui, and second son, Shuodai, served as military commanders. His third son, Kamutu, participated in the Yunnan campaign from a period of leisure, and was the first to scale the city walls during the attack on Yuanjiang Prefecture, earning the title of Baturu and the hereditary rank of Second-Class Light Cavalry Captain.

The title of Military Commander was an officer in charge of the military camp. "Leisure" indicated a bannerman not holding a corresponding position, and "Second-Class Light Cavalry Captain" was a hereditary military rank. Kamutu's status, bravery, and title before his merit could not be combined into a single official title; the fact that he was the first to scale the city walls belonged to the third son, not his father Hu Lehu.

After Kamutu retired due to old age, his son Khalka succeeded him, then his brother Chang Saili, who became the Xi'an General. His son, Chang Yong, succeeded him and became the Deputy Commander-in-Chief. Great-grandson Shibao, a seventh-rank official, died in battle during the Changsha campaign and was posthumously awarded the title of Yunqiwei, which was inherited by his younger brother Halaku, forming a separate hereditary branch. A seventh-rank official's title only indicates rank and does not specify a particular battalion position; the Xi'an General was a high-ranking garrison officer, not the provincial civil administration official. The author's official rank, the transliteration of Hu Lehu's original name, and the complete paternal lineage of each branch still require verification from the original inscription.