Erdeni Bakshi

Overview

Erdeni Bakshi was a multilingual civil official of the Manchu Plain Yellow Banner during the early Qing Dynasty. Originally surnamed Nara, his family had lived in Duying'e for generations. Volume 9 of the official clan genealogy *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, compiled during the Qianlong reign, records that he was fluent in Manchu, Han, and Mongolian languages. He accompanied the army, using the local languages ​​and scripts to issue edicts and recruit soldiers, and, together with Gagai, was ordered to create the Manchu script. Volume 228 of the *Draft History of the Qing Dynasty* also records his literary activities. He was posthumously honored as Wencheng during the Shunzhi reign.

Manchu script is the script used to write the Manchu language. The *Manchu Original Archives* of the National Palace Museum explain that the early Manchu script, created in 1599, used Mongolian letters combined with Jurchen pronunciation, commonly known as the Old Manchu script without punctuation. In 1632, Dahai was ordered to add punctuation, marking a later stage. It is inappropriate to attribute the early creation and all subsequent improvements solely to Erdeni.

The two books differ in their records of bestowing the surname: the *Tongpu* records that Emperor Taizong ordered him to join the Shuose family and bestowed the surname Hesheli under his own name, while the *Qing Shi Gao* records the bestowal of the surname and his joining the Xifu family under his son Sahalian. This article retains the relationship between the original surname and the later family registration, while listing the recipients of the bestowal as pending verification. *Bakshi* is a title related to writing and scholarship; the positions held by his descendants, such as Champion Envoy, Imperial Guard, and Clerk, belong to their respective descendants and cannot be conflated as concurrent positions held by the individual.