Gusai

Overview

Gusai was a member of the Hesheli clan in the early Qing Dynasty, belonging to the Plain Blue Banner's bondservant class. His family had lived in Huifa for generations, and the exact time of his submission is unknown. He once served as a sixth-rank bondservant leader. The official genealogy of the Eight Banners Manchu Clans, Volume 10, compiled during the Qianlong reign, records that his son, Katuli, was a sixth-rank official, and his grandsons, Arshan and Tong Baozhu, served as military officers. His great-grandson, Junzhu, served as a military officer at the time of compilation, demonstrating the bonder class's management and their descendants' service in military affairs.

bondservant were a group within the banner with specific affiliations. "bondservant leader" was an organizational and managerial title. "Sixth rank" indicates the rank of the position, not the person's name, nor was it a hereditary title. Katuli is only recorded as a sixth-rank official without a title, so it cannot be assumed he succeeded his father as a bondservant leader. Military officers managed the lower-level soldiers and military affairs of the guards.

The original text lists Gusai in the Plain Blue Banner's bondservant group without specifying the affiliated government office; therefore, he cannot be simply classified into a specific department of the Imperial Household Department based solely on his status as a bondservant. Huifa is the original historical residence of the clan. The actual places where later generations served are not recorded, and migration routes are not supplemented by military officer titles. The same rank may include different officials; the text retains the father's full title, only the son's rank, and the differences in the grandchildren's military positions. Specific dates of attribution, institutions, terms of office, and the paternal lineage of the two grandchildren still await verification through original inscriptions and genealogies.