Suerdu

Overview

Suerdu was a member of the Tatara clan of the Bordered White Banner during the early Qing Dynasty. His family had lived in the Zakumu area for generations and submitted to the Qing Dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty. The official genealogy of the Manchu clans of the Eight Banners, Volume 11, compiled during the Qianlong reign, does not record his personal official position, but it does record that many generations of his descendants engaged in civil service and clerical work: his son Songyan and grandson Songai both served as Langzhong (a type of official), his great-grandsons Sutai and Suertai also served as Langzhong, and Huashan and Nartai served as Bitieshi (a type of scribe).

In the Qing Dynasty, Langzhong was a department-level administrative official in ministries and other government departments, responsible for specific administrative tasks, and was not the same as the modern term "Langzhong" (a type of physician). The same official title could appear in different government departments; the original entry did not specify the ministry of Songyan and others, so it cannot be simply added as Langzhong of a specific ministry based on family information. Bitieshi mainly handled official documents and matters in both Manchu and Chinese, and was an important position in the multilingual administration of the Qing Dynasty.

The later generations also include Yuansun Yongfu, who once served as a principal clerk; Chengyu, Yongshou, and Tang Kan, who once served as scribes; and fourth-generation descendants Wende, who is recorded as the current secretary, and Wu Yuqi, who is recorded as the current scribe. Principal clerk, secretary, and scribe each had their own specific roles and cannot be collectively referred to as the same rank. "Currently serving" only refers to their status at the time of genealogy compilation. This list shows that multiple generations of the family participated in clerical administration, but it is insufficient to determine the term of office of each person or the complete paternal lineage.