Mudanga

Overview

Mudang'a was a member of the Tatara clan of the Plain Red Banner during the early Qing Dynasty. His family had lived in Anchulaku for generations and submitted to the Qing Dynasty at its inception.

The official clan genealogy compiled during the Qianlong reign, *the Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, Volume 11, does not record his official appointments but mainly recounts the military achievements of his descendants.

His son, Darukha, was originally a non-official, but participated in battles in Henan and Jiangnan. He died in battle during the capture of Jiangyin and was posthumously awarded the title of Yunqiwei (a military rank), which was inherited by his son, Niyaha. Later, he was granted an additional hereditary title by imperial decree.

"Non-official" in Bannerman records refers to a specific social status and cannot be interpreted as unregistered persons or vagrants.

"Yunqiwei" was a hereditary title for meritorious officials; posthumous conferment was an honor bestowed after death; inheritance was a system of succession by descendants. These three must be distinguished.

The military achievements and death mentioned here pertain to Darukha and cannot be attributed to Mudang'a himself; the imperial decree granting him additional titles did not necessarily indicate new military exploits each time.

Another example is Sun Ehei, who, as a military officer and ministerial secretary, campaigned in Yunnan and Jiangxi, earning the title of Yunqiwei (a military rank), which was inherited by his son Tuose; and Yuan Sun Woshibu, who died in battle during the campaign against the Dzungars, was posthumously awarded the title of Yunqiwei, which was inherited by his son Hanban.

These two should be explained as different branches and cannot be included in the Darukha inheritance chain.