Weng An

Overview

Weng An is a member of the Tatara clan recorded in Volume 11 of the official genealogy of the Manchu Eight Banners, *The General Genealogy of the Eight Banners Manchu Clans*, compiled during the Qianlong reign. His family resided in Zhakdan and submitted to the Qing dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty. The entry begins with a listing of the Bordered White Banner and ends with a record of a change in affiliation from the Plain White Banner, reflecting a shift in the family's banner affiliation. The original text does not specify the year of this change, so Weng An's banner affiliation at the time of the genealogy's compilation cannot be directly equated with his birth status; the modern correspondence with Zhakdan also requires verification.

The genealogy records that his great-grandson Xifune served as a cavalry captain, Laizhu as an infantry captain, and Helunbu as a chant master. Cavalry captains and infantry captains respectively associated with banner soldiers and infantry management, while chant masters handled ceremonial guidance and chanting; these three roles should not be confused. Fourth-generation descendants included scribes, guards, clerks, and assistant secretaries, indicating that later generations held official positions across banner camps, government departments, and the clerical system, but this does not constitute a multi-positional resume for Weng An himself.

Fifth-generation descendant Yan Dali originally served as the Infantry Commander-in-Chief, with the additional title of Deputy Commander-in-Chief. The term "additional title" must be retained here: it indicates an additional official rank, and cannot be directly changed to a substantive deputy commander-in-chief. The chief secretary manages the affairs of the prefecture, and the ceremonial duties are related to etiquette; since the original article did not specify a particular princely residence, it should not be added here. The family also has records of Yunqiwei, but the initial appointment and succession chain are not explained, so the list of appointed officials cannot be pieced together into a hereditary lineage.