Laha

Overview

Laha was a member of the Irgen Gioro clan of the Bordered Yellow Banner during the early Qing Dynasty. His family had lived in the Jiamuhu area for generations and submitted to the Qing Dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty.

The official clan genealogy compiled during the Qianlong reign, *the Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, Volume 12, records him as a member of the same clan as Gahashanhasihu, but does not specify a direct kinship.

His official positions are not recorded. The lengthy records mainly focus on his descendants: his great-grandson Shenbulu served as the Ying'e Border Guard Commander, and Kanbulu served as a Blue-Lanyard Imperial Guard; his fourth-generation descendant Lhasali served as the Minister of Rites, and Mushu served as the Zhangjiakou Commander.

The Blue-Lanyard Imperial Guard was a rank within the imperial guard system; the Minister of Rites was the head of the central Ministry of Rites, handling matters related to rites and etiquette; the title of Commander can appear in different institutions such as border posts and garrisons, but the specific distinctions of Ying'e Border Guard and Zhangjiakou must be retained, and it cannot be universally equated with the Eight Banners Commander-in-Chief.

These are all titles held by his descendants and do not represent Laha's personal holding of these positions.

The fourth-generation descendant, Sigese, and the fifth-generation descendant, Malaxi, each have different records of their battles and the bestowal and transfer of the title of Yunqiwei. Duiqin's involvement includes the naval battle of Zhoushan in Zhejiang, while Malaxi's involvement includes his death in battle at Qinzhou.

Yunqiwei was a hereditary title for meritorious officials, while Xiaoqixiao and Hujun Canling were substantive official positions. Their titles should be described separately for each branch and cannot be combined into a single line of inheritance.