Guala

Overview

Guala was a member of the Irgen Gioro clan of the Plain Yellow Banner during the early Qing Dynasty. His family had lived in the Saerhu 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 General Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, Volume Thirteen, does not record his official position, but mainly describes the merits and titles of his son, Kakai, and his descendants. Kakai, initially a layman, participated in battles in Guangning, Shandong, Jinzhou, and the conquest of the Central Plains, gradually obtaining hereditary titles such as Cavalry Captain and Light Chariot Captain. Later, he served as the Commissioner of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and concurrently as a Zuo Ling (military officer).

The titles of Cavalry Captain, Light Chariot Captain, and Baron were hereditary titles for meritorious officials. The Commissioner of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was an official in charge of handling memorials, reviewing them, and sending them to the cabinet; the Zuo Ling managed the corresponding banner's register. Kakai's merits and titles could not be attributed to Guala. After his retirement, he divided the titles among his three sons. The original text also records that some of the separate branches later merged their inheritance, so it is impossible to write that all his descendants each held a complete second-class baron.

The historical place name "Saerhu" is related to Sarhu. Liaoning cultural and tourism records indicate that Sarhu City was located upstream of the present-day Dahuo Reservoir in Fushun, and preserve clues about the name "Saerhu". The site only provides a geographical connection and cannot prove that Guala himself lived within the city. The entry concludes by stating that he was of the same clan as Yindahuqi and Gahasanhashu, but still does not provide a direct father-son or brother relationship. The location, the division and merger of various branches, and the process of the reduction of hereditary titles await verification by the original inscription.