Dai Liu

Overview

Dai Liu is a member of the Irgen Gioro clan of the Bordered Blue Banner, recorded in Volume 13 of the official genealogy of the Eight Banners Manchus, compiled during the Qianlong reign. He lived in the Yarhu area, and the year of his submission to the Qing dynasty is unknown. He once served as an assistant instructor. The character "Liu" in his original name is retained; whether it was a standard variant form should be verified based on the original inscription. His son, Leji, served as a scribe, and Daidu served as a third-class guard; their positions cannot be transferred to Dai Liu's name.

Assistant instructor was an official title in ancient educational institutions, established in the Imperial Academy and Eight Banners official schools during the Qing dynasty, responsible for related teaching duties. The original entry does not specify the school Dai Liu belonged to, therefore it is impossible to directly determine which hall he served in at the Imperial Academy, nor can the modern university assistant instructor rank be completely applied to the Qing dynasty system. His teaching subjects, term of office, and specific students are also not recorded.

The scribes were responsible for official documents, copying, and translation; third-class guards mostly belonged to the prefectural guard organizations and served as attendants, and had to be separated from the emperor's third-class bodyguards. The simultaneous presence of a family's education, clerkship, and guard duties can provide clues to understanding the path to officialdom for Manchus, but it is insufficient to determine an individual's institution or direct paternal lineage. The year of submission, the educational institutions, the guard prefectural offices, and the modern location of Yarhu Lake still require further verification.