Su Ning'a

Overview

Su Ning'a was a member of the Irgen Gioro clan of the Bordered Yellow Banner during the Qing Dynasty. His family had lived in Dongzhai, Songhua River area for generations. He submitted to the Qing during the Tiancong reign and served as a second-class imperial bodyguard. The official genealogy of the Manchu Eight Banners, Volume 14, compiled during the Qianlong reign, states that he was of the same clan as Gu Qiao, noting that his branch had changed their surname to Bayara before their ancestor, Ke Qiu, clarified their clan affiliation and restored their original surname. Surname changes and restorations are matters of family history; one cannot establish a new clan solely based on a current name, nor can one claim a clan ancestor as one's own grandfather.

Second-class imperial bodyguards belonged to the emperor's guard system, responsible for duties such as guarding the emperor and accompanying him. His son, Jingnika, served as a third-class imperial bodyguard in the Yunnan campaign, earning the rank of Qiduwei (hereditary merit rank). After his death, his son, Jingali, inherited the position, followed by his brothers Jingxi and Gaogan. The father-son rank, military merit, and succession by brothers are all factors that explain why not all of them were successors to Su Ning'a as a second-class imperial bodyguard.

Sun Suertu records that he is the current scribe, and his great-grandson Xixian is a student. A scribe is a clerical official, while a student is a student; they cannot be uniformly written as "appointed official." Tiancong was the reign title of Huang Taiji of the Later Jin dynasty, and the term of submission only indicates the scope. The Songhua River system covers a vast area, and the original text for Dongzhai does not provide a modern village location. The exact time of the compound surname, direct paternal lineage, each person's term of office, and original name Ning all require further verification from the original inscriptions and archives.