Hui Tai

Overview

Huitai is a member of the Irgen Gioro clan of the Bordered Yellow Banner, listed in Volume 14 of the official genealogy of the Eight Banners Manchu Clans compiled during the Qianlong reign. He lived in the Hada area and submitted to the Qing dynasty during the Tiancong era. Tiancong was the reign title of the Later Jin dynasty under Huang Taiji; the original entry only provides the period, not the exact year. His official rank is not recorded. His grandson, Zhunta, served as a cavalry commander; Luo Duoli served as an infantry commander; his great-grandson, Yatu, is currently a cavalry commander; and Sulengtai and Changhai are currently serving as defense commanders.

Cavalier commanders were involved in the management of soldiers in their respective banners; infantry commanders were involved in the basic affairs of the infantry organization; and defense commander was a military rank in the Qing dynasty, not a general defensive duty. The management scope of these three positions differed, and it cannot be assumed that all members of the family held consecutive positions in the same unit, nor can it be concluded that Huitai himself had participated in battle or held an official position based on the military ranks of his descendants.

The specific paternal lineage between his great-grandson and grandson is not listed, and the shared cavalry commander title does not prove formal inheritance of the same rank; "currently serving" only indicates his position at the time of compilation, and the start and end dates of his term and location are still unknown. Hada is a historical name for a place of residence, and the old area should not be directly equated with the modern village or town with the same name. Huitai's activities, the date of his submission, the institutions he belonged to, and the actual village he lived in still need further supplementation through original inscriptions, local chronicles, and military and political archives.