Udenge

Overview

Uden'e appears in Volume 15 of the *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, under the entry for the Irgen Gioro clan. The genealogy lists him as a bondservant of the Plain Yellow Banner, his ancestral home as "Xiaoximen," and his affiliation group as "Tiancong Laigui" (meaning "returning from Tiancong"). The Plain Yellow Banner bondservant status indicates the banner affiliation of this branch at the time of compilation; however, "bondservant" refers to a subordinate status within the Eight Banners and the Imperial Household Department system, and cannot be simply equated with a modern-day household servant, nor can it be inferred that an individual's legal status remained unchanged. "Tiancong Laigui" is the affiliation group in the genealogy; Tiancong was the reign title of Huang Taiji. The original entry did not provide a specific year or month, so the timeframe cannot be narrowed further. The genealogy records his resume as follows: he was originally a foot soldier; his son, Mucheng'e, was originally a second-class imperial bodyguard; his great-grandson, Guanbao, is currently a stable master. The original entry clearly records this title under his name. The kinship hierarchy and statuses such as "former" and "current" are retained as in the original entry. At this stage, we do not infer Uden'e's official position, rank, or birth and death from the official positions of his descendants. The relevant institutional terms should be understood according to the Qing Dynasty context: Second-class imperial guards belonged to the rank of palace guards, which was higher than that of third-class imperial guards, but the original article did not provide specific locations and dates of duty; Infantry officers were the lowest-ranking military officers in the infantry battalions, usually involved in the defense, patrols, and security duties in the capital; Stable masters managed horses, stable affairs, and related personnel, and their specific affiliation still needs to be checked in the institutional archives. "Xiaoximen" retains the historical place name spelling in genealogical records; there may be different places with the same name, different spellings, and changes in jurisdiction, so it cannot be directly matched with a certain administrative region today.