Laita

Overview

Volume 15 of the *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners* includes Laita in the appendix of the Irgen Gioro clan. His banner affiliation is listed as Plain White Banner, and his ancestral home is Ningguta. He is placed in the group "Year of Arrival Unknown." The genealogy records his resume as follows: his grandson Guanyinbao is currently a city garrison commander, and his great-grandson Naqitai is currently a scribe. The kinship hierarchy and statuses such as "former" and "current" are retained as in the original entries. At this stage, Laita's official position, rank, or birth and death are not inferred from the official positions of his descendants. Related institutional terms must be understood according to the Qing Dynasty context: "scribe" (Manchu: bithesi) refers to a clerk handling translation, copying, archives, and official document circulation; "bithe" means writing, and "bithei" is the genitive form of "writing," and these two should not be confused with official titles; "city garrison commander" was an important military position stationed in a garrison city, involved in commanding garrison troops and city defense affairs, and the city he was stationed in cannot be inferred from his name. "Ningguta" retains the historical place name spelling in genealogy books; 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.