Apucha

Overview

Apucha was a bondservant of the Plain White Banner of the Ayan Gioro clan, residing in Ermin for generations. The year he submitted to the Qing dynasty is unknown. Volume 18 of the official Qing dynasty genealogy, *The General Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that he himself served as a shepherd, his son Fulahun as an inner steward, and other sons served as assistant secretaries, while grandsons served as inner stewards and first-class bodyguards. A shepherd was involved in the management of livestock for the palace or affiliated institutions, and was not equivalent to an ordinary free herdsman; an inner steward managed the bondservant personnel under their jurisdiction and related supply affairs; the two were in different roles. His grandson, Guanbao, served as a first-class bodyguard in campaigns in Fujian and Zhejiang, participating in the battles against Geng Jingzhong and Zheng Jin's armies and the recovery of Quanzhou. For his military achievements, he was awarded the rank of Cavalry Captain, which was later inherited by his son and collateral relatives. Bodyguards were actual guard positions, while Cavalry Captain was a hereditary title, and the conferment could not be transferred to Apucha himself. His great-grandson, Shuangding, served as a compiler, a literary official in the Hanlin Academy, different from a shepherd or military officer. The status of a bondservant cannot be used to conclude that the entire family only engaged in pastoralism. The modern location of Ermin, the specific affiliation of the inner vassal state, and the date of her succession still need to be verified.