Daifuha

Overview

Daifuha was a bondservant of the Plain White Banner of the Aha Gioro clan, whose family had lived in the Changbai Mountains for generations. The year of his submission to the Manchus is unknown. The official clan genealogy, *The General Genealogy of the Eight Banners Manchu Clans*, Volume 18, clearly records that he once served as a shepherd chief, his son Shuose as an inner steward, and his great-grandson Huase as a "military officer in the Imperial Guard" at the time of the genealogy's compilation.

A shepherd chief was responsible for the management of livestock, and the organization under his jurisdiction might have involved imperial horses or related herds. The specific pastures must be confirmed by combining this information with official records. An inner steward managed the bondservant personnel and supplies under his jurisdiction; the father and son held different positions. Imperial guards had duties such as palace guards and accompanying the emperor, while a military officer was a commanding position within the banner garrison. "Shu" indicates an acting position; therefore, Huase's record should retain both his status as an imperial guard and his acting military officer status, and cannot simply state that he had been officially appointed a military officer. Bondservant was a specific subordinate status, not necessarily meaning that three generations were ordinary, unranked shepherds. The Changbai Mountains are the original genealogy's description of their ancestral home, but cannot be used to determine a modern village. This entry can explain the changes in the nature of the official positions held by three generations, but it does not include the year of birth, the date of submission, or a continuous and complete paternal lineage.