Gu Hutu

Overview

Gu Hutu was a member of the Tongjia clan, Plain White Banner, and his family had lived in Macha for generations. He was of the same clan as Ba Duli Zhalguqi and submitted to the Qing dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty. Volume 19 of the official *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners* records that his second son, Luo Duoli, was the first to scale the city walls during the siege of Jinzhou as a defender. He later participated in battles in Henan, Jiangnan, and Fujian, and died in battle during the attack on Datong. He was posthumously awarded the title of Cavalry Captain.

"First to scale the city walls" is the original genealogy's specific record of Luo Duoli's merit in this battle and cannot be attributed to Gu Hutu's own experience. Defense was a military post within the banner system or the garrison officer system, while Cavalry Captain was a hereditary title that could be inherited according to regulations. The two titles respectively represented the actual position and the conferred benefits. Luo Duoli had no heir, and the hereditary title passed to his nephew, Luo Shi, and later passed to his uncle and various collateral branches. After the imperial edict reduced the rank, the inherited rank was further lowered. The process of inheritance illustrates the transfer and changes in the military merits of a clan, and cannot be simplified to all descendants inheriting the same rank continuously. Gu Hutu's grandson Saiyindali and great-grandson Balda are also recorded as Yunqiwei, but these are still later records. The original entry does not clearly record the person's official position, birth and death dates, or details of the family's migration.