Zhergu

Overview

Zhe'ergu was a member of the Namudulu clan in the early Qing Dynasty, belonging to the Plain White Banner. He was of the same clan as Kang Wuli and his ancestral home was in Namudulu. The official Qing Dynasty clan genealogy, *the Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, Volume 21, lists him as one of those who surrendered at the beginning of the dynasty and records his family's official positions generation by generation: his son Dekule served as a vanguard bodyguard; his grandson Ekuli served as a vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue; his great-grandson Erlingge was a candidate for a minor official position in the capital; and Eseli, a second-class bodyguard, served in the campaign against Galdan, earning the title of Yunqiwei for his merits and later becoming a military commander. The Ministry of Revenue managed population, taxes, and finances, and the vice minister was a high-ranking official assisting the minister in handling departmental affairs; therefore, Ekuli's responsibilities were in financial administration, not vanguard military command. The military commander was responsible for the troops under his command, while Yunqiwei was a hereditary position that could be inherited according to regulations; obtaining a hereditary position did not equate to holding a command post in a particular battalion. After Eseli's death, his son Mingshou briefly held the position but was later dismissed. The original genealogy also records that Mingtai, the fourth-generation descendant of Zhe'ergu, served as a military officer. These materials reveal different paths taken by members of the same family into the guard, finance, and military systems.