Suna Efu

Overview

Suna Efu was a member of the Yehe Nara clan of the Plain White Banner in the early Qing Dynasty. He was of the same clan as Jin Taishi and submitted to the Qing at the beginning of the dynasty. Volume 22 of the official Qing clan genealogy, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that he married a princess and was granted the title of Efu, commanding a banner company (niru) in the capacity of its zuoling. He served as a Canjiang (a military officer), Fujiang (a deputy military officer), Hujun Tongling (a military commander), Minister of War, and Mongolian Dutong (a military commander-in-chief), participating in military operations in Jinzhou, Dalinghe, Chahar, the vicinity of Beijing, and Korea. His official career also includes records of dismissals and demotions. Efu was a status acquired through marriage within the imperial clan, not an official position in a specific military camp; zuoling was the basic organizational unit and its administrator in the Eight Banners; Qiduwei and Qingche duwei were hereditary merit ranks, not appointments to command cavalry units of meritorious officials and should be described separately from their actual positions such as Hujun Tongling and Minister. The Minister of War was responsible for central military administration. The original genealogy states that the initial establishment of six ministries reflected the development of the Later Jin military and political institutions towards a central ministerial system. His son, Sukesaha, later served as a regent minister, representing the political experience of the next generation. The parent database entries containing the *efu* designation should be retained as a title for identifying persons, but the main text should still distinguish between the name Suna, marital status, and various positions held.