Hu Niu

Overview

Hu Niu was a member of the Yehe Nara clan of the Plain White Banner in the early Qing Dynasty, related to Jin Tai Shi, and submitted to the Qing Dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty. Volume 22 of the official Qing Dynasty clan genealogy, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that he participated in military operations in Sichuan as a military officer, fighting at Yangping Pass and other locations, and later died in battle at Qinzhou. The court posthumously awarded him the title of Qiduwei. A military officer was a junior officer in the Eight Banners' military battalion, responsible for the affairs of their assigned battalion and eligible to accompany the army on campaigns; the title of Qiduwei was a posthumous hereditary title awarded to meritorious officials, different in nature from their pre-death military officer position. Hu Niu's son, Yan Bu, inherited the title of Qiduwei and later fought in Shimenkan and Huangcaoba in Yunnan, where he was promoted to Yunqiwei for his merits. After Yan Bu's death, his son, Ya Lang'a, inherited the title, followed by Xi Ge. This information reflects different stages: the ancestor's death and subsequent posthumous honors, the son's succession and subsequent military achievements, and the continuation of the title by later generations. It is incorrect to attribute the Yunnan military achievements to Hu Niu himself, nor can the promotion to Yunqiwei be interpreted as Yan Bu being transferred to another military unit. The original record does not provide the birth year of Hu Niu or the specific dates of the Qin Prefecture battle; the relevant dates still need to be supplemented by comparing with war chronicles.