Xinggeli

Overview

Xinggeli was a member of the Yehe Nara clan of the Bordered Yellow Banner during the early Qing Dynasty. His family had lived in Yehe for generations and submitted to the Qing during the Tiancong era. Volume 22 of the official Qing clan genealogy, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that he participated in the Shandong campaign from a period of leisure, becoming the second to scale the city walls during the siege of Ping County. For this merit, he was awarded the title of Yunqiwei (hereditary merit rank), and later promoted to Third-class Qingche duwei by imperial decree. His son, Shushu, inherited the title and participated in the Zhejiang campaign, dying in battle at Quzhou Prefecture. He was posthumously awarded the title of Second-class Qingche duwei; his son, Suozhu, inherited the title and served as Deputy Commander-in-Chief. When Suobao inherited the title, the imperial decree's additional honors were removed, but he retained the title of Qiduwei. The second ascent of the city walls refers to the specific order of military merit and cannot be changed to the first ascent. Yunqiwei, Qingche duwei, and Qiduwei were hereditary titles, distinct from the actual military and political duties of a Deputy Commander-in-Chief. Tiancong was the reign title of Huang Taiji before his conquest of China. The original genealogy also records that Xing Geli's son, Yong'ai, served as Vice Minister of Revenue; Yue Bai served as Chief Supervisor of Imperial Tombs; his grandson, Xifo, served as Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies; and Hanqi served as a scribe. The Ministry of Revenue handled financial administration, while the Court of State Ceremonies handled court assemblies and other ceremonial matters; the two types of civil officials had different responsibilities. The pronunciation of the place name Ping County and its modern corresponding location still need to be verified.