Topqi

Overview

Topqi was a member of the Yehe Nara clan of the Plain Blue Banner during the early Qing Dynasty. His family had lived in the Yehe region for generations and submitted to the Qing Dynasty at its inception. Volume 22 of the official Qing Dynasty genealogy, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that he served as a youji (military officer); his son, Ang'ai, served as a military officer; his grandson, Zhushan, served as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in Shengjing and concurrently as a zuoling; E'dai served as Provincial Treasurer of Gansu; Todai served as a scribe; and Toge served as an eighth-rank official. His great-grandson, Zhuotai, served as an assistant instructor; Fusong served as an assistant director; Gangling served as a Qiduwei; and his great-great-grandson, Mingfu, served as a scribe. The Ministry of Revenue in Shengjing belonged to the system of ministries and departments in the capital, responsible for corresponding financial affairs, and cannot be directly written as the Ministry of Revenue in Beijing. The Provincial Treasurer was a provincial-level administrative official responsible for finance and civil affairs, different from the central or capital-based institutions where the Vice Minister served. The zuoling managed the basic organization of the Eight Banners. youji (military officer), military officer, and Qiduwei were different military titles; the nature of the early youji (military officer) cannot be simply determined according to the later Green Standard Army system. The assistant instructor was responsible for corresponding teaching affairs, and the scribe was a clerk, the specific institution to which they belonged is not specified in this entry. The text is arranged from ancestors to great-grandsons, and it cannot be written as a single account of Topzi's career path by combining his positions in different regions and institutions.