Bohucha

Overview

Bohucha was a member of the Ulanara clan of the Plain Yellow Banner during the early Qing Dynasty, whose family had lived in Ulan for generations. Volume 23 of the official Qing Dynasty genealogy, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that he was the great-grandson of Eheshanggu, the eldest son of Durshi. He submitted to the Qing Dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty and served as a zuoling (banner-company commander); his eldest son, Nomuqi, also served as a zuoling. His second son, Feiyanggu, was ordered by Huang Taiji to enter the Baoyi zuoling (a military officer rank), where he was raised in the inner court. Later, he served as a bodyguard, participating in battles in Korea, Dalinghe, and Jinzhou, and successively held positions such as the Director of the Imperial Household Department and the Commander of the Infantry. He later requested permission to return to his original banner. The Baoyi status was a specific subordinate position within the Eight Banners and could not be simplified to that of an ordinary employee; entering the Baoyi zuoling and later returning to his original banner indicates that Feiyanggu experienced different management systems. The Commander of the Infantry was in charge of the defense and patrols of the capital, while the Imperial Household Department handled the imperial finances and palace services. In the thirteenth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, because Bohucha was the grandfather of Empress Xiaojingxian, the court posthumously conferred upon him the title of First-Class Duke along with the Empress's great-grandfather Tounebaturu and father Feiyanggu. This posthumous conferment by the imperial family's relatives should be described separately from Bohucha's posthumous position as a zuoling (military commander), and Feiyanggu's official career should not be written as part of his father's deeds.