Mangke

Overview

Mangke was a member of the Huifa Nara clan of the Bordered Blue Banner in the early Qing Dynasty, the grandson of Wang Jinu, whose family had lived in Huifa for generations. Volume 24 of the official Qing Dynasty clan genealogy, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that in the early Qing Dynasty, he led his brothers and fellow villagers to submit to the Qing, forming a zuoling (military unit) under his command. His grandson, Luohe, served as Deputy Commander-in-Chief; his great-grandson, Luoduo, served as Military Commander; Nerbu served as zuoling; and several of his great-great-grandsons and descendants also held zuoling positions. Leading a group of people to submit and forming a zuoling demonstrates that this was not only a record of an individual's entry into officialdom but also preserves the process of local people being incorporated into the basic organizational structure of the Eight Banners. zuoling refers to both a basic unit and its managing official, involving household registration, soldiers, and related military and political affairs; Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Military Commander were military and political officials of different levels and battalions. The biography also lists the descendants of Mangke's brother, Samuha: Yitu served as Treasurer; Suobai served as Cavalry Commander; and Suotai and Jintu served as scribes. The treasurer manages the treasury, and the clerk handles written documents; the specific institutions need to be verified separately. This branch of the family cannot be combined into a direct line of the Mangke clan, nor can it be assumed that they inherited the same zuoling position each time simply because multiple generations served as zuoling.