Yindahuqi

Overview

Yindahuqi was a member of the Fuca clan of the Bordered Blue Banner in the early Qing Dynasty. His family had lived in Saiyinneyin for generations and submitted to the Qing Dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty. Volume 27 of the official Qing Dynasty clan genealogy, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that he served as a Qiduwei and had three sons: Mandarhan, Andali, and Nikana. His eldest son also served as a Qiduwei. His second son, Andali's son, Alantai, served as a Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall and Minister of Personnel. His third son, Nikana, participated in the battles in Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan as a third-class guard, earning the rank of Qiduwei and later becoming a Commander of the Imperial Guard. The Qiduwei was a basic military rank in the banner system, while guards were mainly under the jurisdiction of princes and nobles. The Commander of the Imperial Guard was in charge of the Imperial Guard battalion, while the Qiduwei was a hereditary military title and should not be confused with other ranks. Nikana had no sons, and his hereditary title was inherited by his brother's grandson, Funing'an. Funing'an later served as Minister of Personnel, Grand Secretary, and General of Pacification, and was once granted the title of Marquis but was later stripped of it. After his death, his younger sister's son, Wululi of the Wusu clan, succeeded him as Qiduwei. This was a specific succession arrangement across clan lines, and it does not mean that all hereditary positions of the Fuca clan could be inherited by outsiders at will. The high-ranking official positions of Alantai and Funingan, as well as their military affairs in the Northwest, belonged to their descendants and should not be considered part of Yindahuqi's own official career.