Luke Su

Overview

Lu Kesu was a member of the Wanyan clan in the early Qing Dynasty. Volume 28 of the official Qing Dynasty genealogy, *the Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that he was of the same clan as Ye Chen, residing in the Wanyan region for generations. He submitted to the Qing Dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty, and his biography lists him as a bondservant of the Bordered Yellow Banner, explaining that his family originally belonged to the Bordered Blue Banner. His eldest son, Huqika, served as the Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Department, and his second son, Daqika, was originally a zuoling (a military officer). The original genealogy connects their transfer to the Bordered Yellow Banner as bondservant zuoling with their request to enter the Imperial Household Department.

booi (banner bondservant) were a specific social class within the Eight Banners, not ordinary employees in modern times. The Imperial Household Department was responsible for the daily supplies of the imperial family and the management of related personnel and finances; the Grand Steward oversaw the department's affairs. zuoling was a lower-level bannerman's official title and administrative officer; therefore, "Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Department" and "booi (banner bondservant) zuoling" indicate different levels of official positions and subordinate relationships.

Daqika was appointed as a guard and participated in the Jinzhou campaign in the sixth year of the Chongde reign, ordered to lead artillery troops to protect the supplies at Bijia Mountain. What can be explained here is the military and logistical protection activities of the second son, and cannot be rewritten as Lu Ke Su personally commanding them. Later generations, including Su and Liu Bao, held other literary and central government positions. The original inscription of the character "Su," the specific scope of its renaming, and the dates of the early general administration and defense system are yet to be verified; the original name will be retained.