Nomutu

Overview

Nomutu is a bondservant (baoyi) of the Plain Blue Banner in the Wanyan clan genealogy. Volume 28 of the official Qing dynasty compilation, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that he served as a military officer (hujunxiao) in the Wanyan region, and that his son, Jiede, also served as a military officer, and his grandson, Qishiliu, served as a fourth-rank official. The concluding remarks of this entry explicitly state that his ancestral home was in the Wanyan region, and the year of his submission is unknown. The lack of a known year cannot be changed to submission at the beginning of the Qing dynasty.

bondservant (baoyi) were a specific group within the Eight Banners with a particular affiliation, and cannot be simply understood as ordinary employees. The Plain Blue Banner indicates the banner affiliation; this entry does not specify the prince to whom the bondservant belonged, therefore it cannot be directly written as a member of the Upper Three Banners of the Imperial Household Department. The Qing dynasty bondservant system also had military units such as guards (hujun), with the military officer (hujunxiao) responsible for leading his assigned guards and performing military duties.

The fact that both father and son served as military officers (hujunxiao) only confirms that two generations held the same official title, and does not prove that the same position was automatically hereditary. Qishiliu is a grandson’s personal name, not a count of descendants. The rank of a fourth-grade official indicates a hierarchical position, which differs from the exact job title. Furthermore, the fourth grade can have different subordinate ranks and job categories; this range should be retained when the original genealogy only lists the fourth grade. The spelling of the personal name Goude, the organizational structure of the bondservant group, the fourth-grade official position of "Seventy-six," and the year of his surrender are yet to be verified.