Heqika

Overview

Heqika was a member of the Wuzhala clan of the Plain Yellow Banner during the early Qing Dynasty. Volume 30 of the official Qing Dynasty genealogy, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that his family originally lived in the Heilongjiang region and submitted to the Qing Dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty. His grandson, Munahun, attacked Jizhou as a banner member without a regular appointment, and was awarded the title of Yunqiwei (hereditary merit rank) for being the second to scale the city walls. After entering the pass to fight, he was promoted to Qiduwei (hereditary merit rank). After his death, his elder brother, Moluhun, inherited the title, and he received three imperial edicts that elevated him to the rank of Second-class Qingche duwei (hereditary merit rank).

"unappointed" refers to a banner-level position. Yunqiwei, Qiduwei, and Qingche duwei were hereditary titles and should not be interpreted as commanders being promoted sequentially within the same unit. Imperial edicts were a source of additional rewards from the court and should be explained separately from previous personal military achievements. The "second to scale the city walls" should also be preserved according to the original genealogy, not changed to "first to scale the city walls."

Subsequently, several branches of the family inherited the title. When it reached Haizhu, the portion added by the imperial edicts was removed, but the title of Qiduwei was retained. Furthermore, fourth-generation descendant Du Luntai served as a Qiduwei, and Wu Lanbao served as a guard captain. These two positions belonged to the cavalry and guard systems respectively, which differed from hereditary titles. The specific former residence in Heilongjiang and the multiple succession relationships of collateral branches are yet to be verified. The military merits of each generation were not attributed to He Qika himself.