Sellers

Overview

Sele was a member of the Zhaojia clan of the Plain Red Banner during the early Qing Dynasty. The official Qing Dynasty compilation, *the Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, Volume 31, appendices to various localities, records him as a native of Changbai Mountain, who served as a fourth-rank official (ceremonial officer). His son, Tongbao, served as a seventh-rank official (ceremonial officer), and it is noted that they were transferred from the banner's bondservant (booi (banner bondservant)) system. The conclusion of this section explains their submission to the Qing Dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty. This transfer involved changes in the status of bondservant and other banners, and cannot be considered a change in clan name.

booi (banner bondservant) (booi (banner bondservant)) were a specific group within the Eight Banners with a specific affiliation, not ordinary employees in modern times. Officials (ceremonial officer) were ceremonial officials in princely mansions, responsible for etiquette guidance and other matters. The fourth-rank and seventh-rank officials (ceremonial officer) reflect different ranks; one cannot rewrite both as ordinary civil officials of the same rank, nor is it appropriate to directly assign them to a particular princely mansion based on rank.

Changbai Mountain is a broad historical ancestral home in this context, while Tongbao is his son's name; the character "Tong" does not mean he was transferred to the Tongjia clan. The fact that father and son both served as officials (ceremonial officer) only confirms the same official category, not that the same position was automatically hereditary. The princes to whom the original bondservant belonged, the scope of their reassignment, the specific government offices they were assigned to, and their years of service are yet to be verified. However, the fact that Seller himself was a fourth-rank official can be described independently.