Mingyu

Overview

Mingyu was a member of the Lijia clan of the Plain Blue Banner. The official Qing dynasty compilation, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, Volume 33, records that his family originally resided in Zakumu, but the year of their submission is unknown. His son, Laha, served as a military officer; Huase was a third-class guard at the time of compilation; and his grandson, Wuge, also served as a military officer, with a note indicating that Wuge later became a bondservant of his banner. The note clearly refers to the grandchildren; one cannot simply change the entire family's early status to bondservant.

bondservant were a specific social group within the Eight Banners, not ordinary employees in modern times. The Plain Blue Banner was a specific banner, insufficient to definitively identify the prince to whom the bondservant belonged. A military officer was a military post within the guards, while a third-class guard served in the princely household's retinue system; Huase cannot be renamed a third-class imperial guard.

Laha and Huase were sons, while Wuge was a grandson. The name Wuge does not represent five officials. Family records simultaneously include military appointments, household service, and changes in the official affiliation of descendants; these should be interpreted in layers. The exact time of the Wuge reorganization, the affiliated bondservants system, the location of the royal palace and the Zhakumu are yet to be verified, and the year of submission remains unknown.