Garjiu

Overview

Garjiu was a member of the Sikterli clan of the Bordered Red Banner during the early Qing Dynasty. Volume 34 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 Guarcha region. During the Tiancong era, he led his clan to surrender to the Qing. Due to his competent service, he was awarded the rank of Qiduwei. After capturing Ye Lei, a fugitive from the Kamuninga tribe, he was promoted to Third-class Qingche duwei, and later, by imperial decree, was promoted to Second-Class. His rewards for service, his merit in capturing Ye Lei, and the imperial decree were separate criteria for awarding titles.

The rank of Qiduwei and Qingche duwei were hereditary titles and cannot be directly interpreted as Garjiu commanding two military camps with the same name. He had no heir, and the title was inherited by his uncle, Zhiduobi, and then passed down through Duoqi, Suozhu, and Weihe. Tiancong was the reign title of the Later Jin dynasty under Huang Taiji; the time of surrender and the succession of titles need to be separated.

His younger brother, Gangjina, served as a non-official in the campaign against Dalinghe. He was the first to lead the army and was awarded the rank of Qiduwei. Later, some of his descendants died in battle in Fujian and were posthumously awarded titles or stripped of their official ranks. Holding the banner is a specific military act, and no additional official title is given; rewards for younger brothers are not attributed to Garju. The kinship chain between Guaercha, Wendao, the uncle's branch, and the younger brother's branch, as well as the timing of rewards and punishments, are subject to review.