Kong Guo'er

Overview

Kong Guo'er was a member of the Sikterli clan of the Bordered Red Banner during the early Qing Dynasty. The official Qing Dynasty compilation, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, Volume 34, Guaercha section, records that his grandson Aixin served as a cavalry commander, his great-grandson Changhai as a scribe, and Wushi as a guard commander during the compilation. The end of the entry states that he surrendered during the Tiancong reign, and the annotation also mentions that he was a member of the same clan as Garjiu of the same banner and village. Clan name, banner affiliation, and ancestral home each have independent contexts.

The cavalry commander led the cavalry, while the guard commander served in the guard unit; the two were not interchangeable. The scribe is a transliteration of the Manchu word *bithesi*, referring to a literary administrator handling the writing and translation of Manchu and Chinese documents. Changhai's position cannot be changed to a military commander simply because the same entry mentions an officer. This type of appointment is related to the Qing Dynasty's system of using Manchu and Chinese characters for administrative affairs.

Wushi is preserved as a personal name, not as a number representing the number of officials. Tiancong was the reign title of Huang Taiji's Later Jin dynasty, providing a historical context for their submission; the relationship between brothers within the same clan is not clearly defined, making it impossible to establish a close kinship lineage between Kong Guo'er and Gar Jiu. The ancestral home's modern location, the Changhai document institution, and the appointments of each individual are pending review; the military and civil positions held by their descendants are not attributed to them.