Baldachi

Overview

Baldachi was a member of the Jingqili clan of the Plain White Banner. Volume 36 of the official Qing dynasty genealogy, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that he lived in the Jingqili Ula region. During the Shunzhi reign, he and his clan submitted to the Qing dynasty and were granted the title of Third-Class Baron. He was later promoted to First-Class Baron by imperial decree, but was subsequently dismissed and did not continue the title. Here, "Baron" refers to a hereditary rank and should not be interpreted as a gender term; the distinction between being granted the title through submission and being granted it during war should be explained according to the original text.

His younger brother, Sahalian, was granted the title of Third-class Qingche duwei for his service in submission, and later promoted to First-class Qingche duwei. His son, Aodai, inherited the title and served as Commander-in-Chief. When his grandson, Yude, inherited the title, the imperial decree's additional grant was deducted, but he retained the title of Third-class Qingche duwei. Commander-in-Chief was a high-ranking military post in the Eight Banners, while Qingche duwei was a hereditary title; both could appear in one person's resume, but they were not the same official title.

Sahalian's sons, Kanchukan and Momidai, also have records of being granted and inheriting titles, and his grandson, Sakshen, holds the title of Heshuo Efu (a high-ranking imperial consort). The title of Efu was related to marriage within the imperial clan and was not equivalent to a military command position; the hereditary titles of different branches could not be combined and attributed to Baldachi alone. The ranking of Jingqili Uladi, Aodai, and the lengthy collateral relationships require verification of the original printed source; the record of Shunzhi's submission should not be altered to reflect the early years of the dynasty.