Jilaka

Overview

Jilaka was a member of the Zakuta clan of the Bordered Yellow Banner. Volume 36 of the official Qing dynasty genealogy, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that his family had lived in the Gahari region for generations and submitted to the Qing dynasty at its beginning. The Zakuta clan was a Manchu surname, and the Bordered Yellow Banner belonged to the Eight Banners; ancestral home could not be changed simply because descendants fought in other regions. This entry primarily uses the official positions held by descendants to continue the family line.

His great-grandson, Saha, served as a Qiduwei; Alona served as a defense officer; his great-great-grandson, Alishan, served as a guard captain; his fourth-generation descendant, Saiyintu, served as a first-class bodyguard; and Marqi served as a deputy commander. Qiduwei, defense officer, and guard captain were different military positions. The first-class bodyguard belonged to the imperial guard system, and the deputy commander was a high-ranking military position in the Eight Banners. These positions belonged to different descendants and were not promotions of Jilaka's rank.

Marqi died in battle during the campaign against the Dzungars and was posthumously awarded the title of Qiduwei, which was inherited by his son, Yarjianga. The rank of Qiduwei could be inherited as a hereditary title, but the substantive position of Deputy Commander-in-Chief would not automatically pass to his son upon his father's death. Therefore, the text only records that Yarjiang'a inherited the hereditary title, without specifying his succession as Deputy Commander-in-Chief. The location of Gahari, the unit to which Marchi belonged, the date of the battle, and the succession procedures need to be verified against the original printed source and archives.