Qi Chongge

Overview

Qi Chongge was a member of the Usu clan of the Bordered White Banner. Volume 37 of the official Qing dynasty genealogy, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that he was of the same clan as Jisiha, residing in the Warka region. He submitted to the Qing dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty and served as a Grand Secretary of the Hongwen Academy. This branch of the clan was transferred from the Plain White Banner. The Hongwen Academy here refers to a central government institution in the early Qing dynasty and cannot be directly equated with a modern educational institution or university.

The *Draft History of the Qing Dynasty* records that during the Tiancong era, the Wenguan (academic institution) was reorganized into the Inner Three Academyes, namely the National History Academy, the Secretariat Academy, and the Hongwen Academy, which later became integrated with the cabinet system. The title of Grand Secretary of the Hongwen Academy should be understood within the context of the development of central civil service positions in the early Qing dynasty, and cannot be mechanically applied to the full authority and rank of a Grand Secretary in the late Qing dynasty.

Qi Chongge's son, Bai Qingge, served as Governor of Shaanxi; Wuling'a served as a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet and Vice Minister of Rites; Erhetu served as a Secretary; his grandchildren held various positions including Military Commander, First-Class Guard, Assistant Secretary, Chief Secretary, and Clerk. The governor was responsible for local military, political, and civil administration, while the concurrent titles of Grand Secretary of the Cabinet and Vice Minister of Rites involved the central civil service system, and these positions could not be attributed to Qi Chongge himself. The term of office of the Hongwen Academy, Bai Qingge's resume, and the date of his transfer to another post require verification from the original engravings and archives.