Tu Nan

Overview

Tu Nan was a member of the Bayara clan of the Plain Yellow Banner. Volume 38 of the official Qing dynasty genealogy, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that he lived in the Kumunu region and submitted to the Qing during the Tiancong era. Tiancong was the reign title of Huang Taiji's Later Jin dynasty, indicating that his submission occurred before the Qing dynasty entered the Central Plains. Kumunu was the original name of his ancestral home in the genealogy and cannot be simply changed to a modern village or town based on similar pronunciation without geographical evidence.

His son, Yin Tai, served as a Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet and concurrently as Vice Minister of Rites, and his grandson, Qi Shi, served as an Assistant Minister. A Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet was a civil official in the central government, involved in matters such as submitting memorials to the emperor. The concurrent appointment of Vice Minister of Rites involved the concurrent titles of officials in the central government at the time and cannot be simply written as simultaneously presiding over both the Inner Cabinet and the Ministry of Rites. An Assistant Minister was a substantive official position, responsible for specific duties within their assigned department, the specific responsibilities varying depending on the department.

In this entry, Qi Shi is the name of a grandson, not indicating age, and cannot be directly combined with other clans or banner members sharing the same name. Yin Taihe's official position at the age of seventy belonged to his descendants and could not be transferred to Tu Nan himself; the family's banner registration could not be changed to Han military status simply because a descendant entered a central civil service position. The exact date of Kumunu's modern correspondence and submission, the term of office of Academician Yin Taihe, and the office to which the seventy-year-old Assistant Minister belonged need to be verified against the original printed source and archives.