Wen Duoshun

Overview

Wen Duoshun belonged to the Irkule clan of the Plain White Banner. Volume 39 of the official Qing dynasty genealogy, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that he lived in Naiming Village. He submitted to the Qing dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty and served as a vanguard guard in the conquest of Yunnan. He entered Ava in Burma and captured the Prince of Gui; later, he defeated the troops of Wang Jizheng, son of Wang Fuchen, in Pingliang, and was awarded the title of Yunqiwei (a military rank). The Prince of Gui here refers to the Yongli Emperor, and should not be interpreted as a member of the Qing imperial family who received a title.

The vanguard was a specific military unit in the Qing dynasty, responsible for advance and combat duties. The vanguard guard was a substantive position; the Yunqiwei was a hereditary military rank, not a separate position managing cavalry. Yunnan, Ava, and Pingliang are locations he experienced, while Naiming Village is the ancestral home recorded in the genealogy. These four should not be considered as a single place of origin.

Wen Duoshun's son, Suozhu, inherited the title, and his grandson, Hushiba, is separately recorded as a deputy cavalry commander. Hereditary titles and actual appointments are different systems. For Suozhu to inherit the title of Yunqiwei does not automatically mean he will take over as a vanguard guard, and a grandchild's official position cannot be reinstated to the original. The modern correspondence between Naiming Village and the specific dates of the two wars, the individual's period of service, and the Suozhu inheritance procedures are pending verification from original inscriptions and archives.