Meng Etu

Overview

Meng Etu was a member of the Saharcha clan of the Bordered Red Banner. Volume 41 of the official Qing dynasty genealogy, *the Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that his family had lived in Saharcha for generations. He surrendered to the Qing dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty and held the hereditary rank of Qiduwei while campaigning against the Ming dynasty, earning the rank of third-class Qingche duwei for his merits. While his surname and ancestral home are the same, they are still separate family and geographical information, and their shared characters do not allow for further deduction of Manchu etymology.

His son, Chuonuo, inherited the title of Qiduwei, but was wounded and died during the campaign against Ningyuan. His brother, Aji, succeeded him, and was further granted the rank of second-class Qingche duwei by imperial decree. Later, through Wenggu and Jiman, the title was passed down to Changbao, retaining the Qiduwei rank after deducting the imperial decree's additional rank, and was then inherited by Wanfu. Hereditary ranks were not fixed in each generation, and the injuries and deaths, as well as the subsequent dismissals, involved different people and events.

The genealogy also records that his grandson, Wu Daku, served as an imperial censor, and Shatan as a vice minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices; his great-grandson, Shuangcha, served as a secretary; and later generations included zuoling (military officer) and Bitieshi (scribe). The Imperial Censor was an official in charge of supervision, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was involved in sacrificial rites, and the Gentlemen-in-Waiting and Brush-in-Waiting were administrative officials; they could not all be called military officers. The origins of Meng Etu's original title of Qiduwei, the details of his succession by relatives, the dates and location of the Ningyuan battle, and other information need to be verified against the original printed text and archives.