Aldushan

Overview

Ardushan was a member of the Songjia clan of the Bordered Red Banner. Volume 42 of the official Qing dynasty compilation, *the Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that the family originally resided in Warkashi, and submitted to the Qing dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty. Warkashi is the ancestral home name in this entry and cannot be completely merged with other Warkashi place names simply because of their similar pronunciation; Bordered Red Banner refers to the banner to which the family belonged.

His son, Gushan, served as a third-class guard, and his grandson, Changzhu, served as a military officer. Gushan's name in this sentence should not be mistakenly interpreted as a name of an Eight Banner organization before attributing the third-class guard position to Ardushan. Guards belonged to the guard system of princely residences, while military officers belonged to the guard corps; both were different from the third-class imperial guards.

His great-grandson, Dingzhu, served as a military officer in the campaign against the Dzungars, and died in battle at Wusunzhur. He was posthumously awarded the title of Yunqiwei, which was inherited by his brother's son, Malantai. Military officer was Dingzhu's actual position, while Yunqiwei was a hereditary title obtained for his military merit in battle; Malantai's inheritance did not automatically include the position of military officer. This battle belongs to the great-grandson, not to Aldushan himself. The locations of Warkashi and Wusunjur, their affiliated guard organizations, the dates of the battle, and succession records await verification of the original text and other materials.