Tengguo

Overview

Tengguo is a figure recorded in Volume 43 of the *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, under the Xitala clan. He belonged to the Plain Blue Banner, came from Fukeshun, and was listed among those who surrendered at the beginning of the dynasty. Official Qing dynasty genealogies record that he was originally a Yunqiwei (a military rank), as was his son, Kona; his grandson, Saisa, served as a Censor; his great-grandson, Sele, served as a Second-Class Guard; and his great-great-grandson, Xizhu, served as a Second-Class Guard at the time of compilation.

The Yunqiwei was a hereditary title for meritorious officials, recording the rank conferred and the associated qualifications for inheritance, not the rank of captain of a specific cavalry unit. Both Tengguo and Kona held this title, but the appendix does not specify the reasons for the conferment or the inheritance procedures, therefore it cannot be expanded to suggest that father and son were conferred the title for the same military achievement, or that a specific battle was added.

The Censor belonged to the system of supervisory officials, whose duties included auditing government affairs, refuting decisions, and investigating, which differed from the hereditary title of Yunqiwei. Second-class guards were found in the system of princely residences, undertaking duties such as escorting and serving, and were not the same as the second-class guards of the Emperor's Guard. This article therefore simultaneously presents three categories: hereditary official status, central inspector, and residence guards, which must be interpreted separately by generation and nature. The positions of Fukeshun, the reasons for Tengguo's appointment, and the princely residences to which Sele and Xizhu belonged need to be verified.