Xunta

Overview

Xunta is a member of the Xitala clan recorded in Volume 43 of the official Qing dynasty compilation, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*. He belonged to the Plain Yellow Banner's bondservant (baoyi) and originated from the Yehe region. He submitted to the Qing during the Tiancong era and served as a garrison commander. Tiancong was the reign title used by Huang Taiji during the Later Jin dynasty, beginning in 1627 and ending in 1636 with the change to Chongde. Therefore, this entry limits the period of submission to before the Qing's entry into the Central Plains.

bondservant-companions (baoyi) were a specific group within the Eight Banners with a defined affiliation, capable of being incorporated into corresponding organizations and holding official positions. Xunta's garrison commander position was a military rank. His son, Xilantai, served as an assistant minister (yuanwailang), his grandson, Hese, as a minister (langzhong), and his grandson, Xifo, as a clerk (zhushi). These later official positions demonstrate that the bonder-companion status could not be simply equated with ordinary servants without administrative duties.

Ministers (langzhong), assistant ministers (yuanwailang), and clerks (zhushi) were different officials in the ministries handling official business, involving documents, review, and specific administrative affairs; garrison commanders (fangyi) belonged to the banner military system. While Yehe can be geographically referenced by historical sites in the present-day Siping area of ​​Jilin, this entry does not specify the exact village of the Xunta family, and the administrative boundary of the modern Yehe Manchu Town cannot be taken as the boundary of their ancestral home. The exact year of Xunta's submission and the respective institutions where he and his son served are yet to be verified.