Naihu

Overview

Naihu is a member of the Xingjia 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 Bordered Yellow Banner and was a bondservant from the Macha region. He submitted to the Qing during the Tiancong era and served as an Inner Steward. Tiancong was the reign title of Huang Taiji during the Later Jin dynasty, thus this record indicates that his submission occurred before the Qing entered the Central Plains, though the specific year is not listed.

The Inner Steward was part of the management system for bondservant personnel and related duties. Bonder personnel had specific hierarchical relationships and could hold official positions within their respective ranks; they cannot be simply translated as servants without status. Records show that Naihu's descendants held the position of Inner Steward, including his grandson Luoduoli; his great-grandsons Esuoli, Batai, and Koulou, as well as his great-great-grandson Dagse and fourth-generation descendant Li Baozhu, all recorded as holding similar positions.

This branch did not only produce Inner Stewards. Naihu's son, Yindahuqi, once served as a fourth-rank official; his grandson, Yartai, served as a third-class bodyguard; Roshan served as a stable master; Yihaqi served as a storehouse manager; and his great-grandson, Jinliu, served as a scribe. The stable and storehouse duties respectively involved the management of horses and the storehouse, while the scribe was responsible for document translation, indicating different job roles within the same branch of the bondservant family. The separation of the name "Gahuda Alai" in the descendants, the position of the horse inspector, and the specific title of the fourth-rank official are yet to be verified; hereditary succession is not determined by the same title.