Fudai

Overview

Fudai was a member of the Manchu Ezhuo clan, belonging to the Plain Red Banner, and his family had lived in Yehe for generations. Volume 46 of the official Qing dynasty compilation, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that he led sixty Manchu households to surrender at the beginning of the dynasty. These households were organized into a zuoling (military unit) and commanded by him. The sixty households refer to the number of households that surrendered, not sixty soldiers; the organization into a zuoling indicates that this group was incorporated into the basic organizational structure of the Banner people.

Fudai's son, Bursun, later served as a zuoling, distinguishing himself in the battles at Songshan and Xingshan in Jinzhou and during the conquest of the Central Plains, and was awarded the title of Qiduwei. Subsequent successors included Qing'an, Zhaoshan, Mucheng'e, Zhuoqi, and Mulin. Qing'an served as a Langzhong (a mid-level official), Zhaoshan as a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Mucheng'e as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Xi'an, and Zhuoqi as a Commander-in-Chief. Mulin's succession was reduced by the amount granted by imperial decree.

The titles of Langzhong and Shilang belong to the civil service system of the ministries and departments, while Fudutong and Dutong belong to the military and political system of the banners. Qiduwei, however, is a hereditary title based on merit, therefore the order of succession cannot be used as the order of appointment for the same official position. The electronic text uses "Second-Class Qingche duwei" in the section on the imperial edict of conferment, which is questionable compared to the commonly used hereditary title. It needs to be compared with the original printed edition and will not be changed at this time. The exact year of Fudai's submission, the origin of the sixty households, and the complex collateral inheritance relationships are also pending verification.