Ting Niu

Overview

Tingniu was a member of the Manchu Ezhuo clan, belonging to the Plain Red Banner. His family had lived in the Heilongjiang region for generations and submitted to the Qing dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty. Volume 46 of the officially compiled *the Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners* records that his son, Shandulan, participated in the battles of Datong and Hunyuan as a civilian without official status. He was the first to scale the city walls during the siege, earning the title of Baturu and being appointed Qiduwei (hereditary merit rank). Later, through two imperial edicts, he was promoted to Third-Class Qingche duwei (hereditary merit rank).

"Civilian without official status" does not refer to a commoner not registered in the banner system, but rather to his official position during the war. Baturu was a title of honor for bravery, while Qiduwei (hereditary merit rank) and Qingche duwei (hereditary merit rank) were hereditary titles for meritorious service. The original text separately explains the initial conferment of the title and the subsequent imperial edicts, therefore it cannot be written that Shandulan directly received the title of Third-Class Qingche duwei (hereditary merit rank) in a single battle.

At the time of compilation, Shandulan's grandson, Puzhong, inherited this hereditary title. The "grandson" here refers to someone who inherited the title from Shandulan and should not be mistakenly considered Tingniu's grandson. Tingniu's grandchildren included Fuerge, who served as a Langzhong (a mid-level official), Shandu, who served as a Yushi (an imperial censor), and his great-grandson Juehe, who served as a Bitieshi (a scribe). Langzhong handled administrative affairs within their respective departments, Yushi was responsible for oversight, and Bitieshi handled paperwork; each position belonged to a different work segment. The area of ​​Tingniu's former residence in Heilongjiang is vast and cannot be pinpointed to a specific town; the exact dates of Tingniu's birth and death, the Hunyuan battle, and the succession relationship between Tingniu and Puzhong remain to be verified.