Tai Shuoku

Overview

Tai Shuoku is a member of the Eji clan recorded in Volume 46 of the Qing Dynasty's official genealogy, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*. He belonged to the Plain Blue Banner, and his family had lived in Ula for generations before submitting to the Qing Dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty. His great-grandson, Samuhatu, participated in the Guizhou campaign as a cavalry officer. On his return journey, he fought against Zheng Chenggong's forces in Jiangning, capturing a warship and being awarded the title of Yunqiwei for his merit. The military achievement belonged to Samuhatu, and it cannot be written that Tai Shuoku personally participated in the Jiangning battle.

Samuhatu had no heir, and his younger brother, Muchen, inherited the title. Muchen later received an additional Yunqiwei posthumously for his merits in the Shaanxi campaign, which was subsequently inherited by his grandson, Wuzhe, and Wuzhe's son, Mukedeng. This succession process involved succession between brothers, posthumous bestowals, and generational succession; it cannot be simplified to a continuous father-son succession, nor can the "capture of a warship" be expanded to include the capture of a fleet.

A cavalry officer was a junior officer in the banner garrison, while Yunqiwei was a hereditary title of merit; the two were different in nature. The family also had a fourth-generation descendant, Baoda, who served as a chief administrator, and Changwu, who served as a defense officer. A fifth-generation descendant, Deseli, also served as a defense officer, representing different positions within the civil service and the banner corps. Ula can be linked to present-day Ula Street in Jilin and related historical areas, but the exact location of Taishuoku's former residence, the exact year of the Jiangning battle, and the date of Muchen's additional gift still need to be verified.