Jin Dali

Overview

Jin Dali was a member of the Yilali clan, belonging to the Plain Red Banner, and his family had lived in the Derji River area for generations. Volume 47 of the official Qing dynasty genealogy, *the Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that he and his elder brother Amida submitted to the Qing dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty. Later, he served in the army as a non-military officer, advancing through the Beijing area. During the siege of Rongcheng County (mentioned in the original text), he was the second to scale the city wall and was awarded the title of Yunqiwei (LongWei). In the banner records, "non-military officer" is a description of status, not a military title; Yunqiwei was a hereditary title awarded for merit and could be inherited according to regulations.

Jin Dali later received three imperial edicts, rising to the rank of Third-Class Qingche duwei. After his death, his son Huase inherited the title. When Huase's son Shige inherited it again, the additional imperial edicts were removed, and he inherited only Yunqiwei, and was recorded in the genealogy as serving as the Wing Chief of the Imperial Mausoleum. The Wing Chief of the Imperial Mausoleum was related to the organization and management of the imperial mausoleum's guards and was a substantive position; inheriting the title of Yunqiwei reflected family merit, and both could coexist. This record, starting with Jin Dali, clearly distinguishes between brothers submitting together and the hereditary succession of official positions between fathers, sons, grandfathers, and grandsons. The location of the Delji River, as well as the place names and punctuation of the battles recorded in the original text by linking "conquest of Shandong" and "Rongcheng County," still require verification from the original printed edition and battle records.