Niya Star

Overview

Niya Xing'a was a member of the Sujia clan, belonging to the Plain Red Banner, and originally from Yehe. He submitted to the Qing dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty. Volume 48 of the official Qing dynasty compilation, *the Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, details his descendants with numerous records of military achievements and succession. Yehe is connected to the area around present-day Yehe in Siping, Jilin, but the ancestral residence recorded in the genealogy does not necessarily correspond to the location of each official post held by later generations.

His great-grandson, Guimuchen, participated in the battle of Tancheng in Shandong as a non-official, was the first to scale the city walls and died in battle, and was posthumously awarded the title of Qiduwei (hereditary merit rank), which was inherited by his son, Nikan. This branch later received additional honors through imperial decrees, succession by collateral branches, and further awards for military merit in Yunnan. When Sanbao inherited the title, the portion awarded through imperial decrees was deducted, leaving him with the title of Qiduwei (hereditary merit rank) and concurrently a Yunqiwei (a Qiduwei (hereditary merit rank)). Another branch's great-grandson, Kalai, participated in the battles of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Yunnan as an acting commander, and was awarded the title of Qiduwei (hereditary merit rank); he had no heir, and the title was inherited by his brother's grandson, Ayang'a. Ayang'a was dismissed from his post due to some incident, and his hereditary position was succeeded by his younger brother, Erluntai. However, the genealogy records that Ayang'a later rose from a second-class bodyguard to the position of Commander-in-Chief of Tianjin. Therefore, "dismissal" only describes one stage in his career and cannot be written as a permanent refusal to hold office. The Commander-in-Chief commanded the banner garrisons, while the bodyguards belonged to the princes' mansions, and the hereditary position was a different kind of merit-based reward. The succession dates and reasons for the punishments of each branch still need to be verified.