Borji

Overview

Borji, whose simplified form is Borji, was a member of the Wencheheng clan, belonging to the Bordered Yellow Banner. His family had lived in Ula for generations and submitted to the Qing dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty. Volume 48 of the official Qing dynasty genealogy, *the Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records two different hereditary military titles passed down through generations. Ula is connected to the Songhua River basin in Jilin and is the family's ancestral home as traced in the genealogy; however, this cannot be used to infer that his descendants were always stationed there.

The first lineage traces back to his son, Esen. Esen served as a zuoling (military officer) and participated in the Qing army's conquest of the Central Plains, earning the title of Yunqiwei (a military rank). He received three imperial edicts that elevated him to the rank of Third-Class Qingche duwei (hereditary merit rank). His son, Wu Santai, inherited this title and served as Infantry Commander. When Wu Santai's son, Wuersai, inherited the title, the imperial edict portion was removed, and he only inherited the title of Yunqiwei. The second lineage traces back to Borji's grandson, Bashan. Bashan served as a zuoling in the campaign against Yunnan. After his death, his merits at Huangcaoba were recorded, and he was posthumously awarded the title of Yunqiwei, which was inherited by his son, Jinbaozhu, and grandson, Shege. "Posthumous commendation" does not equate to a clear record of death in battle in the original text; this distinction should be preserved in the narrative. zuoling was an actual position, while Yun Qi Wei and Qing Che Du Wei were hereditary titles; Bu Jun Zong Wei involved different personnel management responsibilities. The genealogy also contains records of descendants of younger brothers participating in the war, which must be separated from the direct line. The specific cause of death, term of office, and dates of the battle still need to be verified.