Esuli Clan

Overview

The Esuli clan is a Manchu surname recorded in Volume 49 of the Qing Dynasty official compilation, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*. The simplified form is Esuli. The general introduction states that the clan members are scattered throughout Heilongjiang and other places, while the main text records branches such as Songguotai, Ajiertu, Kalqidai, and Luotuohun. Heilongjiang here refers to the historical geographical origin and should not be directly interpreted as the complete administrative boundary of the province with the same name today.

Both Songguotai and Luotuohun belonged to the Bordered Yellow Banner and were originally from Heilongjiang, but the former records their submission during the Tiancong reign, while the latter records their submission at the beginning of the dynasty. Ajiertu belonged to the Plain White Banner and their ancestral home was Macha; Kalqidai belonged to the Bordered Yellow Banner and their ancestral home was Derji, submitting during the Tiancong reign. Tiancong was the reign title of Huang Taiji, referring to the specific period from 1627 to 1636, while "the beginning of the dynasty" is a general timeframe and cannot be forcibly defined as the same year. The appendix also lists Yildezhe and Heerhudai of Qiqihar in the Plain White Banner, and Alaratu of Songhua River in the Bordered White Banner; the year of their submission is unknown. This indicates that the clan's distribution spanned multiple banners and regions, and that the various branches could not be combined into a single direct lineage based solely on the surname. The titles such as Yunqiwei bestowed upon descendants were hereditary ranks, not titles shared by the entire clan. The original forms of Manchu surnames and the relationships between branches in different regions still require verification.