Wu Lu Clan

Overview

The Wu Lu 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*, written in simplified Chinese as Wu Lu. The general narrative recounts that clan members were scattered in places like Ula, followed by a biography of Tunaha as the main figure, with several other branches appended. Ula is a historical geographical name for the Songhua River basin, related to the area around present-day Ula Street in Jilin Province; its historical boundaries did not necessarily correspond to the modern town boundaries.

Tunaha belonged to the Plain Yellow Banner, residing in Ula for generations. He submitted to the Qing Dynasty at its beginning. His great-grandson, Dundali, obtained a hereditary title through sieges and subsequent battles, which was later inherited by his sons. Zharhuji, mentioned in the appendix, belonged to the Bordered White Banner and resided in Yehe; Yisana belonged to the same banner but resided in Akuri; Farsa also came from Akuri, but was explicitly identified as a bondservant. All three belonged to those who submitted to the Qing Dynasty at its beginning. He'erqi, from the Plain Blue Banner, originally resided in Zakumu, but the year of his submission is unknown. These differences indicate that the Wu Lu clan did not belong to only one banner, one region, or one status. The bondservant (baoyi) were a banner-affiliated group with specific affiliations; one cannot change other branches to bondservant status simply because one branch of the same surname was bondservant. Genealogical records are suitable for tracing the ancestral homes and official positions of different families, but they cannot prove that all surnames originated from a single close ancestor. The original forms of Manchu surnames and their branch relationships still need to be verified.