Sartai

Overview

Sartai, listed in Volume 51 of the *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners* under the entry for the Wendu clan, belonged to the Plain Blue Banner. His family had lived in Neyinjiang for generations and submitted to the Qing dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty. He himself participated in battles in Jiangxi and Huguang as a zuoling (a military officer), later stationed in Jiangning. He died in battle against Zheng Chenggong's army in Zhenjiang and was posthumously awarded the title of Qiduwei.

This hereditary title was inherited by his son, Fobaozhu, and later by Fobaozhu's son, Tana. The genealogy records that Tana served as a Protector-General and zuoling at the time of its compilation. While the father-son succession is relatively clear, the grandfather's death, the son's succession, and the grandson's appointment occurred in different eras and cannot be considered as a single individual experience.

A zuoling managed the households, land, and military registers under his jurisdiction, while a Protector-General supervised the Protector-General; both positions could be held by the same person. Qiduwei was a hereditary title of merit, not equivalent to these actual military ranks. Jiangning and Zhenjiang are clearly mentioned as garrison and combat locations in this text, while Neyinjiang is the family's ancestral home and cannot be substituted for each other. Specific dates of garrison duty and dates of death are not recorded, and the battles must be described according to the genealogy, and the military achievements of other figures cannot be combined simply because Sartai shares the same name.