Mangjia

Overview

Mangjia is listed in Volume 53 of the *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, under the entry for the Mu clan. He belonged to the Plain Yellow Banner, and his family had lived in Yehe for generations. He submitted to the Qing dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty and served as a Langzhong (a minor official). His son, Selebu, served as a Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet and concurrently as Vice Minister of Rites; Wudaha and Ese served as Grand Readers of the Inner Cabinet; Laizhu served as an Assistant Instructor; and Esente served as a Clerk.

Grand Secretaries of the Inner Cabinet and Grand Readers of the Inner Cabinet were officials who participated in the review of memorials and documents. The concurrent position of Vice Minister of Rites was a separate honorary title, and it cannot be assumed that he was simultaneously responsible for all affairs of the Ministry of Rites. Langzhong was a professional position within the government office; the specific agency to which Mangjia belonged is not recorded, and it is inappropriate to infer that he was a Langzhong of the Ministry of Rites from his son's concurrent position as Vice Minister of Rites.

His grandson, Yindali, also served as a Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet and concurrently as Vice Minister of Rites. Other descendants included Captains, Infantry Commanders, Guards Commanders, and Third-Class Imperial Guards. The Manchu term for Clerk is bithesi, and it involved written affairs; Third-Class Imperial Guards were part of the emperor's personal guard system. Yemu was a Manchu clan, and Yehe was their ancestral home; therefore, their official positions cannot be determined solely from this. The original text only provides the rank of a fifth-grade official, without specifying the exact position. Multiple generations holding the same title indicate clues about family official appointments, but it cannot yet be concluded that scholar or physician were hereditary positions.