Laha

Overview

Laha appears in Volume 54 of the official Qing dynasty genealogy book, *the Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, under the Zhangjin clan appendix. He belonged to the Plain Red Banner as a bondservant, residing in the Changbai Mountains for generations. He submitted to the Qing dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty and once served as a seventh-rank official in charge of ceremonies. The original entry did not list his descendants or specific princely residences; it is one of the few appendices that explicitly records his official ceremonial duties.

Officials in charge of ceremonies were ceremonial officials under princely residences, handling matters such as guiding etiquette, which differed from the duties of guards and attendants. The seventh rank indicates the official rank recorded in this entry, but does not specify the seniority or junior rank. The rank system for officials in charge of ceremonies was adjusted at different times; one cannot use the later unified quota system to revise the original seventh rank, nor can one infer that Laha presided over a specific ceremony simply because he held a ceremonial position.

booi (banner bondservant) (booi (banner bondservant)) was a status within the Eight Banners with a specific subordinate relationship; it was not a modern employment status, nor was it part of the seventh-rank official rank. Zhangjin refers to a Manchu clan, the Plain Red Banner to an official organization, and Changbai Mountains to an ancestral home; these three pieces of information each indicate different levels of social standing. The original text does not specify the princely residence or term of office, so it cannot be directly written as an official of the Imperial Household Department; the specific residence of the family, the ceremonial office, and the historical appointment time still need to be verified by special materials.