Ma Er Ji

Overview

Marji, whose mother's original name was "Marji," was a member of the Hong'e clan and the eldest son of Zhaiqi. Volume 55 of the *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners* records under the entry for Zhaiqi of the Bordered Yellow Banner that he served as a third-class imperial bodyguard. This branch of the family had long resided in the Changbai Mountains. Zhaiqi surrendered to the Qing dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty and served as a military officer; his father's surrender and official position should be described separately from Marji's own appointments.

The *Genealogy* explains that Hong'e was originally the name of a mountain, from which the clan adopted their surname, and that clan members were scattered throughout the Changbai Mountains and surrounding areas. The Changbai Mountains mentioned here refer to the family's historical geographical location and cannot directly specify which county or village Marji was born in today. The Bordered Yellow Banner was one of the Eight Banners; banner registration indicates military household status, not simply another way of writing geographical place of origin.

A third-class imperial bodyguard belonged to the emperor's bodyguard system, responsible for guarding and attending to the emperor; "third-class" was a rank of bodyguard, equivalent to the fifth rank in the Qing dynasty, not a third-rank official. Marji's younger brother, Suozhu, served as a military officer, and another younger brother, Sengseli, served as a third-class imperial bodyguard in the campaigns in Jiangxi and Guangdong. He died in battle and was posthumously awarded the title of Yunqiwei. Sengseli's military exploits and posthumous title cannot be attributed to his elder brother Marji; the original text also does not state that Marji himself received the same hereditary title.