Yehe Clan

Overview

The Yehe clan is a Manchu surname listed in Volume 57 of the *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Eight Banners Manchu Clans*, an official compilation from the Qianlong reign. This book explicitly states that Yehe was originally a place name, which then became the surname, and that the clan members resided in Yehe for generations. This is direct documentary evidence of how the surname originated, and it cannot be used to merge all different surnames residing in Yehe into the Yehe clan.

The genealogy records that the Qingwu and Yaqibu branches of the Bordered White Banner both submitted to the Qing dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty. Qingwu's grandson, Sange, served as a military officer, and Yaqibu's grandson, Badi, served as a seventh-rank official. The year of submission for the Suoli branch of the Bordered Red Banner is unknown. Suoli himself served as a military officer, his son, Shisheng, served as a ceremonial officer, and his grandson, Qiliu, served as a third-class guard. It is clearly noted that Qiliu was then a bondservant of his banner.

Qiliu is a personal name here; the bondservant information clearly falls on this descendant, and it cannot be inferred that the entire Qingwu, Yaqibu, or Suoli branches held the same status from the beginning. The terms "baoyi" (BaoYi) refer to a specific subordinate relationship, "hujunxiao" (HuJunXiao) is a military position, and "dianyi" (DianYi) and "huwei" (HuWei) respectively involve the ceremonies of the government and the duties of the guards, representing different types of information. The lineage among the three branches, the process of the seventy-six changes in status, and the specific Yehe settlements still need to be verified.