Shufacha Clan

Overview

The Shufacha clan is a Manchu surname listed in Volume 59 of the *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, an official compilation from the Qianlong reign. They resided in Suihe. Yanu of the Bordered Yellow Banner surrendered to the Qing dynasty at its beginning, serving as a pastoral chieftain. His son, Tong'ai, served as a Qiduwei, and his grandson, Sange, served as a guard captain. This record shows three generations of different positions; Tong'ai and Sange's military posts cannot be attributed to Yanu himself.

The pastoral chieftainship was related to pastoral management and should be understood within the context of the Qing dynasty's system of horse and livestock management. The Qiduwei was a basic-level military officer within the banner system, while the guard captain commanded his subordinate guards, serving as a bodyguard and accompanying them on campaigns. The family members' work varied from pastoral management to military guard duties; the entire family cannot be interpreted as a modern "herdsman," nor can their specific pasture be determined solely by their pastoral chieftainship.

Suihe in this entry refers to the ancestral home, Shufacha is the clan name, and the Bordered Yellow Banner refers to their status within the Eight Banners. "At the beginning of the Qing dynasty" only provides a general timeframe; the original text does not specify the year of surrender or the route of migration. The three characters in the sentence refer to personal names, not to three officials or abbreviations of a certain rank. The historical water system and villages of the Sui River, the organization to which the herdsman belonged, the terms of office of three generations of members, and the Manchu surnames still need to be verified through archival research.