Qinggeli Clan

Overview

The Qinggeli clan is a Manchu surname recorded in Volume 59 of the official genealogy of the Manchu clans of the Eight Banners, compiled during the Qianlong reign. They were originally from Heilongjiang. During the reign of Emperor Tiancong of the Bordered Yellow Banner, Gaimu submitted to the Qinggeli clan. His son, Aiyinbu, served as a military officer, and his grandson, Zhangbaozhu, served as a cavalry officer. The genealogy also records that Gaimu's younger brother, Baltu, served as a first-class imperial bodyguard, and another brother, Bayanmu, had sons, Bakam and Yangzhu, who served as infantry officers and cavalry officers respectively.

Here, clear fraternal and nephew-nephew relationships are established: Baltu and Bayanmu were Gaimu's brothers, and Bakam and Yangzhu were Bayanmu's sons, not Gaimu's own sons. Therefore, the family records include not only direct descendants but also close collateral relatives.

First-class imperial bodyguards were responsible for the emperor's security and escort, while military officers, infantry officers, and cavalry officers served in different military organizations and cannot be collectively referred to as the same type of imperial guard simply because they belonged to the same family. Tiancong was the reign title used by Huang Taiji during the Later Jin period, which belonged to the pre-Central Plains period. Therefore, it is not appropriate to place the official positions of his descendants under this reign title. The specific ancestral home in Heilongjiang, the exact year of Gaimu's surrender, and the dates of appointment of his relatives are still to be verified. Birth and death dates cannot be deduced based on kinship terms.