Qidal Clan

Overview

The Qidal clan is a Manchu surname recorded in Volume 59 of the *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, an official compilation from the Qianlong era. Their ancestral home was Yehe. The year of Suihe's submission to the Qing Dynasty under the Plain Yellow Banner is unknown. His son, Shushu, served as a Xiaoqixiao (NiaoQiXiao), and his grandson, Mingtai, served as a Fangyu (FangXiu). These were military positions held by their descendants, not Suihe's own official rank.

Xiaoqixiao was a low-ranking military officer in the Eight Banners, involved in the training, discipline, and daily management of their assigned banner troops. Fangyu was a military officer title in the Eight Banners, requiring interpretation based on specific battalion structures and garrisons. Neither position belonged to the civil service like Langzhong (LangZhong), nor were they hereditary military ranks like Qingche Duwei (QingCheDuWei) or Yunqiwei (YunQiWei). The succession of official positions by father and son did not directly translate to hereditary titles.

The Yehe genealogy provides the historical ancestral home region, the Plain Yellow Banner provides military and political affiliation, and Qidal is the surname. Combining these three pieces of information helps distinguish Shushu and Mingtai from other individuals with the same given name, but a shared ancestral home alone cannot determine the place of birth. The term "current" in the genealogy refers to the state relative to the time of data compilation, not to the current position. The specific battalion structure, post, Manchu surname, and the era of Suihe's submission still need to be verified. The original text does not provide the military achievements and birth and death dates of the officials of both generations.