Zhunqi Clan

Overview

The Zhunqi clan is a Manchu surname recorded in Volume 61 of the *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, an official compilation from the Qianlong reign. They were originally from Heilongjiang. Hupili surrendered to the Qing dynasty at the beginning of the reign, and the genealogy records him as belonging to the Bordered White Banner, noting a change of affiliation from the Plain White Banner. His grandsons, Shuangding and Wushi, served as cavalry commanders and garrison commanders, respectively. The Plain White and Bordered White Banners were two different banners and cannot be simply referred to as the same "White Banner."

The cavalry commanders were involved in the management and training of banner soldiers at the grassroots level of the Eight Banners. The garrison commanders were banner-based military officers, and their specific duties must be understood in conjunction with the battalion system and garrison duties. Both positions belonged to Hupili's grandsons; it was not that Hupili himself rose from cavalry commander to garrison commander, nor does it constitute a recorded hereditary title.

The change of affiliation indicates a change in banner affiliation. The banner color listed in the genealogy should not be considered as an identity that remained unchanged from the time of surrender. The original text does not give a specific year of the change of affiliation, so it cannot be deduced from the official positions held by the two grandsons. Heilongjiang is the ancestral home, and Zhunqi is the surname; these two pieces of information cannot be replaced by modern places with the same name or other similar-sounding surnames. The character “Zhun” in the mother's seal is preserved, but the original variant, Manchu surname, specific zuoling (military commander), ancestral settlement, and term of office of descendants still need to be verified.