Tong Zuo

Overview

Tong Zuo is a member of the Tong clan recorded in Volume 73 of the *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*. The original text states he was a bondservant of the Plain White Banner, whose family had lived in Kaizhou for generations, but the exact year of their surrender is unknown. Here, "bondservant" refers to a subordinate status within the Eight Banners organization, not an official title held by Tong Zuo himself. The genealogy does not list Tong Zuo's official position, birth and death dates, or the exact year of his surrender; therefore, his personal experiences should not be inferred from the records of his descendants.

This genealogy primarily focuses on the official positions held by his descendants: his grandson Tong Yingju served as a prefect, and Tong Yingdeng served as a lieutenant; his great-grandson Yierseni served as an interpreter, Qingshan as a scribe, and Daitong as a treasurer. His great-great-grandson, Yisutai, served as a scribe, and Liuge as a secretary; his fourth-generation descendant, Puyi, served as a deputy shepherd when the genealogy was compiled. The text also lists titles such as "Commander-in-Chief" and "Colonel-in-Chief," but the electronic transcription is very tight, and the punctuation between some titles and names needs to be verified. Appointments cannot be arbitrarily added without proofreading.

Prefect, Secretary, Interpreter, and Treasurer involved different government affairs, while Colonel-in-Chief was a banner-level administrative position. The historical value of Tong Zuo lies not in being a complete biography, but in providing clues about the ancestral home and official positions of a branch of the Tong clan, a bondservant family of the Plain White Banner. Further verification is needed regarding the historical and geographical correspondence with Kaizhou.