Xu Sheng

Overview

Xu Sheng is a member of the Plain Blue Banner bondservant family, listed in Volume 77 of the *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, an official compilation of the Qianlong reign. His family had lived in Shenyang for generations, but the year of their submission is unknown. The original record states that his great-grandson, Xu Jiuge, served as a third-class guard at the time of compilation, and his great-great-grandson, Xu Qishisan, served as a military officer. The character "Sheng" is preserved according to the electronic version used and cannot be directly merged with "XuSheng" (Xu Sheng), which is listed separately in the same volume, without collation.

A third-class guard was a rank within the guards of a prince's residence, responsible for guarding the residence and accompanying the princes. A military officer, on the other hand, was a military rank within the military guard organization. Although both were related to guard duty, their institutions, management targets, and personnel systems differed. Therefore, Xu Jiuge cannot be changed to a third-class guard, nor can Xu Qishisan's position as a military officer be written as a guard officer.

The ranks and grades of guards in Qing dynasty princely residences evolved over time. The original entry did not specify the particular prince's residence to which Xu Jiuge belonged or the year he served. Therefore, his rank cannot be supplemented according to later regulations. The number 73 is located in the name of a great-grandson and cannot be interpreted as the age of office; his military affiliation is also not recorded, and the rank of the military officer should be determined separately based on the available official positions.