Yao Da

Overview

Yao Da appears in Volume 77 of the *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, under the entry for the Yao clan. The original text records him as a bannerman of the Plain White Banner, residing in Shenyang, but the year of his submission is not clearly recorded. The genealogy does not provide details of Yao Da's own official position, but rather lists in detail the positions of his sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons. This method of listing descendants' positions by ancestor's name cannot be interpreted as the person listed in the entry holding all official positions.

Yao Da's son, Yao Chengde, served as a deputy general, and Yao Chengmei served as a scribe. Among his grandsons, Yao Guodong and Erge served as warehouse managers, while Wushiha and Zhaosheng served as treasurers. His great-grandson, Yongcheng, served as a military officer, Mazhu served as treasurer, Yongtai served as an assistant secretary when the genealogy was compiled, and Yao Wenbin served as a warehouse manager. A deputy general was a military officer, a scribe handled official documents, and an assistant secretary was a staff member; warehouse manager and treasurer were two different titles related to treasury affairs and cannot be combined into one official position simply because they were related to treasury affairs.

The genealogy does not specify the location where Yao Chengde served as deputy general, nor does it record which warehouses or government offices Yao Guodong and others managed; therefore, it is impossible to supplement the specific place of office based on official titles. The verifiable value of the record of Yao Da mainly lies in his status as a bannerman of the Plain White Banner, the origin of his family residence in Shenyang, and clues about the various positions his descendants held in the military, clerkship, and treasury.