Xie Jinyan

Overview

Xie Jinyan was a bondservant of the Plain White Banner during the Qing Dynasty. The Xie family had long resided in Shenyang, but the year of their submission is unknown. Volume 77 of the *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners* records that his grandson, Ya'ertai, served as a stable master, and his great-grandson, Wohe, served as a cavalry officer. Xie Jinyan himself is not listed as an official. This record indicates that descendants of the same family entered two different fields: stable management and military service within the banner system.

A stable master was responsible for managing livestock. The imperial court needed both imperial horses and cattle and sheep; the Qingfeng Division also had stable masters and deputy stable masters for its cattle and sheep pens. Therefore, the scope of a stable master's management must be determined based on the affiliated agency. Ya'ertai's original text only mentions stable master, which does not definitively identify him as a specific official position in the Imperial Stables, nor should it be confused with the herdsman managing livestock on pastures.

A cavalry officer was a banner officer involved in the affairs of banner soldiers and grassroots military organizations; it is not another title for stable management personnel. The Plain White Banner and the Bondservants respectively indicate the banner color and their affiliation; an individual's military rank must be confirmed separately according to the genealogy. The former official's name indicates that Yartai was already in office at the time of compilation, and the current official's name indicates the situation at that time. The experiences of the two generations cannot be merged into Xie Jinyan's personal biography.