monk

Overview

The monk was a member of the Plain Yellow Banner's bondservants under the Qing Dynasty. His family had lived in Fushun for generations, but the exact time of their submission is unknown. Volume 77 of the *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners* records that he himself served as a shepherd under the "Dai Clan" entry, and lists the positions held by his descendants. Here, "Monk" should primarily be understood as a name recorded in the genealogy, not as someone who had become a monk according to modern usage.

The original record states that his son, Qin Liu, served as an assistant minister and concurrently as an inner steward; his grandsons, Mu Sen and Fu Bao, both served as inner stewards; Dai Bao served as a lieutenant commander and ceremonial officer; Dai Wen served as an assistant minister; and his great-grandson, Dai Qi, served as a military officer. Compared to entries that only list the official positions of descendants, the monk's original position as shepherd is a directly verifiable personal post. The word "concurrently" in the original text indicates that some descendants held two positions simultaneously, but these positions should not be mistakenly attributed to the monk.

The head of the herds was responsible for herd management, the inner steward was in charge of a certain range of bondservant affairs, the captain was a basic military and political position in the Eight Banners organization, and the ceremonial officer was responsible for corresponding ceremonial affairs. The various positions in this family show that the genealogy records a wide range of official positions, but the original entries do not provide the exact time of appointment, the official office to which they belonged, or their personal achievements. Therefore, specific unrecorded events cannot be inferred from the official titles.