Su Youde

Overview

Su Youde appears in Volume 77 of the *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners* under the entry for the "Su Clan." He belonged to the Bordered Yellow Banner's bondservant administration, and his family had lived in Liaoyang for generations; the year of their submission is unknown. The genealogy clearly records that Su Youde himself served as a stable master, and lists the official positions of his sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons, thus distinguishing his own position from the experiences of other family members.

The original scribe's son, Nartai, served as a court official; his grandson, Dingzhu, served as a third-class imperial bodyguard; and his great-grandsons, Qishiwu and Sanduo, served as scribes at the time of compilation. A stable master was involved in stable management, a court official was a government clerk, an imperial bodyguard was responsible for palace guard duties, and a scribe was a clerical official. Here, "Qishiwu" is the name of a great-grandson in the genealogy, not his age; "both currently serving" modifies the scribe status of both Qishiwu and Sanduo.

The organization to which Su Youde belonged was related to the Eight Banners and the imperial service system, but the original record did not provide details about his specific jurisdiction over the stables, the dates of his tenure, or the offices his descendants served in. The record shows that members of this family held different types of positions across several generations, but this is insufficient to support inferences about the reasons for their promotions, the hereditary nature of their official positions, or individual political events.