Min Guorui

Overview

Min Guorui is a bondservant of the Plain Yellow Banner, listed in the Min Clan entry of Volume 78 of the *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*. His family had lived in Shenyang for generations, but the year of their submission is unknown. The original record states that his great-grandson, Min Dengju, served as a cavalry commander, and his great-great-grandson, Min Bashi, served as a storekeeper at the time of compilation. Min Bashi is a personal name and "eighty" should not be interpreted as age; "great-great-grandson" should be understood as "great-great-great-grandson."

A cavalry commander was a low-ranking military officer in the cavalry, involved in the management and training of officers and soldiers; a storekeeper was responsible for storehouse duties. In the Imperial Household Department, storekeepers were found in the Construction Department, the Inner Management Department, and other departments; the same title did not necessarily mean serving in the same storehouse. The original genealogy does not specify Min Bashi's storehouse location, so he cannot be directly added as the storekeeper of the Guangchu Department.

The Plain Yellow Banner was one of the Upper Three Banners, and its bondservant affairs had an Imperial Household Department background. In contrast, the cavalry battalion also had different organizational structures, including those of the regular Eight Banners and the bondservant battalion. The rank and grade of the cavalry officers had to be determined based on their battalion affiliation; one could not simply assign Min Dengju a specific official rank based solely on his "Plain Yellow Banner" affiliation.

Shenyang, now Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, was an important political center in the early Qing Dynasty after the Later Jin Dynasty moved its capital. The term "hereditary residence" here refers to the family's former residence and does not prove that descendants held positions in Shenyang continuously. The genealogical record also does not indicate that Min Guorui himself held an official position; therefore, his work in document processing or archives cannot be included in his personal resume.