Po Clan

Overview

The Po family is listed in Volume 79 of the *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, under the category of Tainikan surnames within the Manchu banners. Their ancestor is Pogelema. Pogelema belonged to the Bordered White Banner, residing in Tieling, with the year of their submission unknown. Their great-grandson, Zaobao, served as an infantry officer; their great-great-grandson, Changqiu, served as an infantry officer when the genealogy was compiled; Altai served as a guard officer; and their fourth-generation descendant, Fukui, served as a cavalry officer.

This group of descendants held positions spanning the infantry, guard, and cavalry. Infantry officers were involved in leading and guarding rank-and-file soldiers; guard officers served in the guard system; and cavalry officers managed and trained cavalrymen. Although all titles included "Officer," their organizational affiliation and specific duties differed.

"Great-great-great-grandson" usually refers to a great-great-grandson. Zaobao and Changqiu were not from the same generation. The original entry also uses "fourth-generation descendant" to indicate Fukui's generation; a complete genealogy should be determined based on the original text's context, not by simply adding names in order to make each person the son of the previous person. Tieling is the ancestral home recorded in the genealogy, and cannot be automatically considered as the place of office for these military officers. The punctuation of the name of Pogelai Ma, the attribution of the Poge family title, the generation and the year of office are subject to review by the original engraving, and the original entries in the mother database are retained.