Clan and Banner Background
The Tangda clan is recorded in volume 56 of the Comprehensive Genealogy of Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners with an ancestral home at Kepuqin. Tongtang of the Bordered White Banner served as a guard-company officer; his submission date is unknown. His Chinese-transcribed personal name should not be separated from the entry to invent another clan. His son Hainu served in the same type of office.
Family Service and Distinctions
Tongtang's grandson Suozhu participated as an acting guard-company officer in campaigns in Zhejiang, fighting forces under Liu Guoxuan at Wanyaoshu. He subsequently fought at Shimenkan and Huangcaoba in Yunnan and received the hereditary military distinction yunqiwei. After his death, the award passed to his son Changshou. The record therefore distinguishes Tongtang, Hainu, Suozhu, and Changshou over four generations. Suozhu's battlefield achievements must not be attributed to his grandfather.
Kinship, Succession, and Evidence
The word “acting” indicates temporary exercise of a command, whereas yunqiwei was an inheritable reward rather than the command itself. Changshou's succession to the distinction did not automatically make him a guard-company officer. The genealogy illustrates the coexistence of actual military appointments and hereditary rewards within one family. The precise sites of Kepuqin and Wanyaoshu and the dates of particular battles require checking.
Sources and Bibliography
References reproduce links supplied with the Chinese research manuscript. Individual historical claims have not all been independently verified against the primary sources.
Explore related questions
Read a related explanation or broader background in ManchuCulture Questions. Links open in a new tab.
- Q161 · How Did Traditional Manchu Clan Names Work? ↗ · Background question
- Q162 · What Do Hala and Mukūn Mean in Manchu Clan Names? ↗ · Background question
- Q165 · What Are Some Well-Known Traditional Manchu Clans? ↗ · Background question