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Tulai: Guard Commander and Early Qing General

English editorial translation of the Chinese source entry

Tulai was the seventh son of Fiongdon, one of Nurhaci's prominent early commanders. He was originally registered in the Bordered Yellow Banner and later transferred with his brothers to the Plain Yellow Banner. He is not the same individual as Tong Tulai of the Tunggiya family, d…

Written by MING YEPeople & BiographiesManchuCulture Wiki
Source-based English editorial manuscript · Historical details subject to final source verification.

Family and banner registration

Tulai was the seventh son of Fiongdon, one of Nurhaci's prominent early commanders. He was originally registered in the Bordered Yellow Banner and later transferred with his brothers to the Plain Yellow Banner. He is not the same individual as Tong Tulai of the Tunggiya family, despite the similarity of their names. The distinction is important for accurate accounts of family relationships, campaigns, and inherited honors.

Fighting before the conquest

Tulai took part in campaigns around Ningyuan, Dalinghe, and Jinzhou during the Tiancong period. During the 1631 siege of Dalinghe he was wounded after advancing recklessly and sharply reprimanded by Hong Taiji, but subsequently distinguished himself in fighting Ming relief troops. In 1635 he was made a senior bayara guard commander; under Chongde he joined the deliberative ministers and fought against the Ming and Korea. The bayara command belonged to an elite guard organization and should not be mistaken for the name of his hereditary peerage.

The 1644 conquest and later remembrance

In 1644 Tulai fought against Li Zicheng's forces near Shanhai Pass and accompanied Qing armies into China proper. His campaigns subsequently extended toward Shaanxi and the lower Yangzi region, and he received a third-class dukedom. In 1646 he accompanied Bolo into Zhejiang and Fujian and died in Jinhua on the return march. His son Huise succeeded to the dukedom. Later imperial honors for Tulai included the posthumous name Zhaoxun and recognition in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. These honors and his son's inheritance must be separated from military offices held by Tulai himself.

Sources and Bibliography

  1. Historical source 1 — zh.wikisource.org
  2. Historical source 2 — zh.wikisource.org
  3. Historical source 3 — zh.wikisource.org
  4. Historical source 4 — zh.wikisource.org

Links reproduce references supplied with the Chinese editorial manuscript; they do not establish that every individual statement has undergone independent archival verification.