Yalai

Overview

Yalai appears in the appendix to Volume 15 of the *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, under the entry for the Irgen Gioro clan. The genealogy lists him as belonging to the Plain White Banner, with his ancestral home recorded as "Shandong An, Changbai Mountain." His year of arrival is listed as "unknown." His official resume is as follows: his grandson, Leseli, was originally an Assistant Minister; his great-grandson, Seqin, was originally a Secretary; Liuge was originally a Clerk; and Qige was a Student of the Imperial Academy. The kinship hierarchy and statuses such as "former" and "current" are retained as in the original entries. Currently, Yalai's official position, rank, or birth and death are not inferred from the official positions of his descendants. The relevant institutional terms should be understood according to the Qing Dynasty context: "bithesi (clerk)" (bithesi in Manchu) refers to a clerk responsible for translation, copying, archiving, and document circulation; "bithe" means written text, and "bithei" is the genitive form of "written text," and these two should not be confused with official titles; "yuanwailang" (yuanwailang) was usually a subordinate official below the "langzhong" (langzhong) in a central government office, but since the original text did not specify the office, it can only be interpreted as a general rank and clerical nature; "zhongshu secretary" (zhongshu) was a clerk's title, usually involved in copying and drafting official documents, and the specific institution needs further verification. "Dong’an near Changbai Mountain" (Changbai Mountain, Dong'an) retains the historical place name spelling from genealogical records; different places with the same name, different spellings, and changes in jurisdiction are all possible, and it cannot directly correspond to a specific administrative region today.