Aguli

Overview

Aguli was a member of the Tongjia clan, Bordered Blue Banner, and a relative of Tong Yangzheng. He lived in Tongjia for generations and led his clan and fellow villagers to submit to the Qing dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty. Volume 20 of the official *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners* records that his people were organized into a zuoling (military unit), led by his second son, Yarbixi, with his eldest son, Suqina, serving as a Can Ling (military officer), and his third son, Zhadaha, also serving as zuoling.

This passage clearly indicates that the leadership of the grassroots organization was given to his son; the phrase "establishing zuoling" cannot be automatically interpreted as Aguli himself being appointed zuoling. The zuoling was in charge of the households and military registers under his jurisdiction, while the Can Ling was an official in charge of several grassroots organizations, reflecting the process of the clan entering the Eight Banners' military and civilian management system. His descendants held positions such as Hujun Can Ling (military officer), Bujun Xiao (infantry officer), Fu Dutong (deputy commander-in-chief), Dianyi (ceremonial officer), Bi Tieshi (scribe), and Juren (successful candidate in the imperial examination). Among them, the Forty-Sixth was the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Guihua City; "Forty-Six" here refers to a personal name, and Guihua City was his place of office, not Aguli's ancestral home. Dianyi participated in ceremonial affairs, and Juren were candidates for the imperial examination, which could not be combined with military positions. The original genealogy shows that the family has continued to participate in banner affairs through the appointment of zuoling (a military officer) for multiple generations, but the official positions and paternal lineage of each descendant still need to be verified separately.