Chata

Overview

Chata was a member of the Namudulu clan of the Plain White Banner, whose family had lived in the Namudulu area for generations. Volume 21 of the *Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners* records that his eldest son, Shi Zhou, served as a third-class imperial bodyguard, and his second son, A Zhou, served as a Qiduwei. The appendix lists Chata's group as belonging to a category where the year of their submission is unknown. This indicates that the official genealogy did not have a specific submission date and cannot be replaced by the submission date of another group in the same volume at the beginning of the Qing dynasty. Imperial bodyguards were Qing court guards; a third-class imperial bodyguard was a rank title, and their duties were related to the emperor and the palace's security. A Qiduwei was a lower-level officer in the Eight Banners' cavalry battalion, involved in the management of their banner's military affairs and training. The two belonged to different official systems. Shi Zhou was the eldest son, and A Zhou was the second son; the original genealogy directly states the order of brothers, and this kinship should be preserved when explaining their positions. The Plain White Banner was a subordinate unit in military and political administration, and Namudulu was the clan name. Existing materials confirm that Chata's descendants served as guards and bannermen, but do not record Chata's own official rank, date of birth, or specific combat experience.