Baxi

Overview

Baxi was a member of the Yehe Nara clan of the Plain Blue Banner during the early Qing Dynasty, and a relative of Turkun. Volume 22 of the official Qing Dynasty genealogy, *the Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, records that he led his descendants to surrender at the beginning of the dynasty, receiving the title of Yunqiwei (a military rank). He was later ordered to garrison Sijianfang, where he gradually collected 56 people who had fled from Yehe, organizing them into zuoling (a military unit) under his command. This is a specific record linking population collection, banner organization, and appointment. zuoling was both a basic unit of the Eight Banners and an official responsible for the unit's population, soldiers, and military and political affairs; Yunqiwei, on the other hand, was a hereditary title for meritorious officials, and the two should not be interpreted as the same position. After Baxi's death, his son Suiha inherited the title of zuoling and was promoted to Third-Class Qingche duwei (hereditary merit rank) by imperial decree; later, it was inherited by relatives such as Changshou and Changguli, who retained the title of Yunqiwei even after the imperial decree's additional grant was removed, and Chengde continued the title. The original genealogy also lists his brother Bazar's appointment as a garrison commander and the appointments of his brother's descendants, which must be distinguished from Baxi's direct line. Sijianfang is the name of a garrison in historical records. Its specific modern location still needs geographical evidence. We cannot determine the residence of this group of people based solely on the presence of a village with the same name today.