Wen Deheng

Overview

Wen Deheng was a member of the Zhaojia clan of the Plain White Banner. The official Qing dynasty compilation, *The Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners*, Volume 31, appendix on various regions, records him as a native of Macha. He served as a military officer, but the year of his surrender is unknown. His son, Changshou, served as a defense officer; Sandase served as an infantry officer; his grandson, Changqili, served as a defense officer; his great-grandson, Gutai, served as a captain; and Laduhun and Altai served as cavalry officers at the time of compilation. The character "De" is preserved in the maternal archives.

The military officer led his subordinate guards; the defense officer was a military rank within the banner; the infantry officer served the infantry system; the captain managed the basic household registration and military records; and the cavalry officer was responsible for the military affairs of his subordinate cavalry. The banner affiliation in the official title determined the duties; one could not simply categorize multiple family members as the same type of guard. Furthermore, the banner affairs management of the captain differed from that of a single night guard post.

Wen Deheng's own position as a military officer is described separately from the other military positions of his descendants. The fact that both father and son served as defense officers does not automatically prove that the same position was hereditary. Macha is the ancestral home, not the location of some unverified military camp; the original genealogy's date is unknown and will not be supplemented as it was submitted to the early years of the dynasty. the original printed source style, specific military organization, camp locations, and connections to relatives are pending verification; known individual military ranks are retained.