Sengse Li

Overview

Sengse Li was a member of the Hong'e clan during the Qing Dynasty, listed in Volume 55 of the *General Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners* under the entry for the Zhaiqi family. He was the third son of Zhaiqi. This branch belonged to the Bordered Yellow Banner, and the family had lived in the Changbai Mountains for generations. His father surrendered to the Qing Dynasty at the beginning of the dynasty, but this date cannot be directly used as Sengse Li's birth date or the date of his surrender.

Sengse Li participated in military operations in Jiangxi as a third-class imperial bodyguard, fighting repeatedly in Nankang Prefecture. Later, during the campaign in Guangdong, he died in battle at the Nine Demons and Eighteen Caves, and was posthumously awarded the title of Yunqiwei. The original book subsequently lists his brother's son, Heluonuo, and Hashitai, as inheriting the title. It is impossible to change his brother's son to his own son, nor can Sengse Li's military achievements be transferred to his father.

Third-class imperial bodyguards belonged to the imperial bodyguard system, and in the Qing Dynasty, they were ranked as a fifth-rank official, different from the third-class guards of princes and dukes. Yunqiwei was also a rank within the hereditary system of meritorious service, but it was not the original position of imperial bodyguard. Posthumous conferment was an honor granted after death; the inheritor continued the hereditary position, but did not automatically become a third-class imperial bodyguard. The origin of the surname Hong E is related to the name of a mountain. The modern correspondence between the Nine Demons and Eighteen Caves, the connection of the side branches, and the date of death still need to be verified by the original printed edition and other military data.