Clan and Banner Background
Volume 55 of the Comprehensive Genealogy of the Manchu Clans of the Eight Banners identifies Xiandachan as a locality from which a Manchu clan took its name. Its recorded settlements lay along the Songhua River and at Xiandachan itself. U'erkemu, a principal ancestor, belonged to the Plain Yellow Banner; the date of his submission is unknown. The genealogy also explicitly identifies Derbogu of the Bordered Blue Banner as a member of the same broader clan, and records Niyahacha from Xiandachan.
Family Service and Distinctions
U'erkemu's sons Kezhu and Huiduo, and his grandson Huinuo, served as cavalry officers. Another grandson, Xijibu, became a blue-feather imperial bodyguard; his great-grandson Huaidawuer served as a niru commander. A different great-grandson, Huaise, took part in the Zhejiang campaign while classified as an unappointed banner member. After fighting in Quzhou Prefecture and proceeding to Taiping Mountain, Huaise died in battle. He was posthumously granted the hereditary rank yunqiwei; because he had no descendants, the rank passed to Ente, the grandson of Huaise's elder brother.
Kinship, Succession, and Evidence
An unappointed banner member retained banner affiliation; the term does not imply that he was outside the Eight Banners. Nor should the hereditary distinction yunqiwei be confused with the operational posts of cavalry officer, bodyguard or company commander. Source: Eight Banners Manchu Clan Genealogy, vol. 55.
Sources and Bibliography
References reproduce links supplied with the Chinese research manuscript. Individual historical claims have not all been independently verified against the primary sources.
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