Abstract
This paper explores the influences imposed by military status on clans through a case study on the family history of the Qian family of Lujiang. The Qian family of Lujiang traced back to He Guisi, whose whole family household was sentenced to station in Duyun Guard in year 1394 due to his eldest son He Qiong’s failure to fulfill his civil duties. Hoping those sentenced for military exile may maintain the tie with the original clan, He Guisi surreptitiously left behind his second son He Yu, who was first listed under other local civic household as non-native population. He was later adopted by Qian Fu Yi in year 1403, renamed as Qian Yu, inherited Qian’s salt maker status, and became a descendant of King Wu Su of Wu Yue.
In 1464, solider He Zhen from Duyun Guard accused He Yu and his descendants of shirking their military duties. Colluded with local seniors, He Yu’s descendants disguised He Yu as the second son of civilian He Guisan, brother of He Guisi, and closed the case. Qian Qi, great grandson of Qian Yu, earned his jinshi (進士) degree in 1508, and was recorded as coming from a civilian household. Qian Wei (Qian Qi’s nephew), Qian Xuan (Qian Qi’s 3rd son) and Qian Qin (Qian Qi’s 2nd son) obtained their jinshi degree in year 1532, 1535 and 1538 respectively, and yet, they were recorded in the respective Namelist of Graduates of the Palace Examination as coming from military household, military-civilian household and military household. Qian Qi had once attempted to restore his original family name, but finally gave up due to the severe punishment for those shirking military status. Much later in the Qing dynasty, Qian Wei’s 4th generation descendant Qian Rulin finally restored the last name, though no other member of the clan followed his suit and he also ended up being the only attempt as he had no offspring. On the other hand, acting as a direct heir to King Wu Su, Rulin’s nephew Qian Chenqun presented the iron credentials (鐵券tie quan), which the family has long inherited from the King, to Emperor Qianlong during the emperor’s expedition to the south. Truly, military status marks the root of all these dramatic changes.
Keywords
Qian family of Lujiang, yi xing bie ji (assuming another surname and belonging to a different household), fu xing gui zong (resuming former surname and returning to the original clan), military-civilian household
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