Yehe Nara clan

The Yehe Nara clan (Manchu: ᠶᡝᡥᡝ
ᠨᠠᡵᠠ
ᡥᠠᠯᠠ, Yehe Nara hala) is one of the main branches of the Nara clan of Manchu origin. It is the family surname of the beile [zh] (chieftains) of the Yehe tribe of the Haixi Jurchens. The clan's progenitor was a Mongol named Singgen darhan (Manchu: ᠰᡳᠩᡤᡝᠨ
ᡩᠠᡵᡥᠠᠨ), who changed his surname to Nara after capturing the territory of the Hulun state's Zhang City, originally belonging to the Nara clan. His followers later migrated to the Yehe River, hence the name Yehe nation. Singgen Darhan great-grandson, Taicu (太杵), had two sons: Cinggiyanu [zh] and Yangginu [zh]. The brothers unified the Yehe tribes, each ruling a city and both titled beile.^[1] During the times of Gintaisi and Buyanggu [zh], Yehe was annexed by Nurhaci, and its clans and followers were incorporated into the Eight Banners system.

During the Qing Dynasty, the Yehe Nara clan produced many notable families, nobles, civil and military officials. Prominent figures from this clan include Empress Xiaocigao, mother of Qing Taizong Hong Taiji, Suksaha, one of the Four Regents of the early Kangxi era, and Mingju, an important official during the Kangxi reign.^[2] Additionally, Empress Dowager Cixi, who held actual power over the Qing Empire for over forty years, was also from the Yehe Nara clan. Her ancestor, Kazan (喀山), was a resident of the Suwan area in Yehe country. After the founding of the Republic of China, many from the Yehe Nara clan adopted Han surnames such as Na [zh] (那), Ye (叶), Bai (白), Zhang (张), Luo (罗), and Su (苏).^[3]