청대 길림의 팔기 관병과 호랑이 진공

Abstract

Most books on Qing Manchuria pay great attention to the historical process of the establishment of banner garrisons and stationing of banner soldiers in Jilin. They have discussed the ways in which the office of the Jilin military general was built and how many soldiers were stationed in various places, first in Ningguta and Girin Ula, and later Bedune, Ilan Hala, Alcuka, Lalin and Hunchun. Previous studies have largely focused on the relationship between banner soldiers and Han Chinese civilians by discussing topics such as Chinese settlement and land cultivation and the growing influence of Han Chinese culture on the Manchus in the northeast region. In particular, many Chinese scholars of Qing Manchuria highlighted that Qing banner garrisons made a significant contribution to the so-called “development of a united multiethnic state” during the Qing period, in the sense that they succeeded in unifying various tribal people living in Manchuria, protecting the northeastern frontier from the Russian expansion, connecting this northeastern frontier to China proper, and bringing increases in civilian population and cultivable land. Yet, there are still few detailed analyses on the various activities and duties that the banner soldiers in Manchuria conducted for their emperors and state. Unlike other Qing documents written in Chinese, Manchu documents in the Records of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Hunchun include many entries about the banner soldiers who were given official duties related to hunting. The Jilin military general and his lieutenant governors exchanged numerous letters to discuss how to select soldiers capable of archery and horseback riding, train the selected soldiers to improve their military prowess, and dispatch them to Jilin to join battue hunting endeavors led by the military general. The practice of regular battue hunting had two purposes: first, it was mainly military training for the soldiers combined with hunting activities, and second, it was a chance to hunt wild animals that would be paid to the Qing imperial court as tribute. These Manchu documents show that until the 19th century, battue hunting and animal payments were considered an important duty for banner soldiers to carry out. The hunting duties imposed on the banner soldiers demonstrate that the Qing state controlled tribal residents in Manchuria who were capable of archery and horseback riding by incorporating them into the Eight Banner system and simultaneously used the military skills of the banner soldiers to control Manchuria. In this sense, the Eight Banners were a crucial institution by which the Qing state controlled and exploited people as well as natural resources in Manchuria.