Abstract
The Solon were an elite fighting force during the Qing dynasty; at the same time, they had their own cultural identity that both preceded and outlasted the Manchu-dominated regime. Since their incorporation into the banner system, the Solon were regarded as the bannermen par excellence, unrivalled in fighting skills, particularly as mounted archers. While investigating the Solon’s archery tradition, the authors also attempt a historiographical sketch of the Solon, from the years immediately preceding the Manchu conquest of China, to their incorporation into the military banners and, subsequently, the creation of the Solon garrisons in Ili, Xinjiang, in the northwestern frontier.
Hing Chao in collaboration with Peter Dekker.
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Notes
- 1.
These arrows first appeared in a manuscript written in 1759 which served as the basis for a set of regulations, the Illustrated Regulations on the Ceremonial Paraphernalia of the Dynasty 皇朝禮器圖式, printed in 1766. Parts of the (untitled) manuscript, probably intended for the emperor’s personal use, are in several museums in the United Kingdom, including the Victoria and Albert Museum and National Museums of Scotland.
- 2.
Records of the Solon arrows in Da Qing huidian tu are copied from the Illustrated Regulations on the Ceremonial Paraphernalia of the Dynasty 皇朝禮器圖式.
- 3.
Author’s translation.
- 4.
These battues (aba in Manchu and Chinese) formed the “five battues” (hunting units), which comprised a division of military and economic organization in Heilongjiang during the Qing dynasty.
- 5.
This action is recorded in the Veritable Records of the Qing Dynasty (also known in short form as Qing shilu, and which will be abbreviated to “Records of…” in subsequent citations). See Records of the Qing Gaozong emperor Qianlong (Qing Gaozong shilu) fascicle 488: 18b–19a (Regnal date: 9th day of the 5th month of the 20th year of the Qianlong reign; Western date: June 18, 1755). All citations from the Qing shilu will be given according to the original format of fascicle and pages as numbered according to “a” for recto and “b” for verso of a spread, with the text opened and read from right to left as per pre-modern Chinese convention.
- 6.
Note that “Abahai” is the frequently used but incorrect reference to Hong Taiji. See Hummel 1944, volume 1, 273.
- 7.
In his interpretation, the editor and translator equated the “Solongqas” with the Koreans and dated the event accordingly to 1258. The modern Mongol term “Solongos” and Manchu term “Solho” referring to Koreans may have resulted from this etymology. “Qahan” is the original Mongol word which has been subsequently translated as “khan” in English.
- 8.
Remarkably, the Veritable Records of the Qing Dynasty records that Yelei fled with his wife and children, and at the time of his eventual capture, his group had eighty-seven women and children. See Records of the Qing Taizong emperor Hong Taiji (Qing Taizong shilu) fascicle (juan) 32: 19b–20a (Regnal date: 2nd day of the 12th month of the 1st year of the Chongde reign; Western date: December 28, 1636).
- 9.
This incident is documented in the Records of the Qing Taizong emperor Hong Taiji (Qing Taizong shilu), fascicle 35:11a–12b (Regnal date: 16th day of the 5th month of the 2nd year of the Chongde reign; Western date: July 7, 1637). It is also recorded in the Summary of the Internal Order of Solon Tribes which is mostly likely a direct adaptation of the content from the Records of the Qing Taizong emperor Hong Taiji.
- 10.
The Records of the Qing Taizong emperor Hong Taiji offer no explanation for the sudden rupture of relationship between the Manchus and Solon, between the presentation of gifts in the first moon of 1639 (Regnal date: 5th day of the 12th month of the 3rd year of the Chongde reign; Western date: January 8, 1639) and the start of hostilities ten months later (Regnal date: 8th day of the 11th month of the 4th year of the Chongde reign; Western date: December 2, 1639). However, the intimation that the subjugated Solon population was to be incorporated into the “New Manchu,” as subsequent events turned out, suggests it was motivated by the desire to assimilate the Solon, in addition to securing their rear before an invasion of China. Interestingly, in the late Qing work, Summary of the Internal Order of Solon Tribes, it is stated that “Bombögör and others of the Solon tribe presented sable pelts at court and then rebelled” [my italics]. However, there is no evidence anywhere that this is in fact the case, and the statement seems to be an attempt to justify the Manchus’ unprovoked attack on the Solon.
- 11.
The migration of Orochen groups to the Great Khingan Mountains region is the result of two other demographic trends: the eastward march of the Cossacks which began to reach the Amur in the early seventeenth century, which precipitated a general movement of displaced indigenous peoples, and the forced relocation of the Solon to Jinzhou and the plains of Qiqihar (Ma. Cicigar), which created a substantial political and demographic vacuum in the Upper Amur.
- 12.
In the entry dated the third month of the Chongde era (1640), it is reported that 424 horses and 704 cattle were captured in the first campaign, compared to 6,956 captives (3,154 men). This suggests only a small portion of (elite) Solon warriors were mounted, considering that each mounted warrior needed at least three horses. However, this number may be misleading as Bombogor, who eluded capture in the first campaign, might have escaped with most of the herd. Certainly, when Bombogor and his followers were finally tracked down and captured, it is reported that they had 717 horses. Even so, given that Bombogor had almost 1,000 followers, some of them would be un-mounted and the horses they had were substantially fewer than true pastoral nomads. See Records of the Qing Taizong emperor Hong Taiji (Qing Taizong shilu), fascicle 51:14b–5a (Regnal date: 24th day of the 3rd month of the 5th year of the Chongde reign; Western date: May 14, 1640).
- 13.
A note on ethnonym: “Evenks” is a term used to describe a broad spectrum of Northern Tungus in Siberia. More recently, scholars are apt to use the term “Ewenki” for Northern Tungus both in China and Siberia. In this paper, I have adopted “Evenks” for the Siberian Northern Tungus to distinguish them from the Ewenki of China.
- 14.
- 15.
See, for example, Dekker’s Manchu Archery, Geng’s Qing Imperial Ring Hunt and Koppedrayer’s Markers of Ancestral Heritage in this volume.
- 16.
Records of the Qing Gaozong emperor Qianlong (Qing Gaozong shilu) fascicle 374: 9a–10a (Regnal date: 8th day of the 10th month of the 15th year of the Qianlong reign; Western date: November 6, 1750).
- 17.
The name “Solon” was kept for the displaced population who were organized into administrative units equivalent to companies called “niulu,” (Ma. niru) and more generally known as “niulu Solon.”.
- 18.
This river is in present-day Hulun Buir and not to be confused with the Yalu River (known as Amrok River in Korean) on the border between China and North Korea.
- 19.
Comprehensive Gazetteer of the Eight Banners, First Version fascicle 49: 33b. The pagination for this source is presented in the same style as for the Veritable Records of the Qing Dynasty.
- 20.
Records of the Qing Gaozong emperor Qianlong (Qing Gaozong shilu) fascicle 471:3a–4a (Regnal date: 17th day of the 8th month of the 19th year of the Qianlong reign; Western date: October 3, 1754).
- 21.
Ibid.
- 22.
Guan Yingjie provides a vivid account of the Sibe and Solon troops’ many perilous encounters in Xinjiang in “A Family of Sibe Heroes”, unpublished manuscript.
- 23.
Records of the Qing Xuanzong emperor Daoguang (Daoguang shilu) fascicle 245:25a–b (Regnal date: 17th day of the 8th month of the 13th year of the Daoguang reign; Western date: December 27, 1833).
- 24.
According to Wu Shougui in a personal communication, the “dilution” of the Ewenki population was partly caused by a confusion that had arisen in the nationality identification project in the mid-twentieth century. Indeed, he said that a number of people registered as “Daur” in Ili Prefecture were in fact (and professed themselves to be) “Ewenki.”.
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Chao, H., Dekker, P. (2023). Solon Archery Tradition: Forgotten Martial Arts of a Qing Elite Force. In: Chao, H., Ma, L., Kim, L. (eds) Chinese Archery Studies. Martial Studies, vol 1. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8321-3_12
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