Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period/Loosa
LOOSA 勞薩, d. 1641, Oct.–Nov., of the Manchu Bordered Red Banner, belonged to the division of the Gûwalgiya clan that was settled in Anculakû 安褚拉庫 at the sources of the Sungari river just north of the Long White Mountains. In 1598 Nurhaci [q. v.] sent an expedition to demand the allegiance of the Warka tribe, of which Anculakû was a part, and took Loosa and others into his service. After sharing in many of Nurhaci's campaigns Loosa was in 1629 put in charge of a company of picked troops (gabsihiyan, "stalwarts") who were to act as scouts in advance of the main army. In this position he served throughout the intensive campaigns between 1631 and 1641 against the Chahar Mongols, the Chinese, and the Koreans, receiving in 1634 the honorary title šongkoro baturu, "eagle-like conquering hero". In 1636, and again in 1638, he was accused of misconduct, but his brilliant military record shielded him from punishment. He died in the ninth moon of 1641 during a fierce battle with the Ming commander Hung Ch'êng-ch'ou [q. v.]. Loose was granted posthumously the hereditary rank of viscount of the third class and in 1655 the name Chung-i 忠毅. His son Cengni 程尼, who was elevated to the rank of earl of the first class, died in 1652 while fighting under Nikan (d. 1652, q.v.) against the Ming loyalists in Hunan.
[1/232/3b; 3/332/12a; 11/4/8b; 34/171/24b.]