Mongol Eight Banners

The Mongol Eight Banners were hereditary military and administrative units of the Qing dynasty. Together with the Manchu Eight Banners and the Han Chinese Eight Banners, the units composed of Mongol bannermen formed the dynasty's Eight Banner system. They were formally established in 1635 by Hong Taiji of the Later Jin dynasty, when about 10,000 warriors, drawn mainly from the Kharchin and Khorchin tribes and also some Chahars, were incorporated. Like the Jurchen banners they separated from, they consisted of the plain and bordered yellow, white, blue and red banners. Membership was hereditary through the male line, and bannermen were stationed in banner garrisons, the largest at Beijing, where they received government stipends and special legal privileges. They were the smallest of the three ethnic divisions, about 8 percent of all bannermen, and should not be confused with the Banners of Inner Mongolia, which were a distinct institution.