Ep. 294 | The Warlord Ma's of Northwest China
If the title sounds familiar, that's because this is a new version of an old episode from 2014 that got pulled from the CHP back catalog. But here it is, newly recorded and enhanced. This episode looks at the Ma family of soldiers and warlords in the northwest provinces of Ningxia, Gansu and Qinghai. Their story began in the last years of the Dungan Revolt and concluded with the victory of the Chinese Communists in 1949. Please check the website for a cheat sheet that lists all names used in this episode. There are a lot of characters surnamed Ma in this episode.
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Terms in Episode
| Pinyin/Term | Chinese | English/Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Mǎ | 马 | A common Chinese surname. Also means horse |
| Qīng | 清朝 | China's final imperial dynasty, 1644-1911 |
| Zēng Guófān | 曾国藩 | 1811-1872, Qing era statesman, general, scholar and leader of the Xiang (Hunan) Army. |
| Zuǒ Zōngtáng | 左宗棠 | 1812-1885, also known as General Tso, statesman and very consequential military leader during the Qing Dynasty |
| Lǐ Hóngzhāng | 李鸿章 | 1823-1901, Qing era general, diplomat and politician |
| Yuán Shìkǎi | 袁世凯 | 859-1916, Military and government official and first president of the Republic of China. Also called "The First Warlord" |
| Duàn Qíruì | 段祺瑞 | 1865-1936. Warlord and China politician. Also served as premier. Originally from Hefei, Anhui, he headed the Anhui Clique |
| Zhāng Zuòlín | 张作霖 | 1875-1928, Liaoning-born warlord of Manchuria and major political figure as well. Also served as President of the ROC. |
| Wú Pèifú | 吴佩孚 | 1874-1939, Warlord, headed the Zhili Clique |
| Yán Xīshān | 阎锡山 | 1883-1960, Warlord born and raised in Shanxi. Headed the Shanxi Clique |
| Huí | 回族 | An East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam who are distributed throughout China, mostly in the northwestern provinces |
| Zhuàng | 壮族 | a Tai-speaking ethnic group who mostly live in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. Some also live in the Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou and Hunan provinces. |
| Mùhǎnmòdé | 穆罕默德 | Chinese transliteration of Muhammed |
| Zhèng Hé | 郑和 | 1371-1433 (or 1435),Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty, renowned for this seven voyages to lands west of China |
| Níngxià | 宁夏 | Province in northwest China |
| Xīběi Sān Mǎ | 西北三马 | The Three Ma's of Northwest China |
| Mǎ Bùfāng | 马步芳 | 1903-1975, older brother of Ma Buqing, son of Ma Qi |
| Mă Hóngkuí | 马鸿逵 | 1892-1970, renowned general and prominent warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the province of Ningxia |
| Mǎ Hóngbīn | 马鸿宾 | 1884-1960, son of Ma Fulu, cousin to Ma Hongkui and lost out to him in an internal power struggle |
| Mǎ Bùqīng | 马步青 | 1901-1977, Major warlord in Qinghai, younger brother to Ma Bufang, son of Ma Qi |
| Mǎ Zhàn’áo | 马占鳌 | 1830-1886, Chinese warlord who, together with Ma Haiyan and Ma Qianling, defected to the side of the Qing during the Dungan Revolt. Father to Ma Anliang, and Ma Guoliang |
| Mǎ Qiānlíng | 马千龄 | 1826-1910, Chinese warlord who, together with Ma Zhan'ao and Ma Qianling, defected to the side of the Qing during the Dungan Revolt. Father to Ma Fuxiang, and Ma Fulu |
| Mǎ Hǎiyàn | 马海晏 | 1837-1900, Chinese Muslim General of the Qing Dynasty. Originally a rebel, he defected to Qing during the Dungan revolt and helped crush rebel Muslims. Father of Ma Qi and Ma Lin |
| Gānsù | 甘肃 | Province in Northwest China |
| Niǎn Rebellion | 捻乱 | Major peasant uprising in China that lasted 1851-1868 |
| Mǎ Ānliáng | 马安良 | 1855-1918, Son of Ma Zhan'ao, also defected with his father and brothers to the Qing |
| Mǎ Guóliáng | 马国良 | Second son of Ma Zhan'ao, brother to Ma Anliang |
| Dǒng Fùxiáng | 董福祥 | 1839-1908, though not a Muslim, he fought with generals from the Ma Clique. Leader of the Gansu Braves |
| Shǎnxī | 陕西 | Province in Northwest China |
| Xīnjiāng | 新疆 | Province in Northwest China |
| Línxià County | 临夏县 | City in Gansu Province where many of the Ma Family warlords hailed from |
| Lánzhōu | 兰州 | Capital of Gansu Province |
| Gān Jūn | 甘军 | A private army called the Gānsù Braves, established by Dong Fuxiang |
| Mǎ Fúxiáng | 马福祥 | 1876-1932, Son of Ma Qianling, served under Dong Fuxiang, served as part of the Gansu Braves, father of Ma Hongkui |
| Tiānjìn | 天津 | City located an hour away from Beijing to the southeast |
| Battle of Lángfāng | 廊坊之战 | A battle involving the foreign-led Seymour Expedition during the Boxer Rebellion, in June 1900, involving Chinese imperial troops, the Chinese Muslim Kansu Braves and Boxers ambushing and defeating the Eight-Nation Alliance expeditionary army on its way to Beijing, pushing the Alliance forces to retreat back to Tianjin |
| Cíxǐ | 慈禧太后 | 1835-1908, mother of the Guangxu Emperor who ruled China as Empress Dowager from 1861 to 1908 |
| Róng Lù | 荣禄 | 1836-1903, close confidant of Cixi, major political figure during the final years of the Qing. Also was the maternal grandfather of The Last Emperor, Puyi |
| Prince Duān | 端郡王 | 1856-1923, also known as Zaiyi, Manchgu prince and statesman during the late Qing. Also one of the main leaders of the Boxer Rebellion |
| Mǎ Fúlù | 马福禄 | 1854-1900, Brother of Ma Fuxiang, son of Ma Qianling, father of Ma Hongbin |
| Chéngdé | 承德 | Also known as Rèhé, 225 km north of Beijing…It’s where the Kāngxī Emperor built a summer residence up there to escape the Beijing heat |
| Mǎ Qí | 马麒 | 1869-1931, son of Ma Haiyan, major Chinese warlord, also served in Gansu Braves. Father of Ma Bufang and Ma Buqing |
| Mǎ Lín | 马麟 | 1873-1945, brother of Ma Qi, son of Ma Haiyan. Major military figure in Qinghai |
| jiébài xiōngdi | 结拜兄弟 | Sworn Brothers |
| Qīnghǎi | 青海 | Province in northwest China |
| Běipíng | 北平 | The name of Beijing from 1912 to 1949. |
| Zhāng Guótāo | 张国焘 | 1897-1979, founding member of the CCP and defeated rival of Mao Zedong. His army was decimated by the Ma armies |
| Yè Jiànyīng | 叶剑英 | 1897-1986, CCP leader and politician, one of the founding Ten Marshals of the PLA. Top military leader in the 1976 coup that overthrew the Gang of Four and ended the Cultural Revolution, and was the key supporter of Deng Xiaoping in his power struggle with Hua Guofeng. |
| Yáng Shàngkūn | 杨尚昆 | 1907-1998, CCP military and political leader, President of the PRC 1988-1993, and one of the Eight Elders that dominated the Party after the death of Mao Zedong |
| Mǎ Zhòngyīng | 马仲英 | 1910-1936, a warlord of Gansu during the 1930s. His alliance with the KMT brought his predominantly Chinese Muslim troops under the control of the KMT as the 36th Division (National Revolutionary Army) |
| Dài Lì | 戴笠 | 1897-1946, Chiang Kai-shek's most loyal ally and spymaster. |
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