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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