Ma Anliang (, French romanization: Ma-ngan-leang,
Xiao'erjing
Xiao'erjing or Xiao'erjin or Xiaor jin or in its shortened form, Xiaojing, literally meaning "children's script" or "minor script" (cf. "original script" referring to the original Perso-Arabic script; zh, s=本经, t=本經, p=Běnjīng, Xiao ...
: ; 1855 – November 24, 1918) was a
Hui born in
Hezhou,
Gansu, China. He became a general in the Qing dynasty army, and of the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northea ...
. His father was
Ma Zhan'ao, and his younger brothers were
Ma Guoliang and Ma Suiliang (Ma Sui-liang) 馬遂良. Ma was educated in Chinese and Islamic education. His Muslim name was Abdul Majid ( zh, 阿卜都里默直底).
Military career
He defected to Qing in 1872 during the
Dungan revolt (1862–77) Dungan revolt may refer to:
* Dungan revolt (1862–77), rebellion of various Muslim ethnic groups in Shaanxi and Gansu, China
* Dungan revolt (1895–96), rebellion of various Muslim ethnic groups in Qinghai and Gansu, China
{{disambiguatio ...
, along with several other Hui Muslims, including his father,
Ma Zhan'ao,
Ma Haiyan, and
Ma Qianling. They belonged to the Huasi
menhuan, of the
Khafiya Naqshbandi
The Naqshbandi ( fa, نقشبندی)), Neqshebendi ( ku, نهقشهبهندی), and Nakşibendi (in Turkish) is a major Sunni order of Sufism. Its name is derived from Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari. Naqshbandi masters trace their ...
Sufi order. They assisted the Qing
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...
general
Zuo Zongtang in suppressing the Muslim revolt. In 1877, his father Ma Zhanao defeated a group of Muslim rebels who continued fighting near
Hezhou.
General Ma Anliang joined the Qing General
Zuo Zongtang, in the campaign against the Turkic Muslim rebels under
Yaqub Beg
Muhammad Yaqub Bek (محمد یعقوب بیگ; uz, Яъқуб-бек, ''Ya’qub-bek''; ; 182030 May 1877) was a Khoqandi ruler of Yettishar (Kashgaria) during his invasion of Xinjiang from 1865 to 1877. He held the title of Atalik Ghazi (" ...
. Ma Anliang led an entire army composed of Chinese Muslim troops against Yaqub Beg's Turkic Muslim forces, and defeated him, reconquering Turkestan for China.
Dong Fuxiang, Ma Anliang and
Ma Haiyan were originally called to Beijing during the
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the p ...
in 1894, but the
Dungan Revolt (1895) broke out and they were subsequently sent to crush the rebels.
In 1895, he served with the Han Chinese general
Tang Yanhe and the Non-Muslim Gansu native, general
Dong Fuxiang, assisting them in crushing another Muslim revolt, the
Dungan revolt (1895–96).
His Muslim cavalry defeated Muslim rebels at Oxheart Mountain, and relieved the siege of Hezhou on December 4. He led Hui cavalry troops to slaughter rebel Salar Muslim fighters who had agreed to negotiate unarmed at a banquet by telling them ''"Disown me as a Muslim if I deceive you."'', and received the rank of
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
General
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
, and
Hezhou Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...
once the revolt was crushed.
The revolt was led by
Ma Yonglin,
Ma Wanfu, and
Ma Dahan. Ma Dahan was publicly executed. It was said that Muslim blood stained red red cap of Ma Anliang.
During that war, in 1895 Ma lifted the siege of Xining (sining) with four ying (ying is a Chinese unit for battalion). Ma was assigned to "Barkul military command" sometime before 1910.
During the
Hundred Days' Reform in 1898 Dong Fuxiang, Ma Anliang, and Ma Haiyan were called to Beijing and helped put an end to the reform movement along with
Ma Fulu and
Ma Fuxiang.
In 1900, during the
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, b ...
, Ma Anliang, as Tongling of Ho-Chou joined
Dong Fuxiang in fighting against the foreigners.
In 1905, Ma Anliang, in cooperation with the Han Chinese magistrate
Yang Zengxin, attempted to arrest and execute the
Yihewani (
Ikhwan
The Ikhwan ( ar, الإخوان, al-ʾIkhwān, The Brethren), commonly known as Ikhwan min ta'a Allah ( ar, إخوان من أطاع الله), was a traditionalist religious militia made up of traditionally nomadic tribesmen which formed a signif ...
in Arabic) leader
Ma Wanfu.
Ma Qi, one of Ma Anliang's subordinates, staged a rescue operation and brought Ma Wanfu to Xining.
Even though he was a Muslim, he and his Muslim troops showed no mercy to Muslims who rebelled against the
Qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
government, and massacred them.
In 1911, when the
Xinhai Revolution
The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty, the Manchu people, Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of Chi ...
erupted, he led over 20 battalions of
Hui Muslim troops to defend the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
by attacking
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ning ...
, which was held by the revolutionaries under Zhang Fenghui. He defeated the revolutionaries in combat, but then when the Qing emperor
Puyi
Aisin-Gioro Puyi (; 7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967), courtesy name Yaozhi (曜之), was the last emperor of China as the eleventh and final Qing dynasty monarch. He became emperor at the age of two in 1908, but was forced to abdicate on 1 ...
abdicated, Ma agreed to join the new
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northea ...
government under the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
.
Hui General Ma Anliang abandoned the Qing cause upon the Qing abdication in the Xinhai Revolution while the Manchu governor general Shengyun was enraged at the revolution.
Pro-revolution Hui Muslims like Shaanxi Governor Ma Yugui and Beijing Imam Wang Kuan persuaded Qing Hui general Ma Anliang to stop fighting, telling him as Muslims not to kill each other for the sake of the Qing monarchists and side with the republican revolutionaries instead. Ma Anliang then agreed to abandon the Qing under the combination of Yuan Shikai's actions and these messages from other Hui. <
In October 1903, in
Ili, Ma Anliang served as "Brigade-General". In April 1912 he became "Commander-in-Chief" of Gansu.
Political and religious orientation
Ma Anliang fought against the
Bai Lang Rebellion
The Bai Lang Rebellion was a Chinese "bandit" rebellion lasting from mid 1913 to late 1914. Launched against the Republican government of Yuan Shikai, the rebellion was led by Bai Lang. His rebel army was an eclectic mix of anti-Yuan Shikai troops ...
, and attacked the
Xidaotang () Muslim organization. He was suspicious of the Republicanism of the Xidaotang, since Ma was a conservative and a
monarchist and supported
Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 1859 – 6 June 1916) was a Chinese military and government official who rose to power during the late Qing dynasty and eventually ended the Qing dynasty rule of China in 1912, later becoming the Emperor of China. ...
. Ma arranged for the Xidaotang founder
Ma Qixi and his family to be shot dead.
Han and
Hui soldiers under the Hui generals Ma Anliang and Ma Qi united to fight against Bai Lang's bandit army.
In 1914, Ma Anliang tried to exterminate the "New New Sect", the
Xidaotang and its leader
Ma Qixi (his Arabic name was Ersa (Jesus), he was known as "Prophet Jesus" to westerners).
General Ma Anliang was the de facto senior leader of all Muslims in northwestern China from the beginning of the Republican era in 1912 until he died. He was succeeding by General
Ma Fuxiang in this position.
Ma Anliang was considered "reactionary", while the learned "scholar" General
Ma Fuxiang was considered "progressive".
In 1917 Ma Anliang ordered his younger brother
Ma Guoliang to suppress a rebellion of Tibetans in
Xunhua who rebelled because of taxes Ma Anliang imposed on them. Ma Anliang did not report it to the central government in Beijing and was reprimanded for it, and
Ma Qi was sent by the government to investigate the case and suppress the rebellion.
[赵颂尧,马安良其人与民初的甘肃政争,西北民族大学学报(哲学社会科学版) 1989年第02期]
He died in
Hezhou (Hochow) on November 24, 1918. After his death, Ma Anliang was praised by American Vice-Consul at Kalgan, Rodney Gilbert in the ''Herald'' for keeping peace in Gansu, which he maintained by his willingness to fight against his fellow Muslims. Ma Anliang was also praised for protecting "his people from sectarian strife and opium".
Ma Fuxiang effectively took Ma Anliang's place as de facto leader of Muslims in northwest China when Ma Anliang died in 1918.
Family
His father was
Ma Zhan'ao and his brother was
Ma Guoliang.
He had 5 sons,
Ma Tingxiang (
Ma T'ing-hsiang) () (3rd son),
Ma Tingxian (Ma T'ing-hsien) () (4th son), and 3 other unknown children. Ma Tingxian was executed in 1962 by the Peoples' Court. Ma Tingxiang was Ma Anliang's third son. He was executed by
Feng Yuxiang
Feng Yuxiang (; ; 6 November 1882 – 1 September 1948), courtesy name Huanzhang (焕章), was a warlord and a leader of the Republic of China from Chaohu, Anhui. He served as Vice Premier of the Republic of China from 1928 to 1930. He w ...
after
first rebelling against Feng and the
Guominjun, defecting to Chiang Kaishek and the Kuomintang after Chiang and Feng went to war against each other, and finally after Chiang dismissed Ma from his posts, attempted to flee and was captured by Feng. Ma Tingxiang and his Muslim army had committed numerous atrocities against Tibetan Buddhists in
Chone,
Chone Monastery,
Taozhou and
Labrang Monastery
Labrang Monastery (; Chinese: Lāboléng Sì, 拉卜楞寺) is one of the six great monasteries of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Its formal name is ''Genden Shédrup Dargyé Trashi Gyésu khyilwé Ling'' ().
Labrang is located in X ...
during the rebellion.
Peerage
Yuan Shikai made Ma Anliang a Baron of the First Rank () of the
Empire of China (1915–16).
See also
*
Ma clique
References
*
External links
Ma Clique (in Chinese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ma Anliang
19th-century Chinese people
20th-century Chinese people
1855 births
1918 deaths
Republic of China warlords from Gansu
Hui people
Chinese Muslim generals
Qing dynasty generals
Naqshbandi order
Chinese Sufis
People from Linxia
Empire of China (1915–1916)