Ma Xinyi (
Xiao'erjing: , ;
Styled and variably 穀三;
Posthumous title: 端敏公 (Duke Duanmin); November 3, 1821–August 23, 1870) was an eminent
Hui Muslim
official and a military general of the late
Qing Dynasty in China.
Along with other prominent figures, including
Hu Linyi
Hu Linyi (; July 14, 1812 - Sept 30, 1861) was a scholar and official during the late Qing Dynasty in China. He rose to prominence after being awarded the jinshi degree in the Imperial Civil Service Examinations in 1836, and in 1838 became a compi ...
and
Guam Wing, Ma raised the
Green Standard Army to fight against the
Taiping Rebellion and restore the stability of
Qing Dynasty. This set the scene for the era later known as the "
Tongzhi Restoration" (). His
assassination
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...
symbolized the serious conflict between the
Xiang Army and
Green Standard Army, both of which fought for the
Qing Dynasty.
Early life
Born as a native of
Heze,
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
() in 1821, he had successfully passed the
imperial examinations at the age of 26 (1847), a prestigious achievement in China. He earned the ''
Jinshi'' degree, the highest level in the civil service examinations, which led to his appointment to the
Hanlin Academy
The Hanlin Academy was an academic and administrative institution of higher learning founded in the 8th century Tang China by Emperor Xuanzong in Chang'an.
Membership in the academy was confined to an elite group of scholars, who performed sec ...
, a body of outstanding Chinese literary scholars who performed literary tasks for the imperial court.
Assassination
Ma Xinyi was later appointed as the governor-general of
Liangjiang, a region comprising the provinces of
Jiangxi,
Anhui and
Jiangsu in 1868. He proved to be an able administrator, distinguishing himself with his capability to manage tensions with foreigners. This was demonstrated when Ma Xinyi addressed the problem of kidnapping in his area, which effectively averted anti-foreign riots, particularly in the area of the
Yangzi delta.
Two years later, in 1870, Ma Xinyi was assassinated and his killer was immediately caught. The assassin was identified as Wan Qingxuan (Zhang Wenxiang), who was executed in the marketplace after a trial presided by Wan Qingxuan of
Nanchang.
Some sources state that he was the governor's former companion.
Many historical rumours implicated the
Empress Dowager Cixi in Ma Xinyi's death. This is aligned with the speculation that Ma Xinyi's assassination was due to the conflict between the imperial army and the Xiang militia, the group that played an important role in the suppression of the Taiping Rebellion.
References
*
*Porter, Jonathan. ''Tseng Kuo-Fan's Private Bureaucracy.'' Berkeley: University of California, 1972.
*
Wright, Mary Clabaugh. ''The Last Stand of Chinese Conservatism: The T'ung-Chih Restoration, 1862 -1874.'' Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1957.
1821 births
1870 deaths
19th-century Chinese people
Assassinated Chinese politicians
Chinese Muslims
Generals from Shandong
Hui people
Members of the Green Standard Army
People murdered in China
Political office-holders in Jiangsu
Politicians from Heze
Qing dynasty generals
Qing dynasty politicians from Shandong
Viceroys of Liangjiang
Viceroys of Min-Zhe
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