Ma Xulun (, 27 April 18854 May 1970),

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China China, officially the People's R ...

Yichu ( zh, 彝初), was a Chinese politician, activist, and linguist. He was one of the co-founders of the

China Association for Promoting Democracy The China Association for Promoting Democracy ( zh, s=中国民主促进会, p=Zhōngguó Mínzhǔ Cùjìnhuì) is one of the eight legally recognised minor political parties in the People's Republic of China that follow the direction of the ...

Early life

Ma Xulun was an early member of the

Tongmenghui The Tongmenghui of China (or T'ung-meng Hui, variously translated as Chinese United League, United League, Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, Chinese Alliance, United Allegiance Society, ) was a secret society and underground resistance movement ...

. He also joined the South Society founded by

Liu Yazi Liu Yazi (, 28 May 1887, at Wujiang, in Suzhou, Jiangsu – 21 June 1958 in Beijing) was a Chinese poet and political activist called the "last outstanding poet of the traditional school." He married Zheng Peiyi in 1906, and was the father o ...

. In 1913, Ma founded ''Great Republican Daily'' together with

Zhang Taiyan Zhang Binglin (January 12, 1869 – June 14, 1936), also known by his art name Zhang Taiyan, was a Chinese philologist, textual critic, philosopher, and revolutionary. His philological works include ''Wen Shi'' (文始 "The Origin of Writing"), t ...

, and became the newspaper's editor-in-chief. In 1913, Ma became a professor at

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charte ...

. During the

May Fourth Movement The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen (The Gate of Heavenly Peace) to protest the Chin ...

, he was elected to be the president of the Union of Peking High School and College Faculty. In 1921, Ma was appointed as director of education of

Zhejiang Province Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jian ...

. After the reforms of

Beiyang Government The Beiyang government (), officially the Republic of China (), sometimes Chinese postal romanization, spelled Peiyang Government, refers to the government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China which sat in its capital Pek ...

, Ma returned to Peking and became twice Deputy Minister of Education. Ma joined

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 ...

in 1923. After the

March 18 Massacre The March 18 Massacre (三·一八惨案) was a massacre that took place on 18 March 1926, amid an anti-warlord and anti-imperialist demonstration in Beijing, China. The date, March 18, was referred to by Chinese writer Lu Xun as the "darkest day ...

, Ma was wanted for opposing

Duan Qirui Duan Qirui (; ) (March 6, 1865 – November 2, 1936) was a Chinese warlord and politician, a commander of the Beiyang Army and the acting Chief Executive of the Republic of China (in Beijing) from 1924 to 1926. He was also the Premier of the ...

, and fled to Zhejiang. There, Ma called the province governor to support the

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. Th ...

against Sun Chuanfang, and was wanted again. After the Kuomintang secured Zhejiang, Ma became Zhejiang's director of civil affairs. He returned to the post of Deputy Minister of Education in 1928. After the

Mukden Incident The Mukden Incident, or Manchurian Incident, known in Chinese as the 9.18 Incident (九・一八), was a false flag event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria. On September 18, 1931, L ...

, Ma Xulun founded North China People's Union for Saving the Motherland (华北民众救国联合会), and Peking Cultural Society's Union for Saving the Motherland (北平文化界救国会). In 1936, he persuaded Sichuan warlord

Liu Xiang Liu Xiang or Liuxiang may refer to: People *Liu Xiang, Prince of Qi (died 179 BC), prince during the Han dynasty *Liu Xiang, Prince of Liang (died 97 BC), prince during the Han dynasty *Liu Xiang (scholar) (77 BC – 6 BC), Han dynasty scholar-off ...

to avoid a civil war and support the war against Japan. After the

Marco Polo Bridge Incident The Marco Polo Bridge Incident, also known as the Lugou Bridge Incident () or the July 7 Incident (), was a July 1937 battle between China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army. Since the Japanese invasion of Manchuri ...

, Ma moved to Shanghai and devoted himself to writing.

After World War II

In 1945, Ma Xulun co-founded the

along with Xu Guangping,

Zhou Jianren Zhou Jianren (; 1888–1984) was a politician and biologist of the People's Republic of China. He was the younger brother of Lu Xun and Zhou Zuoren. When the office of the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress was v ...

and Zhao Puchu. On 5 May 1946, 52 organizations formed the Shanghai Union of People's Organizations (上海人民团体联合会), and Ma became a member of its standing committee. From 1945 to 1947, Ma also published more than 100 political commentaries on newspapers such as

Wenhui Bao ''Wenhui Bao'' (), anglicized as the ''Wenhui Daily'',Shanghai Municipal Government"Press Group Celebrates" 26 July 2008. Accessed 18 Dec 2014. is a Chinese daily newspaper published by the Shanghai United Media Group. History ''Wenhui Bao'' ...

. In late 1947, Ma went to Hong Kong with the help of the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

. In Hong Kong, Ma voiced his support for the Labor Day Slogan, which formed the basis of the future system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation led by Chinese Communist Party. Shortly after, Ma went to Communist Party controlled regions, and supported Mao Zedong's January 1949 statement on the situation of China. In June and September, he attended the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Preparatory Conference and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference First Plenary Session, and was responsible for selecting People's Republic of China's national flag,

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and ''symbol'' are often used in ...

and

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

. After the establishment of People's Republic of China, Ma Xulun became Minister of Education in 1949 and Minister of Higher Education in 1952. In his term, he pushed for the highly influential higher education reform of 1952, which cancelled colleges' autonomy and converted China's education system to one that more closely resembled the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, creating a number of specialized colleges. Ma is also vice-president of the 4th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and an academician of

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Repub ...

, Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences.

Works

Ma Xulun was an expert in Chinese language linguistics, especially in grammatology and historical phonology. His most notable work was the 2.4 million character long ''Shuowen Jiezi Liushu Shuzheng''. Other works include ''Liushu Jieli'', ''Zhuangzi Jiaozheng'', and ''Laozi Jiaogu''. Ma is also a calligrapher with a unique '' yingtou xiaokai'' style.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ma, Xulun 1885 births 1970 deaths Peking University faculty People's Republic of China politicians from Zhejiang Linguists from China Tongmenghui members Members of the Kuomintang Members of the China Association for Promoting Democracy Ministers of Education of the People's Republic of China Burials at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery 20th-century linguists