Ma Jiyuan (

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 ...

: , January 18, 1921 – February 27, 2012) was a

Ma clique The Ma clique or Ma family warlords is a collective name for a group of Hui (Muslim Chinese) warlords in Northwestern China who ruled the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia for 10 years from 1919 until 1928. Following the collapse ...

warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...

in China during 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 northeas ...

era, ruling the northwestern province of

Qinghai Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...

. He was the son and only child of general

Ma Bufang Ma Bufang (1903 – 31 July 1975) (, Xiao'erjing: ) was a prominent Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the province of Qinghai. His rank was Lieutenant-general. General Ma started an industrialization pro ...

and commanded nationalist forces against the communists at the Heshui Campaign, Meridian Ridge Campaign, and the Lanzhou Campaign during the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...

. Ma was 28 years old when he defeated 30,000 PLA soldiers in the Heshui campaign in 1948. He led the 82nd Cavalry Division, of which 30 percent of whom were Muslims, to charge the Communists with swords. Ma complained that 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 Ta ...

government was not resupplying him enough and that there was no more "revolutionary spirit". On the opposing side General

Zhao Shoushan Zhao Shoushan (; 12 November 1894 – 20 June 1965) was a KMT general and later Chinese Communist Party politician. He is the grandfather of Zhao Leji. Career Zhao Shoushan was born in Hu County, Shaanxi in 1894. After the foundation of the Peop ...

led the Communists, Zhao formerly attended the same school as Ma. He became a colonel at the age of 16 and was promoted to major general at the age of 20. He had attended the

Whampoa Military Academy The Republic of China Military Academy () is the service academy for the army of the Republic of China, located in Fengshan District, Kaohsiung. Previously known as the the military academy produced commanders who fought in many of China ...

. Ma was given a silver cup by the Divine Word Missionaries after he came back from the northwestern front. In May 1949, General

Hu Zongnan Hu Zongnan (; 16 May 1896 – 14 February 1962), courtesy name Shoushan (壽山), was a Chinese general in the National Revolutionary Army and then the Republic of China Army. Together with Chen Cheng and Tang Enbo, Hu, a native of Zh ...

and Ma set up a planned trap. Hu faked a retreat, then Communist General Peng Dehuai advanced with 120,000 men from Xi'an to Sichuan, but at 75 miles Hu started a pitched battle and then Ma personally led 20,000 of his cavalry forces to defeat the Communist forces and send them fleeing, and he continued to battle the Communist forces throughout July around Xi'an. In August 1949, Ma Bufang personally traveled by plane to the KMT government in Guangzhou in order to request supplies via airdrop, while his son Ma Jiyuan assumed command over the KMT forces at

Lanzhou Lanzhou (, ; ) is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. H ...

, who promised to defend the city from the Communists, saying "那是一定的 (Na shih yi ting ti)", meaning "That is definite" and, "Lanchow icwill never fall to the Communists". However, the government denied Ma Bufang's request, and he flew back to Lanzhou before abandoning the city, retreating all the way back to Xining on trucks. He defended Gansu during the Lanzhou Campaign from the Communists. Ma was also married to two women and enjoyed watching American movies. His upbringing was under strict discipline; Chinese proverbs could be found posted around his HQ. He moved with his father to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

then to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

when his father was appointed as ambassador of the Republic of China to Saudi Arabia. In between the move he also traveled to Taiwan to advise the

Ministry of National Defense (Republic of China) The Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China (MND; ) is the ministry of the Republic of China ( Taiwan) responsible for all defense and military affairs of Taiwan. The MND is headed by Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng. History The MND ...

and the

party. Ma Jiyuan's passing in Mecca, on 27 February, 2012, was met with sorrow by the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

consulate.

Career

1944 General Officer Commanding 82nd ArmyMa Jiyuan
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References

External links

* 民国军阀派系谈 (The Republic of China warlord cliques discussed ) http://www.2499cn.com/junfamulu.htm

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ma, Jiyuan 1921 births 2012 deaths Republic of China warlords from Gansu Hui people National Revolutionary Army generals from Gansu Ma clique Chinese Nationalist military figures Members of the Kuomintang Chinese anti-communists People from Linxia Chinese Civil War refugees