Ma Su (190–228),

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, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

Youchang, was a military general and strategist of the state of

Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu (; pinyin: ''shŭ'' <

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

period of China. Ma Su had conspicuous talent in military theories and was admired by the Shu

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang ( zh, t=諸葛亮 / 诸葛亮) (181 – September 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is r ...

. However, a tactical blunder by Ma Su at the

Battle of Jieting The Battle of Jieting was fought between the states of Cao Wei and Shu Han in 228 during the Three Kingdoms period in China. The battle was part of the first Northern Expedition led by Shu's chancellor-regent, Zhuge Liang, to attack Wei. The b ...

resulted in Shu being dealt a huge defeat by

Zhang He Zhang He () (died July or August 231), courtesy name Junyi, was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He continued serving in the state of Cao Wei under its first two rulers, Cao Pi and ...

, a general of the rival state of Wei. He was a younger brother of Ma Liang. Much dramatisation shrouds the death of Ma Su. According to the biography of Ma Su's close friend

Xiang Lang Xiang Lang (died 247), courtesy name Juda, was an official and scholar of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under the warlords Liu Biao and Liu Bei (later the founding emperor of Shu Han) in th ...

, Ma Su was said to have attempted to flee with no further information if it was after or during his defeat at Jieting, but was captured. Following this, he was executed on Zhuge Liang's order and seemed to have face death with dignity. Most of the cultural's depictions concentrate on the latter part such as the historical novel ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...

'' as well as the

Peking opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

''Loss of Jieting''.

Early life

A local of Yicheng, Xiangyang (present-day Yicheng,

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

), Ma Su was one of the five brothers in the family, all of whom were renowned for their intellects and commonly known as the "Five Changs" as their style names all contained "Chang". Though Ma Su's elder brother Ma Liang was deemed to be the most talented among them all. Together with Ma Liang, Ma Su began his service under

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the H ...

around 205, when Liu Bei was still a guest of

Liu Biao Liu Biao () () (151 – September 208), courtesy name Jingsheng, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for serving as the Governor of Jing Province (coveri ...

in Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

). In 214, when Liu Bei started his campaign against Liu Zhang into

Yi Province Yizhou (益州), Yi Province or Yi Prefecture, was a '' zhou'' (province) of ancient China. Its capital city was Chengdu.de Crespigny, p. 256. During the Han dynasty, it included the commanderies Hanzhong, Ba, Guanghan, Shu, Wenshan, Jianwei, ...

, Ma Su followed him with the army and served as a military advisor along with

Pang Tong Pang Tong () (179–214), courtesy name Shiyuan, was a key adviser to the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. In his youth, Pang Tong was disregarded because he was plain looking, however Sima Hui highly esteemed him call ...

and

Fa Zheng Fa Zheng (176–220), courtesy name Xiaozhi, was a key adviser to the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Born in a family of high social status and of noble descent, Fa Zheng travelled to Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan ...

. To reward him for his help during the campaign; Liu Bei after his victory named him not only as the Prefect of Mianzhu, but also Chengdu the capital of the recently conquered province. Since the start, Ma Su had talent and ability that surpassed others and enjoyed discussing planning and strategy. Liu Bei's chief advisor

had been impressed by Ma Su's expansive knowledge in military strategy. At some point before 219, Ma Su was transferred to Yuexi, a troubled commandery in the south as his Administrator. Yuexi was home to numerous indigenous tribes, many of whom refused to accept Liu Bei’s authority. It was the site of a significant tribal revolt led by Gao Ding (高定), the chief of the Sou tribe (叟族) in 218. With help from Li Yan who bent Gao Ding in battle; Ma Su did well in keeping order in the commandery. However, before Liu Bei died in 223, he warned Zhuge Liang that Ma Su's knowledge and speech exceed his real abilities and should not be given important appointments. Still, Zhuge Liang did not heed the warning, and Ma Su was made a personal military consultant to Zhuge soon after Liu died. The two were very close and would often hold discussions from dawn to dusk.

Southern Campaign

During the campaign against

Meng Huo Meng Huo was a local leader in the Nanzhong region in the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was popularly depicted as a local leader representing the gentries of the Nanzhong region, but some historians doubt his h ...

, Ma Su went several tens of '' li'' to see Zhuge Liang off. Zhuge Liang told Ma Su: "It's been years since we strategized together, now I ask for your help with your wise and skilled planning." Ma Su answered to Zhuge Liang as such: Zhuge Liang was greatly impressed and followed Ma Su's advice, many times he forgave Meng Huo in order to gain the trust of the people of the South. And so, until the end of Zhuge Liang’s life, the South did not rebel again.

Performance in Jieting

In 228, Zhuge Liang launched his Northern Expeditions against Wei, at the time there were veteran leaders such as

Wei Yan Wei Yan () (died October 234), courtesy name Wenchang, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a subordinate of the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dyna ...

and Wu Yi. Among the army, many suggested appointing either one of them as the vanguard commander however Zhuge Liang disagreed with the majority and chose the callow Ma Su to command the army at the front instead. Ma Su's forces encountered

's forces at Jieting. It was here that Ma Su made a serious tactical blunder. He had camped on top of a hill, believing the vantage point would provide him with a more advantageous position in terms of observation and a place of attack. The veteran general Wang Ping advised against Ma Su's decision, arguing that their water supply might be cut off and their forces surrounded. While his good counsel was rejected, Ma Su allowed Wang Ping to take 1,000 men and camp nearby the source of the Shu forces' water supply. As Wang Ping predicted, Zhang He took advantage of Ma Su's mistake by striking at the Shu camp's water supply. Scattering Wang Ping's much smaller force, he succeeded in cutting off the enemy's water supply. The parched soldiers of Shu were easily defeated when Zhang He launched an offensive on the main camp itself. Wang Ping, with only a handful of soldiers, did his best to keep the retreat organized and ordered his soldiers to beat their drums loudly to create the impression that reinforcements had arrived. Zhang He believed this to be an ambush and did not pursue. When Zhuge Liang arrived, he could not force Zhang He from his position and retreated to Hanzhong.

Records on Ma Su's death

According to a record from the biography of

, it is stated that Xiang Lang, as a close friend of Ma Su, didn't report him when he fled though the record makes no statement if it was during or after the battle. Though he survived the battle, Ma Su's army suffered a heavy defeat (Wang Ping was able to regroup the scattered forces), so he was soon arrested and sentenced to execution by a reluctant and tearful Zhuge Liang as a way to soothe the masses. Before his execution Ma Su wrote a letter to Zhuge Liang: Many among the army wept greatly for Ma Su's death. When

Jiang Wan Jiang Wan (180s - November or December 246), courtesy name Gongyan, was a regent and military general of the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the late Eastern Han dynasty, Jiang Wan initially served as a scribe, c ...

later visited Hanzhong, he spoke with Zhuge Liang on this matter: "In the past, when the kingdom of Chu killed Dechen (得臣) then the joy of the Duke Wen of Jin was great. Today, the Empire has yet to be unified, however you put a man of wise counsel to death. Is it not regretful?" Zhuge Liang, in tears, answered: "The reason why the kingdom of Sun Wu (孫武) was able to end the war through the empire was that he was clear in application of laws. Thus, it was because Yang Gan (楊干) had brought confusion to laws that Wei Jiang put his charioteer to death. Now that the 'four seas' are still divided and split and war has just begun. If we again abandon the laws, then by what means shall we quell the rebels?"

Xi Zuochi Xi Zuochi (after 316 – 384), courtesy name Yanwei, was a Jin dynasty historian native to Xiangyang, Hubei. He is principally remembered for being the first historian to regard the Wei dynasty as an illegitimate successor to the Han dynasty. ...

commented on this event and harshly criticized Zhuge Liang for Ma Su's death, he said: Li Sheng and Zhang Xiu were also put to death with Ma Su. Wang Ping, on the other hand, was promoted to General Who Attacks Bandits for his efforts in minimizing casualties and for trying to prevent Ma Su's actions. Zhuge Liang sent a memorial to the Emperor

Liu Shan Liu Shan () (207–271), courtesy name Gongsi, was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. As he ascended the throne at the age of 16, Liu Shan was entrusted to the care of the Chancellor Zhuge Lia ...

requesting to be demoted for the defeat at Jieting which he was. Regardless, Ma Su was deemed by Zhuge Liang and later by Liu Shan in an imperial memorial following the

Battle of Jianwei The Battle of Jianwei was fought between the contending states of Shu Han and Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. The battle was also the third of a series of military campaigns against Wei launched by Shu's chancellor, Zhuge Lian ...

to hold major responsibility for the failure of the first Northern Expedition. However, Ma Su's wife and children were well taken care of by Zhuge Liang after Ma Su's death. Zhuge Liang also personally offered sacrifice at Ma Su's grave.(詔策亮曰：「街亭之役，咎由馬謖，而君引愆，...」) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 35.

Notes

References

* * * * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms () by Pei Songzhi (372-451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After leaving his native land, Pei ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). *

Sima Guang Sima Guang (17 November 1019 – 11 October 1086), courtesy name Junshi, was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer. He was a high-ranking Song dynasty scholar-official who authored the monumental history book ''Zizhi Tongjian''. Sima was ...

(11th century). ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...