Ma Liang (187–222), courtesy name Jichang, was an official serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

of China. Since he was young, Ma Liang was famous for his exceptional talent, with Chen Shou describing him as one of Shu's best officials; however, he was killed in battle at the age of 35 years during the Battle of Xiaoting. He was the elder brother of Ma Su and served in 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 period.

Life

Ma Liang was from Yicheng County (), Xiangyang, which is present-day Yicheng, Hubei. He had four brothers – Ma Su was one of them. Ma Liang was famous for his talent. He had white strands of hair in his eyebrows. There was a saying in Ma Liang's hometown to describe him and his brothers: "Of the five ''chang''s in the Ma family, White Brows is the most ''liang''." Around 209, when the warlord Liu Bei took charge of

Jing Province Jingzhou or Jing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China referenced in Chinese historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', '' Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''. Jingzhou became an administrative division during the reign of Empe ...

(covering present-day Hubei and Hunan) after the death of its Inspector (), Liu Qi, he recruited Ma Liang to serve as an Assistant Officer () under him. Later in 211, when Liu Bei left Jing Province for an expedition in Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

), Ma Liang remained behind in Jing Province. Ma Liang was a close friend of Liu Bei's strategist Zhuge Liang and they were sworn brothers. He once wrote a letter to Zhuge Liang, who was in Yi Province at the time, to praise and encourage him. The letter was written as such: Ma Liang was later promoted to the position of a Senior Clerk () in the office of the General of the Left (). Ma Liang was later appointed as an emissary to meet the warlord

Sun Quan Sun Quan (, Chinese: 孫權) (183 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime es ...

, Liu Bei's ally. Before his mission to Wu, Ma Liang spoke to Zhuge Liang: "Now that I'm sent by the state with the mission to bring harmony and friendship between our two nations. May I have the chance to be introduced by you to General Sun Quan?" Zhuge Liang answered: "You ought to try writing something yourself." And so Ma Liang wrote a draft that said: "Our wise lord sends his advisor Ma Liang to convey my respects, bring gifts and extend prosperity to our friendship thereby continue on the praiseworthy legacy of Kunwu (昆吾) and Shiwei (豕韋). I'm a fortunate man of some talent from Jing and Chu region. Rarely, I'm rash in action and yet I have the virtue of seeing matters through to the end. With a calm heart, I turn my head toward you hoping you deign to accept me and give me assistance so I can accomplish my mission." Sun Quan received and treated Ma Liang very respectfully. In 221, after the collapse of the

, Liu Bei declared himself emperor and established 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'' <

Battle of Xiaoting. Ma Liang was tasked with persuading the tribal peoples in Wuling (武陵; around present-day Wuling District, Changde, Hunan) to join Liu Bei and he succeeded in his mission. The army's advance until they arrived at Xiaoting in Yidao, there Liu Bei extended his camps closely linked to each other. While Ma Liang following the road to Henshan (佷山) was further sent to oversee and manage the affairs of the Yi and Man tribes of Wuling. Liu Bei was eventually defeated by Sun Quan's general Lu Xun at the Battle of Xiaoting in 222 and Ma Liang was killed in action. Later, after he managed to retreat to Baidicheng (in present-day Fengjie County,

) safely, Liu Bei appointed Ma Liang's son, Ma Bing (), as a Cavalry Commandant ().

Appraisal

Chen Shou, who wrote Ma Liang's biography in the ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220– ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''), appraised Ma Liang as follows: "Ma Liang was incorruptible, honest and was praised as an outstanding elite. He was worthy to be called a ''lingshi'' (令士; a virtuous scholarly gentleman)... Along with Dong He, Liu Ba, Chen Zhen and Dong Yun, he was one of the best officials in Shu."(評曰： ... 馬良貞實，稱為令士， ... 皆蜀臣之良矣。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 39.

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

Ma Liang is a minor character in the 14th-century historical novel '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', He joins Liu Bei under Yi Ji's recommendation along with his younger brother Ma Su. Then, he advised Liu Bei to have Liu Qi appointed as Governor of

to satisfy the people while he conquers the Southern Commandery. During the conquest of Yi, he stays behind and act as Guan Yu's main civil advisor acting as a voice of reason during the negotiation with Wu and playing weiqi against Guan Yu during Hua Tuo's famous operation.

Notes

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Chang Qu (4th century). '' Chronicles of Huayang'' (''Huayang Guo Zhi''). * * 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''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Ma, Liang 187 births 222 deaths Politicians from Xiangyang Officials under Liu Bei Three Kingdoms diplomats Shu Han politicians Han dynasty politicians from Hubei Han dynasty diplomats Three Kingdoms people killed in battle

Life

Appraisal

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

See also

Notes

References