Ma Hongbin Explained

Ma Hongbin
马鸿宾
Birth Date:September 14, 1884
Birth Place:Linxia County, Gansu
Death Place:Lanzhou
Office:Governor of Gansu[1]
Term Start:November 1930
Term End:December 1931
Predecessor:Wang Zhen (Wang Chen)
Successor:Ma Wenche (Ma Wen-ch'e)
Office2:Governor of Ningxia (1st time)
Term Start2:7 Jan 1921
Term End2:Dec 1928
Predecessor2:Ma Fuxiang (Ma Fu-hsiang)
Successor2:Men Zhizhong (Men Chih-chung)
Office3:Governor of Ningxia (2nd time)
Term Start3:1948
Term End3:1949
Predecessor3:Ma Hongkui
Successor3:Pan Zili (P'an Tzu-li)
Party:Kuomintang
Children:Ma Dunjing (1906–1972)
Nationality:Hui
Nickname:"Ma the Kind Man"
Allegiance:

Serviceyears:1910–1960
Rank:General
Unit:Ma clique
Battles:Second Zhili–Fengtian War, Central Plains War, War in Ningxia (1934), Long March, Second Sino-Japanese War, Chinese Civil War
Awards:Order of Leopold (Belgium)[2]

Ma Hongbin (Chinese: 马鸿宾, Xiao'erjing: Chinese: مَا خٌ‌بٍ, September 14, 1884 – October 21, 1960), was a prominent Chinese Muslim warlord active mainly during the Republican era, and was part of the Ma clique. He was the acting Chairman of Gansu and Ningxia Provinces for a short period.[3]

Life

Ma was born in the village of Hanchiachi, in Linxia County, Gansu. He was the son of Ma Fulu who died in 1900 when fighting against the foreigners in the Battle of Peking (1900) in the Boxer Rebellion.[4] [5] [6] As a nephew of Ma Fuxiang,[7] he followed him and later Feng Yuxiang into the army. He and Ma Fuxiang protected a Catholic mission in Sandaohe from attacks by the Gelaohui, and he received the Order of Leopold (Belgium) ("King Leopold decoration")[8] During an uprising in Gansu in the Central Plains War, the Muslim General Ma Tingxiang was attacked by Ma Hongbin who was serving in Feng's administration in Ningxia.[9] [10]

Upon his cooperation with Chiang Kai-shek, he was named commander of the 22nd Division, 24th Army, within the National Revolutionary Army. He was governor of Ningxia from 1921 to 1928 and chairman of the government of Ningxia in 1930. However, Ma Hongbin caused and consequently lost a power struggle with his cousin Ma Hongkui, a fact that was exploited by Chiang Kai-shek to his own advantage by preventing Hongbin's total defeat. In 1930, Chiang named Ma Hongbin as the Chairman of the Provincial Council of Gansu, a post he held until 1931; Hongbin's control over Gansu remained very limited, however, as the province was mostly ruled by his rival Ma Zhongying. Even after Zhongying's departure to the Soviet Union in July 1934, Gansu's armies and civilian population was still loyal to Zhongying. Hongbin helped Ma Hongkui to fight off an invasion of Ningxia by fellow warlord Sun Dianying in early 1934.

The Japanese planned to invade Ningxia from Suiyuan in 1939 and create a Hui Muslim puppet state. The next year in 1940, the Japanese were defeated militarily by Ma Hongbin, who caused the plan to collapse. Ma Hongbin's Hui Muslim troops launched further attacks against Japan in the Battle of West Suiyuan.[11] [12]

He became the commander of the 81st Corps during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II.[13] In 1940 Ma Hongbin's Muslim troops took part in the Battle of West Suiyuan against Japan and their Mongol puppet state Mengjiang.[14] In the same year at the Battle of Wuyuan, Ma Hongbin led the 81st Corps against the Japanese. The Japanese were defeated by the Chinese Muslim forces and Wuyuan was retaken. Japan used poison gas against the Chinese Muslim armies at the Battle of Wuyuan and Battle of West Suiyuan. Throughout the war, Ma Hongbin continued military operations against the Japanese and their Mongolian allies.

Ma Hongbin's army was clan centered and feudal. In his 81st corps, his chief of staff was his brother in law, Ma Chiang-liang.[15]

The American Asiatic Association reported that he commanded the eighty fourth Army corps.[16]

After the war, he became a senior adviser within the Northwestern Army Headquarters. When his cousin Ma Hongkui resigned from his positions and fled to Taiwan, those positions where transferred to Ma Hongbin. In 1949 during the Chinese Civil War, when the People's Liberation Army was approaching the northwest, Ma Hongbin and his son Ma Dunjing led his 81st Corps to cross over to the communist side.[17] He was named vice-chairman (later restyled vice-governor) of Gansu province. He was also vice-director of the Commission of Ethnic Affairs as well as a member of the National Defense Commission of the People's Republic of China. He died in Lanzhou in 1960.

Family

Ma Hongbin's father was Ma Fulu, and his cousin was Ma Hongkui.[18] [19] His uncles were Ma Fuxiang, Ma Fushou, and Ma Fucai. His grandfather was Ma Qianling.

Ma Hongkui's son was General Ma Dunjing (1906–1972), three of his nephews were Generals Ma Dunhou (Ma Tun-hou, misspelled as Ma Tung-hou) 馬敦厚, Ma Dunjing (1910–2003), and Ma Dunren (Ma Tun-jen) 馬敦仁.[20]

Career

See also

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Government and politics in Kuomintang China, 1927–1937. registration. ma hung-pin.. Hung-mao Tien. 1972. Stanford University Press. 186. 0-8047-0812-6. 2010-06-28.
  2. Book: Chronique du Toumet-Ortos: looking through the lens of Joseph Van Oost, missionary in Inner Mongolia (1915-1921). Ann Heylen. 2004. Leuven University Press. Leuven, Belgium. 203. 90-5867-418-5. 2010-06-28.
  3. Book: British documents on foreign affairs: reports and papers from the Foreign Office confidential print. From 1946 through 1950. Asia, Volume 1. Paul Preston . Michael Partridge . Antony Best . University Publications of America. 1-55655-768-X. 37. 2010-06-28.
  4. Book: Familiar strangers: a history of Muslims in Northwest China. Jonathan Neaman Lipman. 2004. University of Washington Press. Seattle. 0-295-97644-6. 169. 2010-06-28.
  5. Book: Asia: journal of the American Asiatic Association, Volume 40. American Asiatic Association. 1940. Asia Pub. Co.. 660. 2011-05-08.
  6. Book: Papers from the Conference on Chinese Local Elites and Patterns of Dominance, Banff, August 20-24, 1987, Volume 3. Joint Committee on Chinese Studies (U.S.). 1987. 20. 24 April 2014.
  7. Book: Intellectuals in the Modern Islamic World: Transmission, Transformation and Communication. Stephane A.. Dudoignon. Komatsu. Hisao. Kosugi. Yasushi. 3 of New Horizons in Islamic Studies. 2006. Routledge. 342. 1134205988. 24 April 2014.
  8. Book: Chronique du Toumet-Ortos: looking through the lens of Joseph Van Oost, missionary in Inner Mongolia (1915-1921). Ann Heylen. 2004. Leuven University Press. Leuven, Belgium. 203. 90-5867-418-5. 2010-06-28.
  9. 刘国铭主编,中国国民党九千将领,北京:中华工商联合出版社, 1993年
  10. http://www.gs.xinhuanet.com/dfpd/2007-11/21/content_11731055.htm 清末民国两马家
  11. Book: Frontier passages: ethnopolitics and the rise of Chinese communism, 1921-1945. Xiaoyuan Liu. 2004. Stanford University Press. 131. 0-8047-4960-4. 2010-06-28.
  12. Book: The China monthly review, Volumes 80-81. 1937. J.W. Powell. 320. 2011-06-06.
  13. Book: Charles D. Pettibone. The Organization and Order of Battle of Militaries in World War II: Volume VIII ? China. May 2013. Trafford Publishing. 978-1-4669-9646-5. 303–.
  14. Book: The China monthly, Volumes 3–5. George Barry O'Toole . Jên-yü Tsʻai . 1941. The China monthly incorporated.. 2010-06-28.
  15. Book: Along alien roads. Aleksandr I͡Akovlevich Kali͡agin, Aleksandr I︠A︡kovlevich Kali︠a︡gin. 1983. East Asian Institute, Columbia University. 29. 0-913418-03-X. 2010-06-28.
  16. Book: Asia: journal of the American Asiatic Association, Volume 40. American Asiatic Association. 1940. Asia Pub. Co.. 660. 2011-05-08.
  17. Book: China report: economic affairs, Issues 92-97. United States. Joint Publications Research Service. 1984. Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 34. 2010-06-28.
  18. Book: Paul Preston . British documents on foreign affairs: reports and papers from the Foreign Office confidential print. From 1946 through 1950. Asia, Volume 2 . Michael Partridge . Antony Best . University Publications of America . 2000 . 1-55655-768-X . 63 . 2011-06-05. https://books.google.com/books?id=a4yQAAAAMAAJ
  19. Book: Anthony Best . British documents on foreign affairs: reports and papers from the Foreign Office confidential print. From 1951 through 1956. Asia, 1955. Burma, China and Formosa, Japan, and Korea, 1955, Part 5 . Michael Partridge . Paul Preston . LexisNexis . 2009 . 978-0-88692-723-3 . 181 . 2011-06-05. https://books.google.com/books?id=RWsOAQAAMAAJ
  20. http://nccur.lib.nccu.edu.tw/bitstream/140.119/33588/11/15301511.pdf 甘、寧、青三馬家族世系簡表