Ma Bufang
Encyclopedia
Ma Bufang was a prominent Muslim Ma clique
warlord
in China during the Republic of China
era, ruling the northwestern province of Qinghai
. His rank was Lieutenant-general. Ma was regarded as a "modernizer" and "reformer" during his rule over Qinghai.
(1901–1977) were born in Monigou Township (漠泥沟乡) in what is today Linxia County, some 35 km west of Linxia City. Their father Ma Qi
(馬麒) formed the Ninghai Army
in Qinghai in 1915, and received civilian and military posts from the Beiyang Government
in Beijing in that same year confirming his military and civilian authority in Qinghai.
Older brother Ma Buqing
received a Classical Chinese education, while Ma Bufang received education in Islam. Ma Qi originally made Ma Bufang study to become an Imam while his older brother Ma Buqing was educated in the military. Ma Bufang studied until he was 19, then he pursued a military career like his brother. Ma Bufang controlled the Great Dongguan Mosque.
Ma was a graduate of the Officers' Training Corps of Qinghai.
Ma Bufang sided with Feng Yuxiang
's Guominjun
until the Central Plains War
, when he switched to the winning side of Chiang Kai-shek
. Ma Qi died in 1931 and his power was assumed by his brother Ma Lin
(馬麟), who was appointed governor of Qinghai.
Republic of China
government supported Ma Bufang when he launched seven extermination expeditions into Golog, eliminating thousands of Tibetans. Some Tibetans counted the number of times he attacked him, remembering the seventh attack which made life impossible. Ma was highly anti-communist, and he and his army wiped out many Tibetans in the northeast and eastern Qinghai, and also destroyed Tibetan Buddhist Temples.
In 1932, Ma Bufang's Muslim troops and the Han Chinese general Liu Wenhui
defeated the 13th Dalai Lama's Tibetan armies when Tibet tried to invade Qinghai. Ma Bufang overrran the Tibetan armies and recaptured several counties in Xikang
province. Shiqu, Dengke, and other counties were seized from the Tibetans. The Tibetans were pushed back to the other side of the Jinsha river. Ma and Liu warned Tibetan officials not to dare cross the Jinsha river again. A truce was signed, ending the fighting.
The Kunlun middle school was established by Ma Bufang, and it recruited Tibetan students, who were subjected to a harsh military life. Ma wanted to use them as translators as he expanded his military domain over land inhabited by Tibetans. As Ma Bufang defeated more Tibetans, he also drafted them into his army.
held the position of Civil Governor, while Ma Bufang was military Governor. They feuded with and disliked each other. People did not admire Ma Bufang as much as his uncle Ma Lin, who was adored by the people.
In 1936, under the order of Chiang Kai-shek
, with the help of Ma Zhongying
's remnant force in Gansu
and Ma Hongkui
's and Ma Hongbin
's force from Ningxia
, Ma Bufang and his brother Ma Buqing (1901–1977) played an important role in annihilating Zhang Guotao
's 21,800 strong force that crossed the Yellow River
in an attempt to expand the Communist base. Later on Ma Bufang rose with the help of Kuomintang
involvement and forced his uncle Ma Lin to concede his position, in 1937. That was when Ma Bufang actually became governor of Qinghai, with military and civilian powers, and stayed ruler until the Communist victory in 1949. During Ma Bufang's rise to power, along with his brother Ma Buqing and cousins Ma Hongkui
and Ma Hongbin
, they were instrumental in helping another cousin of theirs, Ma Zhongying
to prevail in Gansu
, because they did not want Ma Zhongying
to compete with them on their own turf, so they encouraged and supported Ma Zhongying
to develop his own power base in other regions such as Gansu
and Xinjiang
. Ma Bufang defeated Ma Zhongying in battle in Gansu, and drove him into Xinjiang.
Any female communist soldiers who were captured were married to Ma Bufang's officers as wives.
In 1936, Ma Bufang was appointed commander of the newly organized 2nd army.
Ma Bufang did not want the 14th Dalai Lama
to succeed his predecessor. Ma Bufang stationed his men to place the Dalai Lama under effective house arrest, saying it was needed for "protection", refusing to permit his leaving to Tibet. He did all he could to delay the transport of the Dalai Lama from Qinghai to Tibet, by demanding massive sums of money in silver. The demanded payment by Ma Bufang was 100,000 Chinese silver dollars.
Even though his uncle Ma Lin was officially governor of Qinghai, Ma Bufang held de facto military power in the province and foreigners acknowledged this. While his uncle Ma Lin was Governor of Qinghai, Ma Bufang was Pacification Commissioner of Gansu. In 1936, during Autumn, Ma Bufang made his move to expel his uncle from power and replace him. Ma Bufang made his position untenous and unbearable until Ma Lin resigned from power by making the Hajj
to Mecca
. Ma Lin's next position was to be part of the National Government Committee. In an interview Ma Lin was described as having "high admiration and unwavering loyalty to Chiang Kai-shek".
The Qing dynasty
had granted his family a yellow standard which had his family name "Ma" on it. Ma Bufang continued to use this standard in battle. As of 1936, he had 30,000 Muslim cavalrymen in his army.
Due to massive pressure from Mongol and Tibetan students studying in Nanjing for Ma Bufang to resign over his "feudal" treatment of them, in December 1936 he submitted both his resingation for his Governorship and his military command. President Chiang-kaishek refused to accept the resignation, since Ma achieved a decisive victory over the Communists. A scandal erupted when the newspaper "Qinghai Daily", in its editorial section, reported on Xiao Zhiping's visit to "weiwen" (sympathize or comfort) Ma Bufang, making the title ""Welcome Xiao Zhiping to Placate Qinghai", which was a humiliation to the parties involved. The editor was personally reprimanded by Ma, who told him to change the title to "weiwen" instead of "placate"(xuanfu)
expelled 20,000 Kazakhs from Xinjiang, to Qinghai, General Ma Bufang and his Chinese Muslim army massacred their fellow Muslim Kazakhs, until there were 135 of them left.
In 1936, nomads of Kirghiz origin escaping from Sheng Shicai in Xinjiang fled into the Tsaidam and Qilian mountains area of Qinghai. To their detriment, like Sheng Shicai, Ma Bufang persecuted them, as he did to the Mongols and Tibetans.
Because of fierce resistance by Ma Hongkui
and Ma Bufang's Muslim cavalry, the Japanese never captured Lanzhou during the war.
In 1937, Ma Bufang notified the Chinese government that he was prepared to lead his army into battle against the Japanese during the Battle of Beiping–Tianjin.
Ma Bufang was also an obstruction to Japanese agents trying to contact the Tibetans, he was called an "adversary" by a Japanese agent.
Ma became governor when he expelled his uncle Ma Lin (warlord)
from power in 1938. He became chairman (governor) of Qinghai in 1938 and commanded a group army. He was appointed because of his anti Japanese inclinations.
Under orders from the Kuomintang
government of Chiang Kaishek, Ma Bufang repaired Yushu airport to prevent Tibetan separatists from seeking independence. Chiang also ordered Ma Bufang to put his Muslim soldiers on alert for an invasion of Tibet in 1942. Ma Bufang complied, and moved several thousand troops to the border with Tibet. Chiang also threatened the Tibetans with bombing if they did not comply. Ma Bufang attacked the Tibetan Buddhist Tsang monastery in 1941. He also constantly attacked the Labrang monastery.
Ma Bufang's army battled extensively in bloody battles against the Japanese in Henan
province. The Qinghai Chinese, Salar, Chinese Muslim, Dongxiang, and Tibetan troops Ma Bufang sent fought to the death against the Imperial Japanese Army, or committed suicide refusing to be taken prisoner, instead, they committed suicide when cornered by the enemy. When they defeated the Japanese, the Muslim troops slaughtered all of them except for a few prisoners to send back to Qinghai prove that they were victorious. In September 1940, when the Japanese made an offensive against the Muslim Qinghai troops, the Muslims ambushed them and killed so many of them they were forced to retreat. The Japanese could not even pick up their dead, they instead cut an arm from their corpses limbs for cremation to send back to Japan. The Japanese did not dare make an offensive like that again.
In 1942 Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, head of the Chinese government personally went on tour in Northwestern China in Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, and Qinghai, where he met both Ma Buqing and Ma Bufang. It was reported around this time Ma had 50,000 elite soldiers in his army.
Ma Bufang supported the Chinese nationalist Imam Hu Songshan
.
A former Tibetan Khampa soldier named Aten who battled Ma Bufang's forces gave an account of a battle. He described the Chinese Muslims as "fierce". After he and his troopos were ambushed by 2,000 Ma Bufang's Chinese Muslim cavalry, he was left with bullet wounds and he "had no illusions as to the fate of most of our group", most of whom were wiped out. Aten also asserted that "the Tibetan province of Amdo", was "occupied" by Ma Bufang.
Tibetans of Amdo still hold strong feelings and memories of the wars between Ma Bufang's Chinese Muslims and the Tibetans. According the author Frank Stewart, a Tibetan poet, Meizhuo, "became very agitated" when talking about the conflict.
in 1945.
The Kuomintang
Chinese government ordered Ma Bufang several times to march his troops into Xinjiang to intimidate the pro Soviet Governor Sheng Shicai
. This helped provide protection for Chinese settling in Xinjiang. Ma Bufang was sent with his Muslim Cavalry to Urumqi
by the Kuomintang in 1945 during the Ili Rebellion to protect it from the Uyghur army from Hi.
Ma Bufang relocated Genghis Khan
's shrine from Yulin
to Xining
in 1949. On April 7, 1949 Ma Bufang and Ma Hongkui made a joint announcement in which they said that they would continue to fight the Communists, and they would not make an accord with them. Fighting continued as the Communists advanced. Ma was made Chief of all Military and Political affairs of the Northwest by the Kuomintang.
The Panchen Lama
, who was exiled from Tibet by the Dalai Lama's government, wanted to seek revenge by leading an army against Tibet in September 1949. He asked for help from Ma Bufang. Ma Bufang patronized the Panchen Lama, and the Lamaist Red Sect against the Dalai Lama. Qinghai served as a "sanctuary" for Red Sect members, Ma Bufang allowed Kumbum Monastery
to be totally self governed by the Panchen Lama.
General Ma Bufang was appointed Supreme Commander in Chief of the entire northwestern China by the government, descrimed by TIME magazine as "13 times as big as Texas", containing "14 million people" "one-third Han Chinese, one-third Moslem Chinese, and the remainder Tibetans, Turkis, Mongolians, Kazaks". He entered Lanzhou in a Buick with his troops, seizing buildings with his troops and setting up camps. Ma Bufang also had to battle against forty Soviet warplanes sent by Stalin against his forces.
Generals Hu Zongnan
and Ma Bufang led five corps to defeated General Peng's army near Baoji. They inflicted 15,000 deaths upon the PLA.
In August 1949, Ma Bufang personally traveled by plane to the KMT government in Canton request supplies via airdrop, while his son Ma Jiyuan
assumed command over the KMT forces at Lanzhou
, who promised to defend the city to journalists. However, the government denied his request, and Ma flew back to Lanzhou, then abandoned lanzhou, retreating all the way back to Xining on trucks. Then the Chinese Communist People's Liberation Army PLA
, led by General Peng Dehuai
, defeated Ma's army
and occupied Lanzhou
, the capital of Gansu. Ma was driven out of Xining
. Ma fled to Chongqing
then Hong Kong. While residing in a flat in Hong Kong, he stated he his intention to flee to Mecca. In October, Chiang Kai-shek
urged him to return to the Northwest to resist the PLA, but he fled to Mecca
with more than 200 relatives and subordinates, in the name of hajj
.
Ma Bufang, and his family members like son Ma Jiyuan
, cousin Ma Bukang, and nephew Ma Chengxiang
fled to Saudi Arabia, however, after one year, Ma Bufang and Ma Bukang then moved to Cairo
, Egypt
, while his son Ma Jiyuan with 10 Generals, moved to Taiwan
.
General Ma Bufang announced the start of the Kuomintang Islamic Insurgency in China (1950–1958)
, on January 9, 1950, when he was in Cairo
, Egypt
saying that Chinese Muslims would never surrender to Communism and would fight a guerilla war against the Communists. His former military forces, most of them Muslim, continued to play a major role in the insurgency.
In 1950, Ma moved to Cairo
, Egypt
. He was there to request help from Arab countries. Ma served as representative of the Kuomintang
to Egypt.
In 1957, after the establishment of diplomatic relations between Egypt and the People's Republic of China, Ma was transferred by Taipei
to serve as the ROC's ambassador to Saudi Arabia
. Ma served in this post for four years, during which period he never returned to Taiwan
. In 1961, owing to a scandal surrounding Ma's having forced his niece to become his concubine, Ma was removed from his post as ROC ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Ma, to avoid punishment by the ROC government, chose to seek Saudi citizenship. He remained in Saudi Arabia until his death in 1975 at age 72 years old. Although Ma Bufang had numerous concubines, he only had one son, Ma Jiyuan
(马继援), who became a divisional commander in Ma Bufang's army.
The Ma Bufang Mansion
was where Ma and his family lived from 1943-1949. In 1938 Ma Bufang built a residence for his concubine called East mansion. Ma Bufang's headquarters was converted into the provincial museum by the Communists, until a new one was built, it currently contains the "Qinghai Cultural Relics and Archaeology Institute " collection.
Another officer who served under Ma Bufang, the Salar General Han Youwen
, also defected to the Communists and joined the People's Liberation Army
.
Ma Bufang had another chief of staff in his North-West Command, Ma Ji. Ma Ji's son Ma Wenying later became a well known tailor.
. They were mostly from Xunhua County.
Ma Bufang's regime centered on the support of "fanatically disciplined and obedient Chinese Moslems." After he took over as Governor, he turned to civilian governing. His son was handed Ma Bufang's former role as authority over the army.
party was officially anti feudal, and the Kuomintang itself claimed to be a revolutionary party of the people, so being accused of feudalism was a serious insult. Chiang Kai-shek
, the leader of the Kuomintang, spoke out publicly against feudalism and feudal warlords. Ma Bufang was forced to defend himself against the accusations, and stated to the news media that his army was a part of "National army, people's power".
by American journalist John Roderick
and friendly compared to the other Ma Clique warlords. Ma Bufang was reported to be good humoured and jovial in contrast to the brutal reign of Ma Hongkui
.
Most of eastern China was ravaged by the Second Sino Japanese war the Chinese Civil, by contrast, Qinghai was relatively untouched.
An American scholar and government advisor, Doak Barnett, praised Ma Bufang's government as "one of the most efficient in China, and one of the most energetic. While most of China is bogged down, almost inevitably, by Civil War, Chinghai is attempting to carry our small-scale, but nevertheless ambitious, development and reconstruction schemes on its own initiative"
General Ma started a state run and controlled industralization project, directly creating educational, medical, agricultural, and sanitation projects, run or assisted by the state. The state provided money for food and uniforms in all schools, state run or private. Roads and a theater were constructed. The state controlled all the press, no freedom was allowed for independent journalists. His regime was dictatoral in its political system. Barnett admitted that the regime had "sterm authoritarianism" and "little room for personal freedom".
In 1947 America sold Ma Bufang a piped water (sewage) system which was installed in Xining
.
Like all the other Kuomintang
members, Ma Bufang was an anti Communist.
, the capital of Qinghai
by serving as insect exterminators, killing flies and neatly throwing them away.
Ma Bufang and his wife built a girl's school for Muslim girls in Linxia which taught modern secular education.
to Sku'bum to seek helpers for analyzing and copying Dunhuang
Buddhist art.
and heavy taxes.
The Mongour were reported to have been abused by KMT officials under Ma Bufang, who moved to Taiwan with Ma after the communist revolution.
Ma cooperated with the Panchen Lama
against the Dalai Lama
's regime in Tibet. The Panchen Lama stayed in Qinghai. Ma tried to persuade the Panchen Lama to come with the Kuomintang government to Taiwan when the Communist victory approached, but the Panchen Lama decided to defect to the Communists instead. The Panchen Lama, unlike the Dalai Lama, sought to exert control in decision making. In addition, the Kuomintang expanded into the Lhasa regime of the Dalai Lama.
Towards the Communist takeover, Ma Bufang tried to rally Tibetan and Mongol militia at the Kokonur Lake. A Mongol official Wang Benba derailed the ritual by urging them not to fight, saying that Communist victory was inevitable.
policies in Tibetan areas: he is said to have forced Tibetans to intermarry, and change their religious beliefs. He also spread and popularized holidays such as the Chinese New Year
.
Since Qinghai (Amdo) was under Ma's rule, the 14th Dalai Lama and his family spoke Chinese as their native language, not knowing Tibetan up to 1939 when they relocated their home to Lhasa
.
Ma Bufang also eliminated racism, and made all nationalities equal, elminating Slavery and Lordship among the Mongols and Tibetans.
Muslims stressed a non-political, and, what they called an "original" form of Islam. When, in 1937, the Salafi formally split with the Yihewani, Ma Bufang persecuted
them as "heterodox" and "foreign". The Salafis were not allowed to move or worship openly. General Ma effectively repressed all non Yihewani groups, including the traditional Sunni Gedimu, the oldest sect of Islam in China, doing things like enforcing Yihewani Imams on them. However, when the Communist party took over, the Gedimu used the Communist party's rules on freedom of religion to ward of the Yihewani practices and Imams. Ma Bufang also repressed his fellow Sufis, including the menhuan he himself belonged to. The Communist regime carries on his policy of favoring the Yihewani to this day.
In contrast to his treatment of Salafis, General Ma allowed polytheists to openly worship, and Christian missionaries to station themselves in Qinghai. General Ma and other high ranking Muslim Generals even attended the Kokonuur Lake Ceremony where the God of the Lake was worshipped, and during the ritual, the Chinese national Anthem was sung, all participants bowed to a Portrait of Kuomintang
party founder Dr. Sun Zhongshan, and the God of the Lake was also bowed to, and offerings were given to him by the participants, which included the Muslims. Ma Bufang invited Kazakh Muslims to attend the Ceremony honoring the God. Ma Bufang received audiences of Christian missionaries, who sometimes gave him the Gospel
. His son Ma Jiyuan received a silver cup from Christian missionaries.
He commanded the "New 9th Division", "New 2nd Army", and the "82nd Army". Another one of his positions was "vice-commander of the 77th Brigade of the 26th Division".
Ma clique
The Ma clique or Ma family warlords is a collective name for a group of Muslim warlords in Northwestern China who ruled the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia from the 1910s until 1949. There were 3 families in the Ma clique , each of them respectively controlled 3 areas, Gansu,...
warlord
Warlord
A warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war...
in China during the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
era, ruling the northwestern province of Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
. His rank was Lieutenant-general. Ma was regarded as a "modernizer" and "reformer" during his rule over Qinghai.
Life
Ma Bufang and his older brother Ma BuqingMa Buqing
Ma Buqing was a prominent Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, controlling armies in the northwestern province of Qinghai.-Life:...
(1901–1977) were born in Monigou Township (漠泥沟乡) in what is today Linxia County, some 35 km west of Linxia City. Their father Ma Qi
Ma Qi
Ma Qi was a Chinese Muslim warlord in early 20th century China.-Early life:His grandfather Sa-la Ma , is a Salar. He was born in 1869 in Daohe, now part of Linxia, Gansu, China. His father was Ma Haiyan...
(馬麒) formed the Ninghai Army
Ninghai Army
The Ninghai Army was a Muslim Hui army in the Republic of China commanded by General Ma Qi, who controlled the Xining area of Qinghai, then a special region of Gansu province. It was founded by Ma Qi in 1915.-Composition and History:...
in Qinghai in 1915, and received civilian and military posts from the Beiyang Government
Beiyang Government
The Beiyang government or warlord government collectively refers to a series of military regimes that ruled from Beijing from 1912 to 1928 at Zhongnanhai. It was internationally recognized as the legitimate Government of the Republic of China. The name comes from the Beiyang Army which dominated...
in Beijing in that same year confirming his military and civilian authority in Qinghai.
Older brother Ma Buqing
Ma Buqing
Ma Buqing was a prominent Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, controlling armies in the northwestern province of Qinghai.-Life:...
received a Classical Chinese education, while Ma Bufang received education in Islam. Ma Qi originally made Ma Bufang study to become an Imam while his older brother Ma Buqing was educated in the military. Ma Bufang studied until he was 19, then he pursued a military career like his brother. Ma Bufang controlled the Great Dongguan Mosque.
Ma was a graduate of the Officers' Training Corps of Qinghai.
Ma Bufang sided with Feng Yuxiang
Feng Yuxiang
Feng Yuxiang was a warlord and leader in Republican China. He was also known as the Christian General for his zeal to convert his troops and the Betrayal General for his penchant to break with the establishment. In 1911, he was an officer in the ranks of Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army but joined...
's Guominjun
Guominjun
The Guominjun , a.k.a Nationalist Army, KMC, or Northwest Army , refers to the military faction founded by Feng Yuxiang, Hu Jingyi and Sun Yue during China's Warlord Era. It was formed when Feng betrayed the Zhili clique during the Second Zhili-Fengtian War with the Fengtian clique in 1924...
until the Central Plains War
Central Plains War
Central Plains War was a civil war within the factionalised Kuomintang that broke out in 1930. It was fought between the forces of Chiang Kai-shek and the coalition of three military commanders who had previously allied with Chiang: Yan Xishan, Feng Yuxiang, and Li Zongren...
, when he switched to the winning side of Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
. Ma Qi died in 1931 and his power was assumed by his brother Ma Lin
Ma Lin (warlord)
Ma Lin, , chairman of the government of Qinghai ; brother of Ma Qi. A Muslim born in 1873, Linxia, Gansu, China, he mainly succeeded to the posts of his brother, being general of southeastern Gansu province, as well as councillor of the Qinghai provincial government and acting head of the...
(馬麟), who was appointed governor of Qinghai.
War against Tibet, Kazakhs and Communists
The KuomintangKuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
government supported Ma Bufang when he launched seven extermination expeditions into Golog, eliminating thousands of Tibetans. Some Tibetans counted the number of times he attacked him, remembering the seventh attack which made life impossible. Ma was highly anti-communist, and he and his army wiped out many Tibetans in the northeast and eastern Qinghai, and also destroyed Tibetan Buddhist Temples.
In 1932, Ma Bufang's Muslim troops and the Han Chinese general Liu Wenhui
Liu Wenhui
Liu Wenhui was one of the warlords of Sichuan province during China's Warlord era. Liu who rose to prominence in Sichuan in the 1920s and 1930s, came from a peasant family. At the beginning of his career, he was aligned with the Kuomintang , commanding the Sichuan-Xikang Defence Force from 1927 to...
defeated the 13th Dalai Lama's Tibetan armies when Tibet tried to invade Qinghai. Ma Bufang overrran the Tibetan armies and recaptured several counties in Xikang
Xikang
Xikang or Sikang , is a defunct province of the Republic of China , comprising most of the Kham region of traditional Tibet, where Khampas, a subgroup of the Tibetan ethnicity, live. The area is also home to a small minority of Mongol ethnicity...
province. Shiqu, Dengke, and other counties were seized from the Tibetans. The Tibetans were pushed back to the other side of the Jinsha river. Ma and Liu warned Tibetan officials not to dare cross the Jinsha river again. A truce was signed, ending the fighting.
The Kunlun middle school was established by Ma Bufang, and it recruited Tibetan students, who were subjected to a harsh military life. Ma wanted to use them as translators as he expanded his military domain over land inhabited by Tibetans. As Ma Bufang defeated more Tibetans, he also drafted them into his army.
Ascension to Governorship
General Ma Lin (warlord)Ma Lin (warlord)
Ma Lin, , chairman of the government of Qinghai ; brother of Ma Qi. A Muslim born in 1873, Linxia, Gansu, China, he mainly succeeded to the posts of his brother, being general of southeastern Gansu province, as well as councillor of the Qinghai provincial government and acting head of the...
held the position of Civil Governor, while Ma Bufang was military Governor. They feuded with and disliked each other. People did not admire Ma Bufang as much as his uncle Ma Lin, who was adored by the people.
In 1936, under the order of Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
, with the help of Ma Zhongying
Ma Zhongying
Ma Zhongying, also Ma Chung-ying was a Tungan Chinese Muslim warlord during the Warlord era of China. Ma Zhongying's birth name was Ma Buying . Zhongying was a warlord of Gansu province in China during the 1930s. He allied himself with the Kuomintang, which gave his soldiers an official...
's remnant force in Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
and Ma Hongkui
Ma Hongkui
Ma Hongkui , was a prominent warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the northwestern province of Ningxia. His rank was Lieutenant-general. His courtesy name was Shao-yun .- Life :...
's and Ma Hongbin
Ma Hongbin
Ma Hongbin , was a prominent muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era. He was the acting Chairman of Gansu and Ningxia Provinces for a short period.- Life :...
's force from Ningxia
Ningxia
Ningxia, formerly transliterated as Ningsia, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Located in Northwest China, on the Loess Plateau, the Yellow River flows through this vast area of land. The Great Wall of China runs along its northeastern boundary...
, Ma Bufang and his brother Ma Buqing (1901–1977) played an important role in annihilating Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao was a founding member and important leader of the Chinese Communist Party and bitter rival to Mao Zedong. During the 1920s he studied in the Soviet Union and became a key contact with the Comintern and organized the CCP labor movement in the United Front with the Guomindang...
's 21,800 strong force that crossed the Yellow River
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
in an attempt to expand the Communist base. Later on Ma Bufang rose with the help of Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
involvement and forced his uncle Ma Lin to concede his position, in 1937. That was when Ma Bufang actually became governor of Qinghai, with military and civilian powers, and stayed ruler until the Communist victory in 1949. During Ma Bufang's rise to power, along with his brother Ma Buqing and cousins Ma Hongkui
Ma Hongkui
Ma Hongkui , was a prominent warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the northwestern province of Ningxia. His rank was Lieutenant-general. His courtesy name was Shao-yun .- Life :...
and Ma Hongbin
Ma Hongbin
Ma Hongbin , was a prominent muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era. He was the acting Chairman of Gansu and Ningxia Provinces for a short period.- Life :...
, they were instrumental in helping another cousin of theirs, Ma Zhongying
Ma Zhongying
Ma Zhongying, also Ma Chung-ying was a Tungan Chinese Muslim warlord during the Warlord era of China. Ma Zhongying's birth name was Ma Buying . Zhongying was a warlord of Gansu province in China during the 1930s. He allied himself with the Kuomintang, which gave his soldiers an official...
to prevail in Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
, because they did not want Ma Zhongying
Ma Zhongying
Ma Zhongying, also Ma Chung-ying was a Tungan Chinese Muslim warlord during the Warlord era of China. Ma Zhongying's birth name was Ma Buying . Zhongying was a warlord of Gansu province in China during the 1930s. He allied himself with the Kuomintang, which gave his soldiers an official...
to compete with them on their own turf, so they encouraged and supported Ma Zhongying
Ma Zhongying
Ma Zhongying, also Ma Chung-ying was a Tungan Chinese Muslim warlord during the Warlord era of China. Ma Zhongying's birth name was Ma Buying . Zhongying was a warlord of Gansu province in China during the 1930s. He allied himself with the Kuomintang, which gave his soldiers an official...
to develop his own power base in other regions such as Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
and Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
. Ma Bufang defeated Ma Zhongying in battle in Gansu, and drove him into Xinjiang.
Any female communist soldiers who were captured were married to Ma Bufang's officers as wives.
In 1936, Ma Bufang was appointed commander of the newly organized 2nd army.
Ma Bufang did not want the 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
to succeed his predecessor. Ma Bufang stationed his men to place the Dalai Lama under effective house arrest, saying it was needed for "protection", refusing to permit his leaving to Tibet. He did all he could to delay the transport of the Dalai Lama from Qinghai to Tibet, by demanding massive sums of money in silver. The demanded payment by Ma Bufang was 100,000 Chinese silver dollars.
Even though his uncle Ma Lin was officially governor of Qinghai, Ma Bufang held de facto military power in the province and foreigners acknowledged this. While his uncle Ma Lin was Governor of Qinghai, Ma Bufang was Pacification Commissioner of Gansu. In 1936, during Autumn, Ma Bufang made his move to expel his uncle from power and replace him. Ma Bufang made his position untenous and unbearable until Ma Lin resigned from power by making the Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
. Ma Lin's next position was to be part of the National Government Committee. In an interview Ma Lin was described as having "high admiration and unwavering loyalty to Chiang Kai-shek".
The Qing dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
had granted his family a yellow standard which had his family name "Ma" on it. Ma Bufang continued to use this standard in battle. As of 1936, he had 30,000 Muslim cavalrymen in his army.
Due to massive pressure from Mongol and Tibetan students studying in Nanjing for Ma Bufang to resign over his "feudal" treatment of them, in December 1936 he submitted both his resingation for his Governorship and his military command. President Chiang-kaishek refused to accept the resignation, since Ma achieved a decisive victory over the Communists. A scandal erupted when the newspaper "Qinghai Daily", in its editorial section, reported on Xiao Zhiping's visit to "weiwen" (sympathize or comfort) Ma Bufang, making the title ""Welcome Xiao Zhiping to Placate Qinghai", which was a humiliation to the parties involved. The editor was personally reprimanded by Ma, who told him to change the title to "weiwen" instead of "placate"(xuanfu)
Massacre of Kazakhs
In 1936 when Sheng ShicaiSheng Shicai
Sheng Shicai was a Chinese warlord who "ruled" Xinjiang province from April 12, 1933 to August 29, 1944....
expelled 20,000 Kazakhs from Xinjiang, to Qinghai, General Ma Bufang and his Chinese Muslim army massacred their fellow Muslim Kazakhs, until there were 135 of them left.
In 1936, nomads of Kirghiz origin escaping from Sheng Shicai in Xinjiang fled into the Tsaidam and Qilian mountains area of Qinghai. To their detriment, like Sheng Shicai, Ma Bufang persecuted them, as he did to the Mongols and Tibetans.
Second Sino-Japanese War
In 1937 and 1938 the Japanese approached Ma Bufang, but he ignored them.Because of fierce resistance by Ma Hongkui
Ma Hongkui
Ma Hongkui , was a prominent warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the northwestern province of Ningxia. His rank was Lieutenant-general. His courtesy name was Shao-yun .- Life :...
and Ma Bufang's Muslim cavalry, the Japanese never captured Lanzhou during the war.
In 1937, Ma Bufang notified the Chinese government that he was prepared to lead his army into battle against the Japanese during the Battle of Beiping–Tianjin.
Ma Bufang was also an obstruction to Japanese agents trying to contact the Tibetans, he was called an "adversary" by a Japanese agent.
Ma became governor when he expelled his uncle Ma Lin (warlord)
Ma Lin (warlord)
Ma Lin, , chairman of the government of Qinghai ; brother of Ma Qi. A Muslim born in 1873, Linxia, Gansu, China, he mainly succeeded to the posts of his brother, being general of southeastern Gansu province, as well as councillor of the Qinghai provincial government and acting head of the...
from power in 1938. He became chairman (governor) of Qinghai in 1938 and commanded a group army. He was appointed because of his anti Japanese inclinations.
Under orders from the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
government of Chiang Kaishek, Ma Bufang repaired Yushu airport to prevent Tibetan separatists from seeking independence. Chiang also ordered Ma Bufang to put his Muslim soldiers on alert for an invasion of Tibet in 1942. Ma Bufang complied, and moved several thousand troops to the border with Tibet. Chiang also threatened the Tibetans with bombing if they did not comply. Ma Bufang attacked the Tibetan Buddhist Tsang monastery in 1941. He also constantly attacked the Labrang monastery.
Ma Bufang's army battled extensively in bloody battles against the Japanese in Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
province. The Qinghai Chinese, Salar, Chinese Muslim, Dongxiang, and Tibetan troops Ma Bufang sent fought to the death against the Imperial Japanese Army, or committed suicide refusing to be taken prisoner, instead, they committed suicide when cornered by the enemy. When they defeated the Japanese, the Muslim troops slaughtered all of them except for a few prisoners to send back to Qinghai prove that they were victorious. In September 1940, when the Japanese made an offensive against the Muslim Qinghai troops, the Muslims ambushed them and killed so many of them they were forced to retreat. The Japanese could not even pick up their dead, they instead cut an arm from their corpses limbs for cremation to send back to Japan. The Japanese did not dare make an offensive like that again.
In 1942 Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, head of the Chinese government personally went on tour in Northwestern China in Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, and Qinghai, where he met both Ma Buqing and Ma Bufang. It was reported around this time Ma had 50,000 elite soldiers in his army.
Ma Bufang supported the Chinese nationalist Imam Hu Songshan
Hu Songshan
Hu Songshan , a Hui, was born in 1880, in Tongxin County, Ningxia, China. His father was a Gansu ahong belonging to the Khafiya menhuan, a Chinese-style Sufi order. When he was 18 he joined Wang Naibi of Haicheng. At age 21, he became imam of the Yihewani sect, which was founded by Ma Wanfu...
.
Anti Tibetan War
Ma Bufang attacked and demolished a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Reb gong in 1939, it was one of the oldest of Amdo. Ma Bufang sent his army to destroy and loot the Tsanggar Monastery in 1941. Ma's forces expelled the monks. It was not until the Communists took power that the Monastery could be rebuilt, the monks returned in 1953.A former Tibetan Khampa soldier named Aten who battled Ma Bufang's forces gave an account of a battle. He described the Chinese Muslims as "fierce". After he and his troopos were ambushed by 2,000 Ma Bufang's Chinese Muslim cavalry, he was left with bullet wounds and he "had no illusions as to the fate of most of our group", most of whom were wiped out. Aten also asserted that "the Tibetan province of Amdo", was "occupied" by Ma Bufang.
Tibetans of Amdo still hold strong feelings and memories of the wars between Ma Bufang's Chinese Muslims and the Tibetans. According the author Frank Stewart, a Tibetan poet, Meizhuo, "became very agitated" when talking about the conflict.
Chinese Civil War
Ma Bufang was elected to the Sixth Central Committee of the KuomintangKuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
in 1945.
The Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
Chinese government ordered Ma Bufang several times to march his troops into Xinjiang to intimidate the pro Soviet Governor Sheng Shicai
Sheng Shicai
Sheng Shicai was a Chinese warlord who "ruled" Xinjiang province from April 12, 1933 to August 29, 1944....
. This helped provide protection for Chinese settling in Xinjiang. Ma Bufang was sent with his Muslim Cavalry to Urumqi
Ürümqi
Ürümqi , formerly Tihwa , is the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, in the northwest of the country....
by the Kuomintang in 1945 during the Ili Rebellion to protect it from the Uyghur army from Hi.
Ma Bufang relocated Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
's shrine from Yulin
Yulin
Yulin may refer to the following locations in China:* Yulin, Guangxi , prefecture-level city* Yulin, Shaanxi , prefecture-level city** Yulin Xisha Airport , serving Yulin, Shaanxi* Yulin Port , port in Sanya, Hainan...
to Xining
Xining
Xining is the capital of Qinghai province, People's Republic of China, and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. It has 2,208,708 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,198,304 live in the built up area made of 4 urban districts.-History:...
in 1949. On April 7, 1949 Ma Bufang and Ma Hongkui made a joint announcement in which they said that they would continue to fight the Communists, and they would not make an accord with them. Fighting continued as the Communists advanced. Ma was made Chief of all Military and Political affairs of the Northwest by the Kuomintang.
The Panchen Lama
Panchen Lama
The Panchen Lama , or Bainqên Erdê'ni , is the highest ranking Lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism...
, who was exiled from Tibet by the Dalai Lama's government, wanted to seek revenge by leading an army against Tibet in September 1949. He asked for help from Ma Bufang. Ma Bufang patronized the Panchen Lama, and the Lamaist Red Sect against the Dalai Lama. Qinghai served as a "sanctuary" for Red Sect members, Ma Bufang allowed Kumbum Monastery
Kumbum Monastery
Kumbum Monastery is a Buddhist monastery in Qinghai province, China. Kumbum was founded in 1583 in a narrow valley close to the village of Lusar in the Tibetan cultural region of Amdo. Its superior monastery is Drepung, immediately to the west of Lhasa...
to be totally self governed by the Panchen Lama.
General Ma Bufang was appointed Supreme Commander in Chief of the entire northwestern China by the government, descrimed by TIME magazine as "13 times as big as Texas", containing "14 million people" "one-third Han Chinese, one-third Moslem Chinese, and the remainder Tibetans, Turkis, Mongolians, Kazaks". He entered Lanzhou in a Buick with his troops, seizing buildings with his troops and setting up camps. Ma Bufang also had to battle against forty Soviet warplanes sent by Stalin against his forces.
Generals Hu Zongnan
Hu Zongnan
Hu Zongnan , courtesy name Shoushan , native of Zhenhai, Ningbo, born May 16, 1896. A general in the National Revolutionary Army and then the Republic of China Army. Together with Chen Cheng and Tang Enbo, he formed the triumvirate of Chiang Kai-shek's most trusted generals during the Second...
and Ma Bufang led five corps to defeated General Peng's army near Baoji. They inflicted 15,000 deaths upon the PLA.
In August 1949, Ma Bufang personally traveled by plane to the KMT government in Canton request supplies via airdrop, while his son Ma Jiyuan
Ma Jiyuan
Ma Jiyuan , was a Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the northwestern province of Qinghai. He was the son and only child of general Ma Bufang and commanded nationalist forces against the communists at the Heshui Campaign, Meridian Ridge Campaign, and the Lanzhou...
assumed command over the KMT forces at Lanzhou
Lanzhou
Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. A prefecture-level city, it is a key regional transportation hub, allowing areas further west to maintain railroad connections to the eastern half of the country....
, who promised to defend the city to journalists. However, the government denied his request, and Ma flew back to Lanzhou, then abandoned lanzhou, retreating all the way back to Xining on trucks. Then the Chinese Communist People's Liberation Army PLA
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
, led by General Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai was a prominent military leader of the Communist Party of China, and China's Defence Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was an important commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese civil war and was also the commander-in-chief of People's Volunteer Army in the Korean War...
, defeated Ma's army
Lanzhou Campaign
Lanzhou Campaign was a series battle fought between the nationalists and the communists for the control of the largest city in northwestern China during the Chinese Civil War in the post World War II era, and resulted in the communist victory.-Prelude:...
and occupied Lanzhou
Lanzhou
Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. A prefecture-level city, it is a key regional transportation hub, allowing areas further west to maintain railroad connections to the eastern half of the country....
, the capital of Gansu. Ma was driven out of Xining
Xining
Xining is the capital of Qinghai province, People's Republic of China, and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. It has 2,208,708 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,198,304 live in the built up area made of 4 urban districts.-History:...
. Ma fled to Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
then Hong Kong. While residing in a flat in Hong Kong, he stated he his intention to flee to Mecca. In October, Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
urged him to return to the Northwest to resist the PLA, but he fled to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
with more than 200 relatives and subordinates, in the name of hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
.
Ma Bufang, and his family members like son Ma Jiyuan
Ma Jiyuan
Ma Jiyuan , was a Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the northwestern province of Qinghai. He was the son and only child of general Ma Bufang and commanded nationalist forces against the communists at the Heshui Campaign, Meridian Ridge Campaign, and the Lanzhou...
, cousin Ma Bukang, and nephew Ma Chengxiang
Ma Chengxiang
Ma Chengxiang was a Chinese Muslim general in the National Revolutionary Army. He was the son of general Ma Buqing, and nephew of general Ma Bufang. He commanded Hui cavalry in Xinjiang, the 5th cavalry army. Ma was a member of the Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang party and a hardliner...
fled to Saudi Arabia, however, after one year, Ma Bufang and Ma Bukang then moved to Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, while his son Ma Jiyuan with 10 Generals, moved to Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
General Ma Bufang announced the start of the Kuomintang Islamic Insurgency in China (1950–1958)
Kuomintang Islamic Insurgency in China (1950–1958)
The Kuomintang Islamic Insurgency in China refers to a continuation of the Chinese Civil War by Muslim Kuomintang National Revolutionary Army forces in Northwest China, in the provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang, and another insurgency in Yunnan....
, on January 9, 1950, when he was in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
saying that Chinese Muslims would never surrender to Communism and would fight a guerilla war against the Communists. His former military forces, most of them Muslim, continued to play a major role in the insurgency.
In 1950, Ma moved to Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. He was there to request help from Arab countries. Ma served as representative of the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
to Egypt.
In 1957, after the establishment of diplomatic relations between Egypt and the People's Republic of China, Ma was transferred by Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
to serve as the ROC's ambassador to Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. Ma served in this post for four years, during which period he never returned to Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. In 1961, owing to a scandal surrounding Ma's having forced his niece to become his concubine, Ma was removed from his post as ROC ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Ma, to avoid punishment by the ROC government, chose to seek Saudi citizenship. He remained in Saudi Arabia until his death in 1975 at age 72 years old. Although Ma Bufang had numerous concubines, he only had one son, Ma Jiyuan
Ma Jiyuan
Ma Jiyuan , was a Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the northwestern province of Qinghai. He was the son and only child of general Ma Bufang and commanded nationalist forces against the communists at the Heshui Campaign, Meridian Ridge Campaign, and the Lanzhou...
(马继援), who became a divisional commander in Ma Bufang's army.
The Ma Bufang Mansion
Ma Bufang Mansion
Ma Bufang Mansion was the mansion of the Chinese muslim warlord and General Ma Bufang and his family from 1943–1949, and now is a tourist attraction, in Xining, Qinghai, China. Ma Bufang was a Kuomintang party member, so the mansion has numerous portraits of the Kuomintang founder Dr...
was where Ma and his family lived from 1943-1949. In 1938 Ma Bufang built a residence for his concubine called East mansion. Ma Bufang's headquarters was converted into the provincial museum by the Communists, until a new one was built, it currently contains the "Qinghai Cultural Relics and Archaeology Institute " collection.
Former Officers
Ma Bufang's former chief of staff was Ma Wending. Ma Wending defected to the communists and became vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the Qinghai Provincial People's Congress.Another officer who served under Ma Bufang, the Salar General Han Youwen
Han Youwen
Han Youwen was an ethnic Salar Muslim General in the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China. He was born in Hualong Hui Autonomous County in Qinghai province.-Career:...
, also defected to the Communists and joined the People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
.
Ma Bufang had another chief of staff in his North-West Command, Ma Ji. Ma Ji's son Ma Wenying later became a well known tailor.
Military
Ma Bufang recruited many Salar officers into his army, like Han Yimu and General Han YouwenHan Youwen
Han Youwen was an ethnic Salar Muslim General in the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China. He was born in Hualong Hui Autonomous County in Qinghai province.-Career:...
. They were mostly from Xunhua County.
Ma Bufang's regime centered on the support of "fanatically disciplined and obedient Chinese Moslems." After he took over as Governor, he turned to civilian governing. His son was handed Ma Bufang's former role as authority over the army.
Nationalism
Ma Bufang presented himself as a Chinese nationalist to the people of China, fighting against British Imperialism, to deflect criticism by opponents that his government was feudal and oppressed minorities like Tibetans and Buddhist Mongols. He used the Chinese nationalist card to his advantage to keep himself in power. The KuomintangKuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
party was officially anti feudal, and the Kuomintang itself claimed to be a revolutionary party of the people, so being accused of feudalism was a serious insult. Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
, the leader of the Kuomintang, spoke out publicly against feudalism and feudal warlords. Ma Bufang was forced to defend himself against the accusations, and stated to the news media that his army was a part of "National army, people's power".
Socialism and Industrialization
Ma Bufang was described as a socialistChinese socialism
Chinese socialism is the unique form of socialism and socialist thought developed in China in the modern era. The Tongmenghui revolutionary organization led by Dr...
by American journalist John Roderick
John Roderick (correspondent)
John Roderick was an American journalist and foreign correspondent for the Associated Press news service. Roderick was best known for covering Mao Zedong and other Chinese Communist guerillas while living with them in a cave during the mid-1940s. Roderick continued to cover China throughout the...
and friendly compared to the other Ma Clique warlords. Ma Bufang was reported to be good humoured and jovial in contrast to the brutal reign of Ma Hongkui
Ma Hongkui
Ma Hongkui , was a prominent warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the northwestern province of Ningxia. His rank was Lieutenant-general. His courtesy name was Shao-yun .- Life :...
.
Most of eastern China was ravaged by the Second Sino Japanese war the Chinese Civil, by contrast, Qinghai was relatively untouched.
An American scholar and government advisor, Doak Barnett, praised Ma Bufang's government as "one of the most efficient in China, and one of the most energetic. While most of China is bogged down, almost inevitably, by Civil War, Chinghai is attempting to carry our small-scale, but nevertheless ambitious, development and reconstruction schemes on its own initiative"
General Ma started a state run and controlled industralization project, directly creating educational, medical, agricultural, and sanitation projects, run or assisted by the state. The state provided money for food and uniforms in all schools, state run or private. Roads and a theater were constructed. The state controlled all the press, no freedom was allowed for independent journalists. His regime was dictatoral in its political system. Barnett admitted that the regime had "sterm authoritarianism" and "little room for personal freedom".
In 1947 America sold Ma Bufang a piped water (sewage) system which was installed in Xining
Xining
Xining is the capital of Qinghai province, People's Republic of China, and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. It has 2,208,708 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,198,304 live in the built up area made of 4 urban districts.-History:...
.
Like all the other Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
members, Ma Bufang was an anti Communist.
Environment and Infrastructure
Ma enforced a strict reforestration program to help trees and the environment, villagers were required to meet a quota of planted trees after being given the trees and instructions, cutting down trees without permission led to execution. Millions of trees were planted in Qinghai during his rule and he built an irrigation system in addition to roads. Around 1.5 million people lived in Qinghai under Ma Bufang. Ma Bufang was obsessed with preventing soil erosion and tree planting, saying "The salvation of our desert was in the tree." He had "education teams" teach the entire population on the role of trees in protecting the environment.Education and Women's Rights
Ma Bufang also promoted education. He made businessmen methodically clean up XiningXining
Xining is the capital of Qinghai province, People's Republic of China, and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. It has 2,208,708 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,198,304 live in the built up area made of 4 urban districts.-History:...
, the capital of Qinghai
Qinghai
Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake...
by serving as insect exterminators, killing flies and neatly throwing them away.
Ma Bufang and his wife built a girl's school for Muslim girls in Linxia which taught modern secular education.
Patron of the Arts
Ma Bufang sent the Chinese artist Zhang DaqianZhang Daqian
Chang Dai-chien was one of the best-known and most prodigious Chinese artists of the twentieth century. Originally known as a guohua painter, by the 1960s he was also renowned as a modern impressionist and expressionist painter...
to Sku'bum to seek helpers for analyzing and copying Dunhuang
Dunhuang
Dunhuang is a city in northwestern Gansu province, Western China. It was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. It was also known at times as Shāzhōu , or 'City of Sands', a name still used today...
Buddhist art.
Treatment of Minorities
Tibetans record his rule over them as having been marked by Forced conversionForced conversion
A forced conversion is the religious conversion or acceptance of a philosophy against the will of the subject, often with the threatened consequence of earthly penalties or harm. These consequences range from job loss and social isolation to incarceration, torture or death...
and heavy taxes.
The Mongour were reported to have been abused by KMT officials under Ma Bufang, who moved to Taiwan with Ma after the communist revolution.
Ma cooperated with the Panchen Lama
Panchen Lama
The Panchen Lama , or Bainqên Erdê'ni , is the highest ranking Lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism...
against the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
's regime in Tibet. The Panchen Lama stayed in Qinghai. Ma tried to persuade the Panchen Lama to come with the Kuomintang government to Taiwan when the Communist victory approached, but the Panchen Lama decided to defect to the Communists instead. The Panchen Lama, unlike the Dalai Lama, sought to exert control in decision making. In addition, the Kuomintang expanded into the Lhasa regime of the Dalai Lama.
Towards the Communist takeover, Ma Bufang tried to rally Tibetan and Mongol militia at the Kokonur Lake. A Mongol official Wang Benba derailed the ritual by urging them not to fight, saying that Communist victory was inevitable.
Tibetans
Tibetan independence groups allege and accuse Ma Bufang of carrying out SinicizationSinicization
Sinicization, Sinicisation or Sinification, is the linguistic assimilation or cultural assimilation of terms and concepts of the language and culture of China...
policies in Tibetan areas: he is said to have forced Tibetans to intermarry, and change their religious beliefs. He also spread and popularized holidays such as the Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year – often called Chinese Lunar New Year although it actually is lunisolar – is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is an all East and South-East-Asia celebration...
.
Since Qinghai (Amdo) was under Ma's rule, the 14th Dalai Lama and his family spoke Chinese as their native language, not knowing Tibetan up to 1939 when they relocated their home to Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
.
Ma Bufang also eliminated racism, and made all nationalities equal, elminating Slavery and Lordship among the Mongols and Tibetans.
Religious minorities
Ma Bufang strongly backed Yihewani movement of Muslims. The Yihewani sect was modernist and mixing itself strongly with Chinese culture and politics, whereas the SalafiSalafi
A Salafi come from Sunni Islam is a follower of an Islamic movement, Salafiyyah, that is supposed to take the Salaf who lived during the patristic period of early Islam as model examples...
Muslims stressed a non-political, and, what they called an "original" form of Islam. When, in 1937, the Salafi formally split with the Yihewani, Ma Bufang persecuted
Persecution of Muslims
Persecution of Muslims is the religious persecution of Muslims as a consequence of professing their faith, both historically and in the current era.-Anatolia:...
them as "heterodox" and "foreign". The Salafis were not allowed to move or worship openly. General Ma effectively repressed all non Yihewani groups, including the traditional Sunni Gedimu, the oldest sect of Islam in China, doing things like enforcing Yihewani Imams on them. However, when the Communist party took over, the Gedimu used the Communist party's rules on freedom of religion to ward of the Yihewani practices and Imams. Ma Bufang also repressed his fellow Sufis, including the menhuan he himself belonged to. The Communist regime carries on his policy of favoring the Yihewani to this day.
In contrast to his treatment of Salafis, General Ma allowed polytheists to openly worship, and Christian missionaries to station themselves in Qinghai. General Ma and other high ranking Muslim Generals even attended the Kokonuur Lake Ceremony where the God of the Lake was worshipped, and during the ritual, the Chinese national Anthem was sung, all participants bowed to a Portrait of Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
party founder Dr. Sun Zhongshan, and the God of the Lake was also bowed to, and offerings were given to him by the participants, which included the Muslims. Ma Bufang invited Kazakh Muslims to attend the Ceremony honoring the God. Ma Bufang received audiences of Christian missionaries, who sometimes gave him the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
. His son Ma Jiyuan received a silver cup from Christian missionaries.
Career
- 1928 General Officer Commanding 9th New Division
- 1932 General Officer Commanding II New Corps
- 1938 - 1949 Military-Governor of Qinghai Province
- 1938 - 1941 General Officer Commanding LXXXII Corps
- 1943 - 1945 Commander in Chief 40th Army Group
He commanded the "New 9th Division", "New 2nd Army", and the "82nd Army". Another one of his positions was "vice-commander of the 77th Brigade of the 26th Division".
External links
- 民国军阀派系谈 (The Republic of China warlord cliques discussed ) http://www.2499cn.com/junfamulu.htm
- The Generals of WWII, Generals from China