Ma Xinyi

Ma Xinyi (traditional Chinese: 馬新貽; simplified Chinese: 马新贻; pinyin: Mǎ Xīnyí; Wade–Giles: Ma Hsin-I; Styled and variably 穀三 ; Posthumous title: 端敏公 (Duke Duanmin); (born 1821 – died 26th of 7th month Chinese calendar or 22 August 1870) was an eminent Hui official and a military general of the late Qing Dynasty in China.

Along with other prominent figures, including Hu Linyi and Guam Wing, Ma raised the Green Standard Army to fight against the Taiping Rebellion and restore the stability of Qing Dynasty. This set the scene for the era later known as the "Tongzhi Restoration"（同治中兴）. His assassination symbolized the serious conflict between the Xiang Army and Green Standard Army, both of which fought for the Qing Dynasty.

Early life

Born as a native of Heze, Shandong (荷澤) in 1821, he had successfully passed the metropolitan examinations at the age of 26 (1847), a prestigious achievement in China. He had earned the Jinshi degree, the highest level in the civil service examinations, which led to his appointment to the Hanlin Academy, a body of outstanding Chinese literary scholars who performed literary tasks for the imperial court.

Entry into imperial politics

Fame and military campaigns

Assassination

He was later appointed Viceroy of Liangjiang (the provinces of Jiangxi, Anhui, and Jiangsu: 两江总督) in 1868. On 1870, Ma Xinyi was assassinated and his killer was never caught. Many historical rumours implicate the Empress Dowager Cixi.

Films

萬箭穿心（The Oath of Death 1971）

刺馬（Blood Brothers (1973 film) ）

五雷轟頂（Thunderbolt 1973）

投名狀（The Warlords），Jet Li as Ma Xinyi 2007年12月上映。

All above films are loosely based on his life.

References

• Hummel, Arthur William, ed. Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period (1644–1912). 2 vols. Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1943.
• Porter, Jonathan. Tseng Kuo-Fan's Private Bureaucracy. Berkeley: University of California, 1972.
• Wright, Mary Clabaugh. The Last Stand of Chinese Conservatism: The T'ung-Chih Restoration, 1862 -1874. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1957.