Ma Xinyi

Ma Xinyi (Xiao'erjing: ﻣَﺎ سٍ ىِ‎, 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); November 3, 1821–August 22, 1870) was an eminent Hui Muslim[1][2] official and a military general of the late Qing Dynasty in China.

Ma Xinyi
Viceroy of Liangjiang
In office 6 September 1868 – 23 August 1870
Preceded by	Zeng Guofan
Succeeded by	Zeng Guofan
Viceroy of Min-Zhe
In office 12 January 1868 – 6 September 1868
Preceded by	Wu Tang
Succeeded by	Yin Gui
Personal details
Born	November 3, 1821
Died	August 22, 1870 (aged 48)
Education	Jinshi degree in the Imperial Examination

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 imperial 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.

Assassination

Ma Xinyi was later appointed as the governor-general of Liangjiang, a region comprising the provinces of Jiangxi, Anhui and Jiangsu in 1868. He proved to be an able administrator, distinguishing himself with his capability to manage tensions with foreigners. This was demonstrated when Ma Xinyi addressed the problem of kidnapping in his area, which effectively averted anti-foreign riots, particularly in the area of the Yangzi delta.[3]

Two years later, in 1870, Ma Xinyi was assassinated and his killer was immediately caught. The assassin was identified as Wan Qingxuan (Zhang Wenxiang), who was executed in the marketplace after a trial presided by Wan Qingxuan of Nanchang.[4] Some sources state that he was the governor's former companion.[5] Many historical rumours implicated the Empress Dowager Cixi in Ma Xinyi's death. This is aligned with the speculation that Ma Xinyi's assassination was due to the conflict between the imperial army and the Xiang militia, the group that played an important role in the suppression of the Taiping Rebellion.[4]

References

1. Hosea Ballou Morse (1918). The International Relations of the Chinese Empire. Longmans, Green, and Company. pp. 249–. tseng kwo-fan supersession by the mohammedan ma sin yi.
2. Hosea Ballou Morse (1966). The period of submission, 1861-1893. Wen xing shu dian. p. 249.
3. Ransmeier, Johanna (2017). Sold People: Traffickers and Family Life in North China. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. p. 68. ISBN 9780674971974.
4. Daye, Zhang (2013). The World of a Tiny Insect: A Memoir of the Taiping Rebellion and Its Aftermath. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. p. 115. ISBN 9780295993171.
5. Yau Shuk-ting, Kinnia (2011). East Asian Cinema and Cultural Heritage: From China, Hong Kong, Taiwan to Japan and South Korea. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 13. ISBN 9780230116955.

• 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.