Ma Hushan (
Xiao'erjing
Xiao'erjing, Xiaorjing, Xiaojing or Benjing, is a Arabic script, Perso-Arabic script used to write Sinitic languages, including Lanyin Mandarin, Zhongyuan Mandarin, Northeastern Mandarin, and Dungan language, Dungan. It is used on occasion ...
: , zh, t=馬虎山, s=马虎山, first=t, p=Mǎ Hǔshān; 1910 – 1954) was a
Chinese Muslim
Islam has been practiced in China since the 7th century CE.. There are an estimated 17–25 million Muslims in China, less than 2 percent of the total population. Though Hui Muslims are the most numerous group, the greatest concentration of Mu ...
warlord and the brother-in-law and follower of
Ma Zhongying, a Dungan/Hui
Ma Clique
The Ma clique or Ma family warlords is a collective name for a group of Hui (Muslim Chinese) warlords in Northwestern China who ruled the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia for 10 years from 1919 until 1928. Following the colla ...
warlord. He ruled over an area of Southern
Xinjiang
Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...
, called
Tunganistan
Tunganistan (or Dunganistan) is an exonym for the territory in southern Xinjiang administered by the New 36th Division of the National Revolutionary Army from 1934 to 1937, amidst the Chinese Civil War in China proper. The New 36th Division cons ...
by Westerners (as the Hui were then known as 'Tunganis'), from 1934 to 1937.
Locals sometimes referred to him as ''padishah'' ().
Tunganistan
Ma Hushan fought against the Russian
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
and
White Russian forces during the
Soviet Invasion of Xinjiang and defeated them in battle.
“''The Russ brought the fiji'' (airplane) ''and bombed and gassed us''“ he said about the war.
He also took part in the war to destroy the
First East Turkestan Republic
The Turkic Islamic Republic of East Turkestan (TIRET) was a breakaway state centered on the city of Kashgar, located in the far west of China's Xinjiang Province, Republic of China, Xinjiang Province. It is often described as the First East T ...
, commanding the new 36th division at the
Battle of Kashgar and
Battle of Khotan.
Ma's 36th Division crushed the
Charkhlik Revolt by the
Uighurs
The Uyghurs,. alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central Asia and East Asia. The Uyghurs are recognized as the titular nationali ...
in the
Charkhlik oasis. It controlled southern Xinjiang's oasis and the area was nicknamed "Tunganistan" by
Peter Fleming. Ma Hushan and the new 36th Division declared their loyalty to the
Kuomintang government in Nanjing and sent emissaries there requesting aid to fight against
Sheng Shicai's provincial forces and the Soviet Union.
Khotan
Hotan (also known by #Etymology, other names) is a major oasis town in southwestern Xinjiang, an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region in Northwestern China. The city proper of Hotan broke off from the larger Hotan County to become an ...
was the base of Ma Hushan during his rule over the southern oases. His troops were said to be "strongly anti-Japanese", and the territory they ruled was covered with "most of the stock anti-Japanese slogans from
China proper
China proper, also called Inner China, are terms used primarily in the West in reference to the traditional "core" regions of China centered in the southeast. The term was first used by Westerners during the Manchu people, Manchu-led Qing dyn ...
," and Ma made "Resistance to Japanese Imperialism" part of his governing doctrine. Ma Hushan himself was described by
Ella Maillart as a "well-set-up long-legged man".
Carpet Factory
Ma's regime forced the switch from the old style to the manufacture of Chinese-style carpets by the government-owned factory. He ordered the creation of "small blue carpets", "woven in Khotan". They were of Chinese design, with Chinese writing on them.
Peter Birchler mistakenly said that Ma Hushan's brother-in-law
Ma Zhongying was the client of the carpet factory.
Xinjiang War (1937)
Ma Hushan formulated a plan for an anti-Soviet "
jihad
''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...
" to conquer the Kremlin, Russian Turkestan and Siberia.
He promised a devastated Europe and the conquering of Russia and India.
The anti-Soviet client uprising by Ma Hsi Jung (Ma Ho San) was reported by United Press International (UPI) 3 June 1937.
Ma's troops were defeated by
Sheng Shicai and the Soviets, and many of them deserted or defected. Ma fled to British India. He brought with him thousands of ounces of gold, which was confiscated by the British. The British kept that money to pay for the alleged "looting" of British property in
Kashgar
Kashgar () or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is a city in the Tarim Basin region of southern Xinjiang, China. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, located near the country's border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. For over 2,000 years, Kashgar ...
by Ma's troops, but eventually sent the money "back" to
Sheng Shicai's regime. He was briefly detained by the British, then took a steamer from
Calcutta
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
back to China—specifically
Qinghai
Qinghai is an inland Provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. It is the largest provinces of China, province of China (excluding autonomous regions) by area and has the third smallest population. Its capital and largest city is Xin ...
province—in 1938.
British telegrams from India in 1937 said that Tungans like
Ma Zhongying and Ma Hushan had reached an agreement with the Soviets, whom they had previously fought, that since the
Japanese had begun full-scale warfare with China, that Tungans led by Ma Hushan would help Chinese forces battle Japan, and that he would return to
Gansu
Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...
.
Sven Hedin reported that a telegram from the diplomatic office in India stated Ma Hushan would "certainly obey the summons" to join the Chinese side in the war against Japan.
Kuomintang Islamic insurgency in China (1950–58)
Ma led the
Kuomintang Islamic insurgency in China from 1950 to 1954 against the
PLA using
guerrilla tactics
Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...
. He was captured in 1954 and executed at
Lanzhou
Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu province in northwestern China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. His ...
.
References
External links
Flags of IndependenceMemorial to men who died in battle against Ma Hushan, includes Russian Orthodox crosses
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ma Hushan
Xinjiang Wars
Hui people
Republic of China warlords from Gansu
National Revolutionary Army generals from Gansu
Ma clique
Chinese Nationalist military figures
Members of the Kuomintang
Chinese anti-communists
20th-century executions by China
1910 births
1958 deaths
Executed Republic of China people
Executed people from Gansu