(Redirected from Xibei San Ma)
Flag of Xibei San Ma
The 'Ma clique' () was a family of
warlords who ruled the
Chinese provinces of
Qinghai,
Gansu and
Ningxia from the 1910's until 1949. The three most prominent warlords were
Ma Bufang,
Ma Hongkui, and
Ma Hongbin, collectively known as the 'Xibei San Ma' (lit. ''Three Mas of the Northwest''); other prominent Ma's included
Ma Qi,
Ma Lin, and
Ma Zhongying. The Three Mas took control of the region during the
Warlord Era, siding first with the
Guominjun and then the
Kuomintang; they fought against the Red Army during the
Long March and the Japanese during the
Second Sino-Japanese War.
During the final stages of the
Chinese Civil War, they fought for the Kuomintang side until the communists emerged victorious and established a unified Chinese state (the
People's Republic of China) in 1949. Upon the arrival of communist forces, Ma Hongbin defected to the communists while Ma Bufang and Ma Hongkui fled with the Kuomintang.
The Ma's were all ethnic
Hui from northerwest China, who are ethnic
Han Chinese noted for their adherence to
Islam.
See also
★
Warlord Era
★
History of the Republic of China
External links
★
Xibei San Ma at FOTW