Identity of "Ma Ru-lin" and "Tsinan"

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Stephen_Rynerson
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Identity of "Ma Ru-lin" and "Tsinan"

#1

Post by Stephen_Rynerson » 07 Jul 2015, 15:04

I just received a book, Horizon Hunter by Harrison Forman, which has some details on the Gansu Uprising that I have not previously seen. One of the things Forman discusses is the capture of "Tsinan, a fair-sized city in southern Kansu" by a sub-commander of Ma Zhongying's named "Ma Ru-lin." Forman claims that after capturing Tsinan, Ma Ru-lin pledged his loyalty to "Chinese authorities" (presumably meaning the Guomindang from the context) and was given a commission as a general. I have a few questions about this and would appreciate any help:

(1) What is the modern name of the city formerly known as Tsinan in Gansu? (Forman does not include the city on the map in his book, unfortunately.) Google web searches for "Tsinan" are all leading me to Jinan in Shandong province, which is obviously not the correct location. Searches in GoogleBooks for "Tsinan, Kansu" turn up a handful of references in older books, but nothing that would help locate the city.

(2) Forman's book is literally the only source that refers to a military commander by the name "Ma Ru-lin," which I presume would be transliterated as "Ma Rulin" in pinyin. (GoogleBooks search turns up two other individuals named "Ma Rulin," but one of them was a traditional medicine practitioner who worked with the Communists in the 1940s and the other was an education expert who was born in 1910, which would have made him younger than 30 at the time of the events described in Forman's book.) Can someone confirm whether Ma Rulin in fact received a commission, whether as a general or otherwise, in the National Revolutionary Army and, if so, what unit he was identified as commanding after receiving his commission?

(3) What was the date that Ma Rulin captured Tsinan?

(4) What units were defending Tsinan at the time of Ma Rulin's attack? Even just identifying whether they were local provincial troops or Guominjun troops would be helpful.

Thank you in advance for any assistance.

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Re: Identity of "Ma Ru-lin" and "Tsinan"

#2

Post by YC Chen » 08 Jul 2015, 04:14

I suspect "Tsinan" is perhaps 秦安(Qin'an), so Harrison Forman might want to mean "Tsin-an" instead of "Tsi-nan". I think the town of Qin'an fit the discription of "a fair-sized city in southern Kansu".

Have no idea about Ma Ru-lin yet.


Stephen_Rynerson
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Re: Identity of "Ma Ru-lin" and "Tsinan"

#3

Post by Stephen_Rynerson » 09 Jul 2015, 06:43

Thank you, YC Chen. Your help is always appreciated. Forman unfortunately didn't hyphenate the name, but your guess seems as reasonable as any.

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Re: Identity of "Ma Ru-lin" and "Tsinan"

#4

Post by Stephen_Rynerson » 18 Jul 2015, 06:34

I think I've got a little more insight on this issue courtesy of Chinese Wikipedia. Here's Forman's account from Horizon Hunter (1940), pages 80-81:
After the Hochow defeat [approx. November 1929, extrapolated from Jonathan N. Lipman's The Border World of Gansu, 1895-1935, p. 264] a detachment of about six hundred became separated from the main body of [Ma Zhongying's] rebel army. Prevented from effecting union with [Ma Zhonying] by the pursuing Chinese, this band of Moslems swung off southeastward. They attacked and took Tsinan, a fair-sized city in southern Kansu, and then promised to behave themselves if the Chinese authorities would allow them to rule Tsinan as if they were a Chinese garrison. To this the Chinese, of course, were only too glad to agree. * * * Ma Ru-lin, the leader of this band, was given a commission as general in the Chinese Army. Much impressed by his "official" appointment, Ma Ru-lin tried sincerely to keep his turbulent troops in line, but they were a bad lot. By day they were nice soldiers; at night they took to plundering the farmers in the neighboring countryside. * * * Ma Ru-lin took drastic measures to stop this: he selected six of the ringleaders and promptly had them executed. At this his entire garrison saddled up and left him alone with his officers. They were fed up with soldiering anyhow. It was more than three years since the collapse of [Ma Zhongying's] rebellion, and they wanted to get back to their Hochow homes to help rebuild the Ba Fang [district].
Now here's an except from the Chinese Wikipedia entry for Ma Tingxian (马廷贤) (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%A6%AC ... 7%E8%B3%A2), with English translation via GoogleTranslate (for some reason Google didn't translate certain of the characters in the text):
The following year in April [1930], the Ministry Feng Ji Hongchang , Sun Lianzhong , etc, has led his army to leave the northwest, east of Henan province to participate in the Central Plains War , Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai defense appeared empty. Ma Tingxian took the opportunity to return to Ningxia, instigated national army has surrendered old unit 韩进禄 trip more than three thousand people, mutiny again. Ningxia provincial governor Ma Hongbin troops to hunt down, Ma Tingxian and Hanjin Lu then led his troops over the Liupan Mountain, on May 6 break Tianshui City. After occupy Tianshui, claiming "the Hui coalition commander in chief," stationed Tianshui Qinan, water, Gangu, Wushan County River. Then occupied into the county, Hui County, Wudu, Wenxian, Lixian. Ma Tingxian occupation after 14 Longnan county, privately appointed magistrate, to establish section bureau, food stations, barracks, wantonly plundered exploit people. In June, Ma Tingxian played "back to the Han joint, Gan Gan rule of man," the banner, come forward contact throughout Gansu anti-von forces coalition of attempts to expel National Army forces from Gansu. Gansu local forces to send representatives negotiated and agreed Ma Tingxian call, set up a "coalition of Gansu headquarters" in Tianshui, Gansu and road马廷贤commander and commander in chief. August 5 captured Dingxi county. Mabuhay in Dingxi by Ma Lin Department of attack, alone, casualties, had to withdraw from the West given back to Tianshui. Fighting and the national army will come to an end.


Obviously that doesn't track Forman's description particularly closely, but the timing is somewhat consistent with his account and "Tianshui City" appears to be the principal municipality of Qin'an (Tsinan) county.

Further, I was able to find a single reference to a "Ma Rulin" (馬如林) in Chinese Wikipedia, although not in connection with the events described by Forman, but it at least seems to confirm that there was an individual with such a name (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%A6%AC ... 8%E6%AC%BD). Here's the English translation courtesy of Google Translate (emphasis added):
1949 People's Liberation Army liberation Linxia, ​​23, before dawn, Ma Quaqin Guanting fled with his family in the local and brother Ma Jieqin conferred and decided to Wang Zhen surrender, and fled from the collection of Linxia guanting Bufang section black Jiro (Ma Rulin) group firearms, ammunition, horses and other military supplies.
What I'm thinking now is that Forman conflated certain events relating to Ma Rulin with events relating to Ma TIngxian.

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Re: Identity of "Ma Ru-lin" and "Tsinan"

#5

Post by YC Chen » 04 Aug 2015, 14:18

You have surely hit an interesting point. The Chinese Wiki suggest that Ma Rulin(马如林) was nicknamed "黑次郎" and was the commander of a regiment stationed in Linxia. I searched "黑次郎" in baidu.com and some other places and have come up with some very interesting results:

1, This thread on a Chinese Muslim forum discusses a legendary regiment commander nicknamed "黑次郎" or "黑刺郎" whose story is still circulating in Linxia area: http://www.2muslim.com/forum.php?mod=vi ... ra=&page=1 . The forum members don't know his real name(one of them suspect that he was Ma Bukang, 马步康 but dosen't give evidence) but in all possibilities he is the same man as mentioned in the Chinese Wiki.
2, In a master-degree thesis of Northwest Normal University on the art of brick-carving in Linxia(Linxia Zhuandiao Yishu, 临夏砖雕艺术), a man nicknamed "黑刺郎"(real name also not given) was identified as "A regiment commander stationed in Linxia before 1949. After liberation he learnt the trade of house-building and became an expert on it. " It is highly possible that he was the same man described in Chinese Wiki and on the Muslim forum.

However I suspect if this regiment commander is the "Ma Ru-lin" discribed by Harrison Forman for I feel that he was also too young to be the one, and he was certainly never a general. But who knows!

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