Ma Hushan

In this Chinese name, the family name is Ma.

Ma Hushan (Xiao'erjing: ﻣَﺎ ﺧُﻮْ شً, traditional Chinese: 馬虎山; simplified Chinese: 马虎山; pinyin: Mǎ Hŭshān; 1910 – 1954) was a Chinese Muslim warlord and the brother-in-law and follower of Ma Zhongying, a Dungan/Hui Ma Clique warlord. He ruled over an area of Southern Xinjiang, called Tunganistan by Westerners (as the Hui were then known as 'Tunganis'), from 1934 to 1937.^[2][3] Locals sometimes referred to him as padishah (lit. 'king').^[4]

Ma Hushan
Hushan in 1937
Native name	馬虎山
Born	1910 Gansu, Qing China
Died	1954 (aged 43–44) Lanzhou, Gansu, People's Republic of China
Allegiance	Republic of China
Years of service	1929–54
Rank	General
Unit	New 36th Division
Commands	Deputy Divisional Commander of the New 36th Division[1] then promoted to Chief of the New 36th Division
Battles / wars	Soviet Invasion of Xinjiang Charkhlik Revolt Xinjiang War (1937) Kuomintang Islamic Insurgency in China (1950–1958)

Tunganistan

Ma Hushan fought against the Russian Red Army and White Russian forces during the Soviet Invasion of Xinjiang and defeated them in battle.^[1][5] “The Russ brought the fiji (airplane) and bombed and gassed us“ he said about the war.^[6]

He also took part in the war to destroy the First East Turkestan Republic, commanding the new 36th division at the Battle of Kashgar and Battle of Khotan.^[7]

Ma's 36th Division crushed the Charkhlik Revolt by the Uighurs in the Charkhlik oasis.^[8] 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 was the base of Ma Hushan during his rule over the southern oases.^[9] 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," and Ma made "Resistance to Japanese Imperialism" part of his governing doctrine.^[10] Ma Hushan himself was described by Ella Maillart as a "well-set-up long-legged man".^[11]

Carpet Factory

Ma's regime forced the switch from the old style to the manufacture of Chinese-style carpets by the government-owned factory.^[12] 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.^[13]

Xinjiang War (1937)

Main article: Xinjiang War (1937)

Ma Hushan formulated a plan for an anti-Soviet "jihad" to conquer the Kremlin, Russian Turkestan and Siberia.^[14] He promised a devastated Europe and the conquering of Russia and India.^[15] The anti-Soviet client uprising by Ma Hsi Jung (Ma Ho San) was reported by United Press International (UPI) 3 June 1937.^[16]

Ma's troops were defeated by Sheng Shicai and the Soviets, and many of them deserted or defected. Ma fled to British India.^[17] He brought with him thousands of ounces of gold, which was confiscated by the British.^[18] The British kept that money to pay for the alleged "looting" of British property in Kashgar by Ma's troops, but eventually sent the money "back" to Sheng Shicai's regime.^[19] He was briefly detained by the British, then took a steamer from Calcutta back to China—specifically Qinghai province—in 1938.^[20]

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.^[21][22]

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.^[23]

Kuomintang Islamic insurgency in China (1950–58)

Main article: Kuomintang Islamic insurgency

Ma led the Kuomintang Islamic insurgency in China from 1950 to 1954 against the PLA using guerrilla tactics. He was captured in 1954 and executed at Lanzhou.^[24][25]