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Ma Yuan

Eastern Han general who helped Emperor Guangwu defeat Wei Xiao, put down the Trung sisters' revolt in Jiaozhi as Wave-Calming General, and died on campaign in his sixties

Also known as Zi Wenyuan · Fubo Jiangjun

Ma Yuan, courtesy name Wenyuan, of Maoling in Fufeng, joined the Longxi warlord Wei Xiao after Wang Mang's fall. Sent by Wei to Luoyang in AD 28, he met Emperor Guangwu and decided to serve the Han; when the emperor marched on Wei in 32, Ma heaped rice into a model of the terrain to show the routes. As governor of Longxi from 35 he defeated the Xianling Qiang. Appointed Wave-Calming General in 41, he marched south to Jiaozhi and in 43 beheaded the rebel sisters Zheng Ce and Zheng Er, for which he was made Marquis of Xinxi. Back at court he said a man should die on the frontier and come home wrapped in a horse hide. At sixty-two he volunteered against the tribes of Wuling in 48 and died of illness in camp at Hutou the next year, after which slander by Liang Song cost him his marquisate. In 78 he was posthumously named Marquis Zhongcheng; his daughter was Empress Ma, consort of Emperor Ming.

Life and times

  1. 14 BCEBornHan
  2. 25Restoration of GuangwuTook partage 38Liu Xiu rose from victory at Kunyang, defeated rival regimes, restored Han as Eastern Han, and promoted recovery through lighter rule.
    1. Ma Yuan's Campaign in Jiaozhic. 41age 54After the Trưng sisters rose in Jiaozhi, Emperor Guangwu of Eastern Han sent Ma Yuan south, and the sisters were defeated and died in 43 CE.
  3. 49 CEDied

Works

  1. Literature · Sayings2
    1. Carving a Swan That Still Looks Like a DuckHanIdiom from the History of the Later Han: Ma Yuan's advice on whom his nephews should copy
    2. Drawing a Tiger That Turns Out a Dog: Ma Yuan's AdviceHanIdiom from Ma Yuan's letter to his nephews: aim at a tiger, end with a dog
  2. Literature · Prose1
    1. Letter Admonishing Nephews Yan and DunHanGeneral Ma Yuan's letter from the Jiaozhi campaign warning his nephews to guard their tongues

Family tree

  1. Direct kin
    Ma Yuan
    Nephew
    Ma Yan

Connections

  1. Shared events3
    1. Liu Xiu6 BCE–57 CE
    2. Wang Mang45 BCE–23 CE
    3. Deng Yu2 CE–58 CE