The
Ma clique or
Ma family warlords[1] 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 collapse of the
Qing dynasty in 1912, the region came under Chinese Muslim warlord
Ma Qi's control until the
Northern Expedition by the Republic of China consolidated central control in 1928. There were three families in the Ma clique ("Ma" 馬/马, meaning "horse," being a common Hui rendering of the common
Muslim name "
Muhammad"), each of them respectively controlled 3 areas,
Gansu,
Qinghai, and
Ningxia. The three most prominent members of the clique were
Ma Bufang,
Ma Hongkui, and
Ma Hongbin, collectively known as the
Xibei San Ma (
Chinese:
西北三馬,
Three Mas of the Northwest). Some contemporary accounts, such as
Edgar Snow's, described the clique as the "Four Ma" (rather than Three), adding Ma Bufang's brother Ma Buqing to the list of the top warlords.
[2] Other prominent Mas included
Ma Anliang,
Ma Qi,
Ma Lin,
Ma Hu-shan, and
Ma Zhongying.