Ma clique

Ma clique
馬家軍
Active	1862–1949
Country	China
Allegiance	Qing dynasty Beiyang government Nationalist government (1927–1949)
Branch	National Revolutionary Army (after 1928)
Engagements	First Dungan revolt Second Dungan revolt First Sino-Japanese War Xinhai Revolution Bai Lang Rebellion Muslim conflict in Gansu Sino-Tibetan War Xinjiang Wars Chinese Civil War Second Sino-Japanese War
Commanders
Governor of Gansu (1911–1918)	Ma Anliang
Governor of Qinghai (1915–1928) and Chairman of Qinghai (1929–1931)	Ma Qi
Governor of Ningxia (1921–1928; 1948–1949) and Governor of Gansu (1930–1931)	Ma Hongbin
Governor of Qinghai (1931–1938)	Ma Lin
Governor of Qinghai (1938–1949)	Ma Bufang
Governor of Ningxia (1931–1948)	Ma Hongkui
Tao-yins of Kashgar	Ma Fuxing and Ma Shaowu
Commander of the New 36th Division	Ma Zhongying
Commander of the New 36th Division	Ma Hushan

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" being a common Hui rendering of the common Muslim name "Muhammad"), each of them respectively controlled, parts of Gansu, Ningxia and Qinghai. 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 Ma 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 Ma's included Ma Anliang, Ma Qi, Ma Lin, Ma Hu-shan, and Ma Zhongying.