Ma Dai was a military general of the state of Shu Han

Shu Han

Shu Han was one of the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period, after the fall of the Han Dynasty. The state was based on areas around Sichuan, which was then known as Shu...

 during the Three Kingdoms

Three Kingdoms

The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...

 era of Chinese history

History of China

Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...

. He previously served under his uncle, the warlord Ma Teng

Ma Teng

Ma Teng was a warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He controlled Liang Province together with his sworn brother Han Sui...

. After Ma Teng's death, he followed his cousin Ma Chao

Ma Chao

Ma Chao was the oldest son of Ma Teng and a military general during the late Han Dynasty and early Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. In Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he received the nickname "Ma Chao the Splendid" due to his elaborate armour and grand skill...

 (Ma Teng's oldest son) and they took shelter under the warlord Zhang Lu for a short period of time, before eventually serving Liu Bei

Liu Bei

Liu Bei , also known as Liu Xuande, was a warlord, military general and later the founding emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history...

, founding emperor of Shu.

Little of Ma Dai is known through historic records, except he at least participated Zhuge Liang's last northern expedition in 234. During that war, he was defeated by general Niu Jin

Niu Jin

Niu Jin was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He continued serving the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period.-Biography:...

 of the rival state of Cao Wei

Cao Wei

Cao Wei was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid...

; but he was credited with hunting down Wei Yan

Wei Yan

Wei Yan was a military general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He became a soldier of Liu Bei when the latter fled Jing Province and seek protection from the eastern warlord, Sun Quan, in 208. In 211, Wei had climbed up the ranks and become a general in Liu Bei's...

, when the latter insisted on continuing the northern expedition after the death of Zhuge Liang.

In fiction

In Luo Guanzhong

Luo Guanzhong

Luo Ben , better known by his style name Luo Guanzhong , was a Chinese writer of the early Ming Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was also known as Huhai Sanren...

's historical novel Romance of Three Kingdoms, Ma Dai went with Ma Teng to the capital on a summon from Cao Cao

Cao Cao

Cao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled...

, and escaped from Cao's trap by disguising himself, and participated actively during the Battle of Tong Pass

Battle of Tong Pass (211)

The Battle of Tong Pass was fought between the warlord Cao Cao and a coalition of forces from Guanxi from March to September 211 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. The battle was initiated by Cao Cao's western expansion, which triggered uprisings in Guanxi...

. He later followed Ma Chao to serve under Zhang Lu, and defected to Liu Bei when Liu besieged the city of Chengdu. He was depicted as a trusted general under Zhuge Liang after Liu Bei's death, and was often used in crucial parts of the battlefield during Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign

Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign

Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign, also known as the War of Pacification in Nanzhong, refers to a military campaign led by Shu Han chancellor Zhuge Liang to suppress opposing forces in the south in 225 during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history...

 alongside Zhao Yun

Zhao Yun

Zhao Yun was a military general who lived during the late Han Dynasty and early Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. For most of his career, Zhao served the warlord Liu Bei, playing a part in the establishment of state of Shu Han...

 and Wei Yan

Wei Yan

Wei Yan was a military general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He became a soldier of Liu Bei when the latter fled Jing Province and seek protection from the eastern warlord, Sun Quan, in 208. In 211, Wei had climbed up the ranks and become a general in Liu Bei's...

. Right before Zhuge Liang died, he named Ma Dai, along with Liao Hua

Liao Hua

Liao Hua , originally named Liao Chun , style name Yuanjian , was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history.-Biography:...

, Wang Ping, Zhang Yi (Bogong)

Zhang Yi (Bogong)

Zhang Yi , style name Bogong, was a general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. Originally from Wuyang and a descendant of Zhang Liang, he became Liu Bei's commander after Liu Bei had captured Yizhou...

 and Zhang Yi (Boqi)

Zhang Yi (Boqi)

Zhang Yi , style name Boqi, was a military general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of China. He was instrumental in pacifying the barbarian peoples who rebelled against Shu. He was slain by Xu Zhi during one of Jiang Wei's Northern Expeditions while distracting the enemy from pursuing...

, as the loyal retainers of Shu. Ma Dai's most notable deed is for slaying the rebellious Wei Yan in a ploy set up by Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wei

Jiang Wei

Jiang Wei was a military general and regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He originally served Shu's rival state, Cao Wei, as a middle-level military officer, but defected to the Shu strategist Zhuge Liang, leaving his mother in Wei. After that, Jiang...

. When Wei Yan revolted, Ma Dai pretended to join him, then sneaked up behind Wei and assassinated him. His reward was the rank that Wei Yan had forfeited.

Modern references

Ma Dai is first introduced as a playable character in the seventh installment

Dynasty Warriors 7

is a hack and slash video game and the seventh official installment of the Dynasty Warriors series. It is developed by Omega Force and published by Koei. The game has been confirmed to be PS3 exclusive in Japan. The story is based on Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms....

 of Koei's Dynasty Warriors

Dynasty Warriors

is a series of tactical action video games created by Omega Force and Koei. The award-winning series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, based loosely around the Chinese classical novel of the same name. The first game titled Dynasty Warriors,...

video game series.