Ma Xinyi
Ma Xinyi ; (born 1821 – died 26th day of the 7th month by the Chinese calendar or August 22, 1870) was an eminent Hui muslim

Hui people

The Hui people are an ethnic group in China, defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims. They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers.In modern People's...

 official and a military general of the late Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

 in China.

Along with other prominent figures, including Hu Linyi and Guam Wing

Guam Wing

Guanwen was an eminent Manchu official, Grand Secretariat, military general, Viceroy of Zhili, Huguan and commander of the Army Group Central Plain the late Qing Dynasty in China...

, Ma raised the Green Standard Army

Green Standard Army

Green Standard Army is the name of a category of military units under the control of the Qing Dynasty in China. It was made up mostly of ethnic Han soldiers and operated concurrently with the Manchu-Mongol-Han Eight Banner armies...

 to fight against the Taiping Rebellion

Taiping Rebellion

The Taiping Rebellion was a widespread civil war in southern China from 1850 to 1864, led by heterodox Christian convert Hong Xiuquan, who, having received visions, maintained that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, against the ruling Manchu-led Qing Dynasty...

 and restore the stability of Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

. This set the scene for the era later known as the "Tongzhi Restoration"（同治中兴）. His assassination

Assassination

To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...

 symbolized the serious conflict between the Xiang Army

Xiang Army

The Xiang Army was a standing army organized by Zeng Guofan from existing regional and village militia forces tuanlian to contain the Taiping rebellion in China . The name is taken from the Hunan region where the Army was raised. The Army was financed through local nobles and gentry, as opposed...

 and Green Standard Army

Green Standard Army

Green Standard Army is the name of a category of military units under the control of the Qing Dynasty in China. It was made up mostly of ethnic Han soldiers and operated concurrently with the Manchu-Mongol-Han Eight Banner armies...

, both of which fought for the Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

.

Early life

Born as a native of Heze

Heze

Heze is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. The westernmost prefecture-level city in Shandong, it borders Jining to the east and the provinces of Henan and Anhui to the west and south respectively. The old name of Heze was Caozhou and now a part...

, Shandong

Shandong

' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...

 (荷澤) in 1821, he had successfully passed the metropolitan examinations at the age of 26 (1847), a prestigious achievement in China. He had earned the Jinshi degree, the highest level in the civil service examinations, which led to his appointment to the Hanlin Academy

Hanlin Academy

The Hanlin Academy was an academic and administrative institution founded in the eighth century Tang dynasty China by Emperor Xuanzong.Membership in the academy was confined to an elite group of scholars, who performed secretarial and literary tasks for the court. One of its main duties was to...

, a body of outstanding Chinese literary scholars who performed literary tasks for the imperial court.

Assassination

He was later appointed Viceroy of Liangjiang

Viceroy of Liangjiang

The Viceroy of Liangjiang , fully referred to as the Governor General of the two Yangtze Provinces and surrounding areas; Overseeing Military Affairs, Food Production; Manager of Waterways; Director of Civil Affairs , was one of eight regional viceroys in China proper during the Qing Dynasty of China...

 (the provinces of Jiangxi, Anhui, and Jiangsu: 两江总督) in 1868 but died there.

Films

萬箭穿心（The Oath of Death 1971）

刺馬（Blood Brothers (1973 film)

Blood Brothers (1973 film)

Blood Brothers is a 1973 Shaw Brothers kung fu film directed by Chang Cheh, with action choreography by Lau Kar Leung, and starring David Chiang and Ti Lung...

 ）

五雷轟頂（Thunderbolt 1973）

投名狀（The Warlords

The Warlords

The Warlords, previously known as The Blood Brothers, is a 2007 epic war film directed by Peter Chan and starring Jet Li, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Xu Jinglei. The film was released on December 13, 2007 simultaneously in most of Asia, except Japan...

），Jet Li

Jet Li

The fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce...

as Ma Xinyi 2007年12月上映。

All above films are loosely based on his life.