Ma Bufang - Second Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

In 1937 and 1938 the Japanese approached Ma Bufang, but he ignored them.

Because of fierce resistance by Ma Hongkui and Ma Bufang's Muslim cavalry, the Japanese never were able to reach and capture Lanzhou during the war.

In 1937, Ma Bufang notified the Chinese government that he was prepared to lead his army into battle against the Japanese during the Battle of Beiping–Tianjin.

Ma Bufang was also an obstruction to Japanese agents trying to contact the Tibetans, he was called an "adversary" by a Japanese agent.

Ma became governor when he expelled his uncle Ma Lin from power in 1938. He became chairman (governor) of Qinghai in 1938 and commanded a group army. He was appointed because of his anti Japanese inclinations.

Under orders from the Kuomintang government of Chiang Kaishek, Ma Bufang repaired Yushu airport to prevent Tibetan separatists from seeking independence. Chiang also ordered Ma Bufang to put his Muslim soldiers on alert for an invasion of Tibet in 1942. Ma Bufang complied, and moved several thousand troops to the border with Tibet. Chiang also threatened the Tibetans with bombing if they did not comply. Ma Bufang attacked the Tibetan Buddhist Tsang monastery in 1941. He also constantly attacked the Labrang monastery.

Ma Bufang's army battled extensively in bloody battles against the Japanese in Henan province. Ma Bufang sent his army under the command of General Ma Biao to fight Japan in Henan. The Qinghai Chinese, Salar, Chinese Muslim, Dongxiang, and Tibetan troops Ma Bufang sent fought to the death against the Imperial Japanese Army, or committed suicide refusing to be taken prisoner, instead, they committed suicide when cornered by the enemy. When they defeated the Japanese, the Muslim troops slaughtered all of them except for a few prisoners to send back to Qinghai prove that they were victorious. In September 1940, when the Japanese made an offensive against the Muslim Qinghai troops, the Muslims ambushed them and killed so many of them they were forced to retreat. The Japanese could not even pick up their dead, they instead cut an arm from their corpses limbs for cremation to send back to Japan. The Japanese did not dare make an offensive like that again.

In 1942 Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, head of the Chinese government personally went on tour in Northwestern China in Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, and Qinghai, where he met both Ma Buqing and Ma Bufang. It was reported around this time Ma had 50,000 elite soldiers in his army.

Ma Bufang supported the Chinese nationalist Imam Hu Songshan.