Ma Teng

Ma Teng
A Qing dynasty illustration of Ma Teng
Warlord of Eastern Han dynasty
Born	(Unknown)
Died	212
Names
Traditional Chinese	馬騰
Simplified Chinese	马腾
Pinyin	Mă Téng
Wade–Giles	Ma T'eng
Courtesy name	Shoucheng (simplified Chinese: 寿成; traditional Chinese: 壽成; pinyin: Shòuchéng; Wade–Giles: Shou-ch'eng)

Ma Teng (died 212),courtesy name Shoucheng, was a warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He controlled Liang Province (涼州; covering parts of present-day Shaanxi and Gansu) with another warlord, Han Sui. Ma Teng and Han Sui were involved in efforts to gain autonomy from the Han central government.

Ma Teng was from Maoling, Fufeng (扶風茂陵; present-day Xingping, Shaanxi). His father, Ma Ping, was a minor official in Tianshui Commandery, but because of some dispute he was dismissed from his post, and went to live among the Qiang people.

When Ma Teng was young, he lived in extreme poverty and it is said that he collected firewood in the mountains and sold it to make money. When he grew up, his height was said to have been over eight chi, (roughly 1.84 meters). It is also said that although he was fierce in appearance, he was kind to others and wise, and was respected by many.

In 184, during the final years of Emperor Ling's reign, the Qiang people in Liang Province rose up against the local government under Beigong Yu (北宫玉) and Li Wenhou (李文侯). They were joined by members of the local gentry Han Sui and Bian Zhang. The official Han governor of Liang Province, Geng Bi (耿鄙), gathered forces to put down the rebellion, and Ma Teng volunteered as a foot soldier. His skills in battle against the rebels were recognized, and he rose through the ranks of the soldiery. However, when Geng Bi was killed in battle by the rebel army, Ma Teng switched sides and joined Han Sui. The rebellion would eventually be put down by the Han general Huangfu Song, but Ma Teng escaped along with the rebels. Eventually, the central government granted those involved in the rebellion military titles in order to appease them.

When Li Jue and Guo Si seized power over Chang'an after Dong Zhuo's assassination, Ma Teng and Han Sui at first pledged allegiance to them, and were given the titles of "General who Suppresses the East" (征東将軍) and "General who Guards the West" (鎮西将軍) respectively. However, the relationship between the two sides quickly soured, and Ma Teng and Han Sui led their armies in an attempt to seize Chang'an. They allied themselves with the warlord Liu Yan, but suffered defeats from the hands of Li's generals, Guo Si, Fan Chou and Li Li. Not only was the loss of ten thousand soldiers a heavy blow to the morale of the allied forces, they also faced a supply shortage at the time, so the eloquent Han Sui asked Fan for a private talk, during which Han successfully persuaded Fan to abort the pursuit because they shared the same hometown. The allied force then retreated back to Liang Province safely.