Ma Fu-hsiang (1876-19 August 1932), Chinese Muslim leader who ruled the district that later became Ninghsia (1913-20) and the Suiyuan special district (1921-24). He was appointed co-director with Feng Yü-hsiang of northwestern border defense in 1924, but he left Feng's service in 1929. He then served the National Government as governor of Anhwei and chairman of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission.

Hanchiachi, Taoho hsien, Kansu, was the birthplace of Ma Fu-hsiang. He belonged to the only Muslim sect in the region that had not taken part in the Muslim Rebellion of 1862-77, and his father reportedly had come to know Tso Tsung-t'ang (ECCP,'lI, 762-67) after Tso had established headquarters at Lanchow in 1872. The youngest of four brothers, Ma was trained for a military career from early childhood. He greatly admired his elder brother Ma Fu-lu and emulated him in mobilizing volunteer troops to aid the regular -army at the time of the 1896 uprisings in the Hsunho region.

After passing the provincial military examinations in 1897, Ma Fu-hsiang joined the Kansu forces of Tung Fu-hsiang, serving in a cavalry company commanded by Ma Fu-lu. Tung's force soon moved to Chihli (Hopei) and became one of the five constituent armies of the Military Defense Army, under the over-all command of Jung-lu (ECCP, I, 405-9; . During the Boxer Uprising of 1900 Tung's army moved to Nanyuan and then to Peking, where it fought foreign troops, attacked legations, and engaged in looting. The unit commanded by Ma Fu-lu participated in the fighting at Huangts'un, Liulin, and Yangts'un. After Ma Fu-lu was killed at Peking, Ma Fu-hsiang assumed command of the cavalry unit. When the emperor and the empress dowager fled the capital, Ma Fu-hsiang accompanied them to Sian as a member of their military escort. He then held a variety of commands at Sining, in the Kokonor district, and at Barkol. About 1910, having become a brigade commander, he was assigned to garrison duties at Lanchow. At the time of the 1911 revolution, Ma Fuhsiang collaborated with other provincial officials in announcing the neutrality of Kansu. In 1912 he accepted appointments as acting chief administrative officer of the Kokonor region and as guards commander of the Altai district. When Outer Mongolia declared its independence, the Mongols of the Ordos region became restless; and in September 1913 Ma was appointed to the Yinch'uan garrison as deputy military commissioner of Inner Mongolia and Kansu. He soon captured the Dalat Banner leader Wang-te-ni-ma at Paotow, and he was rewarded with promotion to the rank of lieutenant general and appointment as guards commander for the Yinch'uan region. Ma held command of the area that later became Ninghsia for seven years. Then, on 31 December 1920, the Peking government appointed him military governor of the special district of Suiyuan. He governed the district from the beginning of 1921 to the end of 1924. After Feng Yü-hsiang (q.v.) effected a coup at Peking in November 1 924, Ma was replaced as governor of Suiyuan by Li Ming-chung and was appointed co-director of northwestern border defense, the other director being Feng himself.

Little is known about Ma Fu-hsiang's activities in the 1925-27 period except that he continued to serve Feng Yü-hsiang. In 1928 he received membership in the Peiping and Kaifeng branches of the Political Council, in the Military Affairs Commission, and in the Kansu provincial government. When Feng Yü-hsiang turned against the National Government in 1929, Ma parted company with Feng and induced his son Ma Hung-k'uei (q.v.) to join with Han Fu-chü (q.v.) in defecting to the National Government side. Later in 1929, Ma Fu-hsiang became vice chairman of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission and mayor of Tsingtao. In 1930 he succeeded Shih Yü-san as governor of Anhwei and became a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang.

With the failure of the so-called enlarged conference movement (see Feng Yü-hsiang; Yen Hsi-shan) in 1930, Ma Fu-hsiang and Chang Chih-chiang q.v.) assumed control of the remnant Kuominchün forces and began to reorganize them as National Government troops. From mid- 1930 until late 1931 he served as chairman of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission. During this period, he also worked to rearrange the power structure of Kansu {see Ma Hung-pin). He was made a member of the State Council in December 1931. A few months later, while visiting his son at the mountain resort of Chikungshan, Hupeh, he became seriously ill. He was put aboard a Peiping-bound express train in the hope that the staff of Peking Union Medical College could treat him successfully, but he died on the train at Liuliho, Hopei, on 19 August 1932. Ma Hsiang-po: see Ma Liang.