Ma Guangzu

Life and career

Ma Guangzu was a grandson of Ma Zhichun and the son of Ma Zhengji. His mother is variously given as Wu and Ye; his younger brother was Ma Guangguo, born in 1206, and he was married to a woman of the Ding clan. He studied under Zhen Dexiu. In the second year of Emperor Lizong's Baoqing era (1226), he passed the jinshi examination and was appointed registrar of Xinyu.

He served as magistrate of Yugan, military prefect of Gaoyou, and prefect of Chuzhou, and later governed Lin'an and Jiankang; he also held pacification, transport, and tea-and-salt supervisory posts in Western Zhejiang and Jiangdong. After serving as governor of Lin'an and pacification commissioner of Western Zhejiang, he appeared at court and presented three problems: the capital's food shortage, higher prices in state grain purchases, and piracy leading to raids.

As pacification commissioner of Jiangdong and governor of Jiankang, he reduced taxes, cared for widows, widowers, orphans, and the sick, promoted education, honored men of talent, and recruited staff, choosing people regarded as outstanding in their time. His other appointments included military commissioner for the riverine forces, Vice Minister and Minister of Revenue, and the governorships of Jiangling and Fuzhou, as well as posts such as Academician of the Duanming Palace and other palace academies. He served concurrently as Grand Academician of the Palace of State Governance and superintendent of Huai-xi; the title is also rendered as Academician of the Palace of State Governance. He then became Joint Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs.

Under Emperor Duzong, he became Counsellor-in-Administration in the third year of the Xianchun era (1267), and in the fifth year (1269) was made Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs while retaining the former office. He retired with the honorific rank of Jinzi Guanglu Dafu and received the posthumous name Zhuangmin.

Government and associations

During his tenure he recommended Zhang Xian and Cui Youliang. Cui, a native of Jinling, entered the Painting Academy as a daizhao during the Chunyou era on Ma's recommendation, and painted Daoist and Buddhist figures as well as red-toned landscapes. Ma ordered his subordinate Xiang Shibi to relieve Hezhou, where Xiang won repeated successes; Wang Deng was also recruited by Ma and later, after his reputation had risen, was slandered by jealous detractors.

Ma exchanged literary work with Yuan Fu, Fang Dazong, and Chen Zhuo. His dealings with Yuan Fu involved explanations of names and courtesy names, colophons, poems and prose, and commemorative inscriptions; Fang Dazong wrote an academy record, while Chen Zhuo wrote a sacrificial text and sent him a letter.

Writings

Eight poems by Ma Guangzu are recorded, and he is listed as the author of the Qingming ji.