Qin Liangyu

Life

Her husband was Ma Qiancheng, whose title is variously given as the Shizhu xuanfushi and the Shizhu si tuguan. Ma Qiancheng was born in 1570 and died in 1613; after his death, Liangyu assumed the native chieftaincy. Liangyu possessed both civil and military ability, governed her forces strictly, and commanded troops known as the White-Pole Soldiers, who were famous for their fighting ability. She was skilled in mounted archery and accomplished in writing.

During the Tianqi era, Liangyu led elite troops to aid Liao and gained merit in campaigns against She Chongming; she was awarded the post of dudu qianshi and appointed zongbing. Her appointments included furen in the first year of Tianqi (1621), dudu qianshi and zongbing guan in the second year (1622), and taizi shaobao and hou during the Chongzhen era.

In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong entered Sichuan and Liangyu resisted him; because of erroneous commands by Shao Jiechun, the Sichuan governor, the White-Pole Soldiers were nearly annihilated. In the seventeenth year, Zhang Xianzhong entered Sichuan again, and Liangyu held Shizhu to protect herself.

Family

Her elder brother was Qin Banghan, and her younger brothers were Qin Minping and Qin Mingping. Her nephews were Qin Dalai (秦大賚), Qin Zuoming (秦左明), Qin Gongming (秦拱明), Qin Zuoming (秦祚明), Qin Ruiming (秦瑞明), and Qin Yiming (秦翼明). Her sons included Ma Xianglin (馬祥麟) and Ma Xianglin (馬翔麟), and her grandson was Ma Wannian (馬萬年).