RWent to Wu as envoy and was respected by Sun Quan; won the submission of the Man of the Five StreamsShu 9 §15Shu 9 §16
NRecommended peace with Wu and went as envoy carrying Guan Yu's plea for reliefCh. 83 §32Ch. 76 §22
Ma Liang 馬良
| Occupation | ROfficial · Palace Attendant NOfficial · Attendant Officer | Faction | Shu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | Book of Shu |
| Born | R187 Unverified | Native place | Nan Commandery Yicheng County |
| Died | R222 Unverified | Place of death | |
| Cause of death | RKilled Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R11 |
Profile
Ma Liang, courtesy name Jichang, was a man of Yicheng County in Xiangyang Commandery. All five brothers were renowned for their talent, and a saying in his home district held that Ma Liang, who had white hairs in his eyebrows, was the finest of them. When the First Sovereign, Liu Bei, took charge of Jing Province, Ma Liang was summoned as an Attendant Officer (congshi); later he served as Clerk to the General of the Left and then became Palace Attendant. Records, Shu 9 §13–14 · 16
He went to Wu as an envoy and was treated with respect by Sun Quan. When the First Sovereign set out to attack Wu, Ma Liang entered Wuling and won over the Man tribes of the Five Streams, but when the First Sovereign was defeated at Yiling, Ma Liang too lost his life. He was thirty-six at his death. Records, Shu 9 §15–16 · 18
In his assessment, Chen Shou said of him that he was 'upright and sincere, and known as a fine gentleman.' In the Romance he first appears in Chapter 52 as a man whom Yi Ji recommends to Liu Bei, and he features in 14 of its 120 chapters; no chapter title bears his name. He holds Jing Province at Guan Yu's side, and during the Battle of Yiling he takes a map of the First Sovereign's camps to Zhuge Liang. Records, Shu 9 §45Romance, Ch. 52 §11–12Romance, Ch. 63 §32Romance, Ch. 83 §53Romance, Ch. 84 §12–13
In the Records
Ma Liang, courtesy name Jichang, was a man of Yicheng County in Xiangyang Commandery. All five brothers were renowned for their talent, and the people of his home district coined the saying, 'Of the five Changs of the Ma family, White Eyebrows is the best,' because Ma Liang had white hairs in his eyebrows. When the First Sovereign, Liu Bei, took charge of Jing Province, he summoned him and made him an Attendant Officer (congshi). Records, Shu 9 §13
When the First Sovereign entered Shu and Zhuge Liang followed after him, Ma Liang remained in Jing Province and sent Zhuge Liang a letter. He called the news that Luo had fallen a blessing from Heaven, addressed Zhuge Liang as 'honored elder brother,' and urged him to select men of talent and employ them as the times required. At the end of the letter he wrote that, though he was no Zhong Ziqi, he could not help beating time in admiration. The First Sovereign summoned Ma Liang and made him Clerk to the General of the Left (zuo jiangjun yuan). Records, Shu 9 §13–14
Later, when he was to be sent as an envoy to Wu, Ma Liang asked Zhuge Liang to introduce him to General Sun, since he was to bring harmony between the two houses. When Zhuge Liang told him to try writing it himself, Ma Liang at once drafted the letter. It said that his lord had sent his clerk Ma Liang to continue their friendship, and introduced him as a fine gentleman and an excellent man of Jing and Chu, with little of the flash shown on the spur of the moment but with the virtue of carrying things through to the end. Sun Quan treated him with respect. Records, Shu 9 §15
When the First Sovereign took the imperial title, Ma Liang became Palace Attendant. In the 2nd month of the 2nd year of Zhangwu (222), the First Sovereign advanced from Zigui at the head of his generals, set up camp at Xiaoting in Yidao, opened a route from Henshan to Wuling, and sent Palace Attendant Ma Liang to pacify the Man tribes of the Five Streams. The chieftains of the Man all accepted seals and titles, and everything went as intended. Records, Shu 9 §16Records, Shu 2 §70
In the 6th month, in the summer of that year, the First Sovereign's army was crushed at Xiaoting. When the First Sovereign was defeated at Yiling, Ma Liang too lost his life. He was thirty-six at his death. The First Sovereign made Ma Liang's son Ma Bing Chief Commandant of Cavalry. Records, Shu 2 §71Records, Shu 9 §16 · 18
His younger brother Ma Su, courtesy name Youchang, followed the First Sovereign into Shu as an Attendant Officer of Jing Province. In the 6th year of Jianxing (228), after being defeated by Zhang He at Jieting, he was imprisoned and died, at the age of thirty-nine. Later, when the Chancellor's clerks Li Shao and Jiang Wan came to see him, Liao Li, appraising various men, said that Xiang Lang had once revered the Ma brothers and called them sages. Records, Shu 9 §16–18Records, Shu 10 §35–36
In his assessment, Chen Shou said that Ma Liang was upright and sincere and known as a fine gentleman, and that he and the others recorded in the same volume were all among the finest of Shu's ministers. Records, Shu 9 §45
In the Romance
In Chapter 52 of the Romance, when Liu Bei, having taken Jing Province, Nan Commandery and Xiangyang, asks for a plan to hold them for the long term, Yi Ji recommends Ma Liang, saying that of the five Ma brothers the finest is Ma Liang, who has white hairs between his eyebrows. Ma Liang advises letting the young lord Liu Qi convalesce there and memorializing the throne to make him Inspector of Jing Province so as to settle the people's hearts, and then attacking the four southern commanderies of Wuling, Changsha, Guiyang and Lingling to make them a base, even laying out the order: Lingling, Wuling, Guiyang, then Changsha. Liu Bei makes him an Attendant Officer, with Yi Ji as his deputy. Romance, Ch. 52 §11–13
In Chapter 63 he brings a letter from Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei in Xichuan and reports that Jing Province is at peace. The letter warns that his reckoning of the Taiyi numbers and the signs of heaven shows omens of much misfortune for the commander, and urges caution. In the same chapter, as Zhuge Liang enters Xichuan, he has civil officials such as Ma Liang, Yi Ji, Xiang Lang and Mi Zhu assist Guan Yu in holding Jing Province. Romance, Ch. 63 §5–6 · 32
In Chapter 66, when Lu Su invites Guan Yu to a banquet, Ma Liang, following Guan Ping, also remonstrates that although Lu Su has the bearing of a worthy elder, matters are now urgent and he cannot help harboring other intentions, so Guan Yu should not go lightly; and if he does go, he must still be prepared. In Chapter 73, when Guan Yu raises his army, Ma Liang becomes a staff adviser together with Yi Ji, and in Chapter 75 he plays weiqi with Guan Yu while Hua Tuo cuts open Guan Yu's arm. Romance, Ch. 66 §18–19Romance, Ch. 73 §36Romance, Ch. 75 §7
In Chapter 76, when Jing Province is lost, he hurries through the night to Chengdu with Yi Ji, carrying dispatches on Guan Yu's orders to seek relief, and in Chapter 77 he reports to Liu Bei in detail that Jing Province has fallen and that Guan Yu, defeated in battle, is asking for relief. Romance, Ch. 76 §22Romance, Ch. 77 §43
In Chapter 81, when the First Sovereign sets out to attack Wu, he is put in charge of documents together with Chen Zhen. In Chapter 83 he reports that Cheng Bing of Wu has come to make peace, and remonstrates that although Lu Xun is a scholar of Eastern Wu, he is deep in strategy and his talent is no less than that of Zhou Lang, so he must not be taken lightly. When the First Sovereign intends to move his camps into the woods, Ma Liang asks what will happen if the Wu army suddenly falls upon them, and advises drawing a map of the camps to consult the Chancellor; he then takes the map himself and leaves for Dongchuan. Romance, Ch. 81 §12Romance, Ch. 83 §32 · 46–47 · 51–53
In Chapter 84, Zhuge Liang looks at the map Ma Liang has brought, strikes the table, and laments that the fortunes of the Han dynasty are at an end; he says he has already placed one hundred thousand troops in ambush at Yufu Bay. Ma Liang, astonished, says he has passed through Yufu Bay several times without seeing a single soldier, then takes the memorial and hurries to the imperial camp. In Chapter 85, by the time Ma Liang arrives the main army has already been defeated, and he reports Zhuge Liang's words to the First Sovereign. In Chapter 87, Ma Su comes to Zhuge Liang, then on his southern campaign, in mourning dress because his elder brother Ma Liang has recently died. Romance, Ch. 84 §12–15Romance, Ch. 85 §1Romance, Ch. 87 §29
Where the Romance differs
Entering service: In Chapter 52 of the Romance, Yi Ji recommends Ma Liang, who proposes a plan to attack the four commanderies in order and becomes an Attendant Officer. The Biography of Ma Liang in the Records says only that when the First Sovereign, Liu Bei, took charge of Jing Province he summoned him and made him an Attendant Officer; there is neither a recommender nor a plan for the four commanderies. Romance, Ch. 52 §11–13Records, Shu 9 §13
The letter at the time of Luo: In Chapter 63 of the Romance, Ma Liang appears as the messenger who delivers Zhuge Liang's letter to Liu Bei. In the Records, it is Ma Liang himself, left behind in Jing Province, who sends Zhuge Liang a letter calling the fall of Luo a blessing from Heaven and urging him to select men of talent as the times require. Romance, Ch. 63 §5Records, Shu 9 §13–14
At Guan Yu's side: In Chapters 63 to 76 of the Romance, Ma Liang stays in Jing Province to assist Guan Yu and becomes a staff adviser when Guan Yu raises his army. The Biography of Ma Liang in the Records says that after he remained in Jing Province and sent his letter, the First Sovereign summoned him and made him Clerk to the General of the Left; it records nothing of his assisting Guan Yu. Romance, Ch. 63 §32Romance, Ch. 73 §36Records, Shu 9 §12–18
Weiqi during the bone-scraping: In Chapter 75 of the Romance, Guan Yu plays weiqi with Ma Liang while Hua Tuo cuts open his arm. In the Biography of Guan Yu in the Records, Guan Yu held out his arm at a gathering where he was sharing food and drink with his generals, and neither the physician's name nor any weiqi partner appears. Romance, Ch. 75 §7Records, Shu 6 §9
Envoy to Wu: In the Records, Ma Liang went to Wu as an envoy and was treated with respect by Sun Quan. In the Romance he never goes to Wu, and in Chapter 83 merely reports to the First Sovereign that Cheng Bing of Wu has come to sue for peace. Records, Shu 9 §15Romance, Ch. 83 §32
His task at Yiling: In Chapters 83 and 84 of the Romance, Ma Liang takes the map of the camps to Zhuge Liang in Dongchuan and back. In the Records, Palace Attendant Ma Liang entered Wuling and pacified the Man tribes of the Five Streams, whose chieftains all accepted seals and titles. There is no journey to Zhuge Liang with a map. Romance, Ch. 83 §53Romance, Ch. 84 §12–13Records, Shu 2 §70Records, Shu 9 §16
Death: In Chapter 85 of the Romance, Ma Liang reaches Baidi after the defeat and reports Zhuge Liang's words, and in Chapter 87 it is merely said that he has recently died; there is no death scene. In the Records, Ma Liang too lost his life when the First Sovereign was defeated at Yiling, at the age of thirty-six. Romance, Ch. 85 §1Romance, Ch. 87 §29Records, Shu 9 §16 · 18
Written by 3KDEX (not yet reviewed) — The tags at the end of each paragraph link to the exact passage in the Records volume or Romance chapter it is based on.
Abilities
The Records score (Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms, main text) is the baseline. Each ability compares how the Romance redrew the same person, and the evidence from both sources explains the difference.
Records total556 / 1000Rank 146 of 996 · Top 15%Romance total506 / 1000Rank 101 of 1,113 · Top 10%
Romance adaptation index−50Romance total − Records total
- LEA3333±0
- STR3131±0
- INT5072+22
- POL5055+5
- CHA6650−16
- VIR7870−8
- ADP4545±0
- SCH6845−23
- DIP8055−25
- DIS5550−5
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
RWrote a letter rich in metaphor and drafted his own letter of introduction to WuShu 9 §14Shu 9 §15
NNo direct record — estimated from his being one of brothers renowned for talentCh. 52 §12
RNo direct record — estimated from his letter to Zhuge LiangShu 9 §14
NProposed a plan to hold Jing Province, warned against Lu Xun and urged consulting the Chancellor on the campsCh. 52 §12Ch. 83 §47Ch. 83 §52
RA local saying held that White Eyebrows was the best of the brothersShu 9 §13
NNo direct record — estimated from his fame as White EyebrowsCh. 52 §12
6 similar abilities — show evidence
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a civil officialShu 9 §16
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as Guan Yu's staff adviserCh. 73 §36
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as a civil officialShu 9 §16
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as a civil officialCh. 73 §36
RNo direct record — estimated from his career as Attendant Officer and Palace AttendantShu 9 §13Shu 9 §16
NPlan to take the four commanderies and store up money and grain as a baseCh. 52 §13
RAssessment: upright and sincere, known as a fine gentlemanShu 9 §45
NUrged ending the vengeance and making peace, and spoke frankly for hearing all sidesCh. 83 §32Ch. 83 §52
RNo direct record — estimatedShu 9 §16
NNo direct record — estimatedCh. 84 §13
RAdvised Zhuge Liang to select men of talent and employ them as the times requiredShu 9 §14
NRecognized that Lu Xun's talent was no less than Zhou Lang'sCh. 83 §46Ch. 83 §47
Records Romance Unverified No direct record; scored from their actions (evidence grade C)
3KDEX scoring — the Records use the main text of Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms; the Romance uses the 120-chapter Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Click a source tag to open that passage in the reader.
Romance chapters (14)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →
Allegiance history
- Shu · Records · Records vol. 39 「先主領荊州，闢為從事」
Family
| Siblings | Ma Su Novel & History |
|---|
Based on Wikidata items for the historical and Romance figures. Relations without the Unverified badge were also confirmed in the Records.
Related events (2)
- Guan Yu Attends the Feast with a Single Blade 215 · Appears (Romance scene)
- Battle of Xiaoting 221~222 · Command
Includes automatic matching from Wikipedia infoboxes and source keywords (unverified).