马家军 (Mǎjiājūn): the Ma Clique — Hui Muslim warl…

Meanings

1 the Ma Clique — Hui Muslim warlord coalition that ruled Gansu, Ningxia, and Qinghai during the 1920s–1940s
2 (by extension) any sports team coached by Ma Junren (most famously the Liaoning women's distance-running squad of the 1990s)

Characters

马

Examples

马家军在西北地区统治了几十年。

Mǎjiājūn zài xīběi dìqū tǒngzhì le jǐ shí nián.

The Ma Clique ruled the northwestern region for several decades.

九十年代的马家军在田径界名震一时。

Jiǔshí niándài de Mǎjiājūn zài tiánjìng jiè míng zhèn yī shí.

Coach Ma's army of runners shook the track-and-field world in the 1990s.

Tips

history

The original 马家军 were warlords surnamed Ma — Ma Bufang (马步芳), Ma Hongkui (马鸿逵), Ma Hongbin (马鸿宾) and others — who controlled China's northwest and notoriously fought both Communist and Tibetan forces before being defeated by the PLA in 1949.

culture

In the 1990s the term was reborn in sports media: coach 马俊仁's (Mǎ Jùnrén) middle-distance runners broke multiple world records at the 1993 National Games. They were nicknamed 马家军 — and the brand later became infamous after doping allegations surfaced.