Ma Jianzhong (1845 - 1900) was a Chinese official and scholar during the Qing dynasty.

Ma was born in Dantu

Dantu District

Dantu is a district under the jurisdiction of Zhenjiang in Jiangsu Province.There are two islands that belong to Dantu, in addition to the Yangtze River at the north it has a town. It is bordered to the east by the Jiajiang neighborhood in Yangzhong. To the south-east lies Danyang and to the west...

 (丹徒), Jiangsu

Jiangsu

' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...

 province to a prominent Chinese Catholic family. After studies at a French Catholic school in Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

, Ma went to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 in 1876 to study international law. He became the first Chinese to obtain a baccalauréat

Baccalauréat

The baccalauréat , often known in France colloquially as le bac, is an academic qualification which French and international students take at the end of the lycée . It was introduced by Napoleon I in 1808. It is the main diploma required to pursue university studies...

 and in 1879 he obtained a diploma in law (licence de droit) from École Libre des Sciences Politiques

École Libre des Sciences Politiques

École Libre des Sciences Politiques , often referred to as the École des Sciences Politiques or simply Sciences Po was created in Paris in February 1872 by a group of European intellectuals, politicians and businessmen, which included Hippolyte Taine, Ernest Renan, Albert Sorel, Pierre Paul...

 in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

.

Following his return to China in 1880, Ma became a member of Li Hongzhang's

Li Hongzhang

Li Hongzhang or Li Hung-chang , Marquis Suyi of the First Class , GCVO, was a leading statesman of the late Qing Empire...

 secretariat, where Ma's knowledge of international law became a useful asset. Among other things, Ma helped to carry out Qing policy in Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

 in 1880-82 and he took part in the arrest of Taewŏn'gun

Daewon-gun

Heungseon Daewongun or The Daewongun , or formally Heungseon Heonui Daewonwang and also known to period western diplomats as Prince Gung, was the title of Yi Ha-eung, regent of Joseon during the minority of King Gojong in the 1860s and until his death a key political figure of late Joseon...

. The same year, Ma reportedly suggested the design of the Korean national flag Taeguk

Taeguk

Taegeuk refers to the ultimate reality from which all things and values originate according to oriental philosophy. It is also the symbol that makes up the center of the Korean Flag.-History:...

, which is still in use. In 1884, he also became involved in the China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company

China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company

China Merchants Group is a state owned corporation of People's Republic of China. It is the major share holder of China Merchants Holdings as well as China Merchants Bank...

, where he worked closely with Tong King-sing

Tong King-sing

Tong King-sing , also known as Tang Tingshu was a Chinese comprador, interpreter, and businessman during the late Qing dynasty. Born in Xiangshan, Guangdong province, he studied in Robert Morrison's missionary schools as a boy and his classmates included Yung Wing...

.

Ma is the author of Mashi Wentong

Mashi Wentong

Mashi Wentong is the first grammar of the Chinese language written by a Chinese scholar, Ma Jianzhong, who published it in 1898...

(馬氏文通 "Basic principles for writing clearly and coherently by Mister Ma"), the first textbook of Chinese grammar

Chinese grammar

Standard Chinese shares a similar system of grammar with the many language varieties or dialects of the Chinese language, different from those employed by other language families, and comparable to the similar features found within the Slavic languages or Semitic languages...

 written by a Chinese (there were already several grammars written by Westerners), published in 1898. Today most scholars believe that Ma's older brother Ma Xiangbo

Ma Xiangbo

Ma Xiangbo , also known under his style Ma Liang , was a Chinese scholar and educator during the late Qing dynasty and the Republic of China.-Biography:Ma was born in Dantu, Jiangsu province to a prominent Catholic family...

, a famous educator and co-founder of Fudan University

Fudan University

Fudan University , located in Shanghai, is one of the oldest and most selective universities in China, and is a member of the C9 League. Its institutional predecessor was founded in 1905, shortly before the end of China's imperial Qing dynasty...

, also contributed to the work.

External links

• About Ma's study in France (in Chinese)
• A Journal to the East (東行錄), Ma's record on Korea (in Chinese)
• Alain Peyraube, "Some Reflections on the Sources of the Mashi Wentong"