[1] Ma was born in Beijing; he was of the Hui ethnic group, and the son and grandson of practitioners of Xiangsheng.
He came to be noted for avoiding complication in a way that kept his performances accessible to a mass audience.
In December 2001, Ma retired from the Xiangsheng profession.
On 11 February 2003, he died in Tianjin after a long battle with cancer.
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