Ma Xinyi (Xiao'erjing: ﻣَﺎ سٍ ىِ, traditional Chinese: 馬新貽; simplified Chinese: 马新贻; pinyin: Mǎ Xīnyí; Wade–Giles: Ma Hsin-I; November 3, 1821–August 23, 1870), courtesy name Gushan (穀山), art names Yanmen (燕門) and Tiefang (鐵舫), posthumous name Duanmin (端敏), was an ethnic Hui[1][2] official and military general of the Qing dynasty of China.
Along with other prominent figures, including Hu Linyi and Guanwen, Ma raised the Green Standard Army to fight against the Taiping Rebellion and restore the stability of Qing dynasty.
Born as a native of Heze, Shandong (荷澤) in 1821, he had successfully passed the imperial examinations at the age of 26 (1847), a prestigious achievement in China.
Ma Xinyi was later appointed as the governor-general of Liangjiang, a region comprising the provinces of Jiangxi, Anhui and Jiangsu in 1868.
This is aligned with the speculation that Ma Xinyi's assassination was due to the conflict between the imperial army and the Xiang militia, the group that played an important role in the suppression of the Taiping Rebellion.