Ma Xuecong

Author: Peter Wang

Editor’s Preface

About a year after the establishment of this website, we received a letter from a reader in Beijing addressed to one of the authors of the site, Mr. Wang Zhengfang. The letter said:

“Dear Mr. Wang, Hello: I stumbled upon two articles you wrote, ‘Mandarin Daily Survives Its First Year’ and ‘Uncle Ma’s Left-Leaning Thoughts, The Stubborn Young Man Defies Convention,’ which describe the character Ma Xuecong. I was shocked because he is my grandfather, whom I have never met. My mother had told me that when she was in her teens, my grandfather went to Taiwan and since then, there had been no news from the father she yearned for… We, the younger generation, know almost nothing about him, so every word in your article is incredibly precious to us. Through your writing, I saw a vivid character, as if he were right beside us. I am sincerely grateful to you for bringing my grandfather’s image back to life! A surge of longing emerged spontaneously.”

Among the stories we’ve collected so far, the story of Ma Xuecong is quite special. Mr. Ma originally taught in Beijing and was later introduced to work in proofreading at the Taiwan Guoyu Daily. Unfortunately, in the white terror of the Kuomintang in Taiwan during the 1950s, Mr. Ma, as a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s “Taiwan Work Group,” was arrested and executed. For decades, his situation was unknown to his family in mainland China. It was not until the 1990s that his ashes were returned to Beijing and placed in the Revolutionary Martyrs’ Cemetery, but everything about him remained a mystery to his family.

Mr. Wang Zhengfang vividly described Ma Xuecong from a unique perspective, showcasing a knowledgeable and humorous Ma Xuecong living in Taiwan. Mr. Ma was not only a Chinese editor but also proficient in algebra; he had tutored Mr. Wang Zhengfang’s brother, Wang Zhengzhong, in mathematics, who later became an academician at the Academia Sinica in Taiwan.

After contacting Mr. Ma’s family, Mr. Wang Zhengfang specifically went to the Taiwan archives to find photos and information about Mr. Ma before his execution. Although these materials were sad and sigh-inducing, Mr. Ma’s family was grateful to Mr. Wang.

The following excerpt is taken from Mr. Wang Zhengfang’s book “As Jovial as Ever, A Young Man” recounting the story of Mr. Ma Xuecong.

Uncle Ma was a heavy smoker

Uncle Ma also came from Beiping (old name for Beijing), and we were very familiar with him. A middle-aged man, he appeared older than his years; his hair was graying, and his face was lined with wrinkles. He spoke with a bit of a whistle due to the few teeth he had left in his mouth.

At the newspaper office, Uncle Ma was always seen at the far end of the editorial department, busy reviewing manuscripts and marking mistakes with a red pen. Whenever I went over to chat with him, he would look up with a smile, his eyes crinkling with laughter. He enjoyed joking around with us, the mischievous kids, in a deep voice with a pure Beijing accent. A heavy smoker, he would continuously light one cigarette after another.

I often visited the editorial department’s reading room at the Guoyu Daily to browse through books and magazines. First, I would check the newly arrived magazines, where reading interesting articles could broaden my knowledge. Then, I would go through several newspapers, even carefully reading the classified ads. I frequently saw many ads for “precision foreskin modification,” all worded similarly, stating: “The harm of too-long foreskin is widely recognized by famous people worldwide… leading to inability to maintain, maintain for a short duration, impotence, premature ejaculation…” What does that mean?

Asking several young editors, each would only chuckle and not answer. When I asked Uncle Ma, he too laughed in his deep voice for a while before saying, “It’s a misprint, it’s supposed to be an ad for leather bag repairs.” I took a closer look at those ads again and went back to ask Uncle Ma, “That’s not right! How can every ad be misprinted, and every newspaper makes the same mistake; it’s clearly ‘precision foreskin modification’!” Uncle Ma opened his mouth to laugh, gasping for air, and this time, I could clearly see he had at most six teeth. He said, “Ask your father when you get home.”

Uncle Ma’s Family Found Me

I received a message from a friend in Beijing, saying that a reader mentioned in your column, Uncle Ma (Ma Xuezong), is his grandfather. Mr. Ma Xuezong had six children and lost contact with his family here after moving to Taipei. It was only after reading your articles that he learned about the bits and pieces of his life in Taipei. The gentleman was very emotional and shed tears several times. His family wishes to get in touch with you to learn more about Mr. Ma Xuezong’s later life, if possible.

I got in touch with them. Speaking over the phone with Uncle Ma’s son-in-law, he choked up several times, finally learning news of the elderly man after more than seventy years.

They said on WeChat, “I stumbled upon your article, ‘The Story of Switching Combs for Toothbrushes’, while searching for information about the Guoyu Daily online. We could hardly believe our eyes. Ma Xuezong had six children, with the fifth, Ma Bingyu, and the sixth, Ma Bingying, still alive. I’m currently telling them that I’ve managed to contact you. I told them I’ve found our relative!”

“Hello Mr. Wang! I am Ma Xuezong’s granddaughter, Wang Lei. We are so delighted to have made contact with you! Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to communicate with us. My mother was Ma Xuezong’s eldest daughter and passed away in 2018. She had always been looking for news of my grandfather, knowing only bits and pieces. Now, we can finally learn more about my grandfather’s time at the Guoyu Daily in Taipei, and for that, we are again deeply thankful. Ma Bingyu and Ma Bingying are thrilled, at a loss for words with so much to say. They asked me to express their most sincere thanks on their behalf.

I have already read ‘The Guoyu Daily Survives Its First Year’ and ‘Uncle Ma’s Left-Leaning Thoughts, Stubborn Boy Defies Authority’ in your online column. I’ve read them many times over.”

(Ma Xuecong (second from the left) in an early photo with his family in Beiping.)

Calm Before the Execution

I found a photo of Uncle Ma before his execution and sent it to them. Their response: “Uncle Wang, I sent the photo of my grandfather you forwarded to me to my uncle and aunt last night. They were both very moved. My uncle replied, ‘The ropes on his arms, the calm and composed expression on his face… tears fell like rain…’ My aunt replied, ‘I couldn’t sleep all night… the father I’ve longed for seemed right before my eyes…’ Uncle Wang, they also repeatedly asked me to express their heartfelt thanks to you.”

I said I was just doing what I should. Let’s keep in touch, and I might visit Beijing someday. It gives me more to think about, recalling the times years ago when my brother and I were with Uncle Ma.

(Ma Xuecong’s calmness before execution.)

Editor’s Afterword

At the end of 2018, my cousin Wang Yun called me from Beijing, asking me to look up a director and writer named Wang Zhengfang in the United States.

Soon, I was able to contact Mr. Wang through the editorial department of the United Daily News in Taiwan. By reading Mr. Wang’s articles and works such as “Ten Years of Turbulence: The Story of a Stubborn Child” and “Joking as in the Old Days: The Story of a Youngster,” we gained a deeper understanding of the experiences and work of Mr. Wang’s father, our grandfather, as well as Mr. Ma Xuezong. We realized that it was ordinary people like them who propelled the spread of Mandarin and Chinese culture, fostered inter-regional communication, and accelerated the modernization of China. Our mission now is to present this part of history to future generations.