Ma Su

Who was Ma Su?

Ma Su, style name Youchang, was a military general and strategist of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period. He was a younger brother of Ma Liang. Ma Su had conspicuous talent in military theories and was admired by the Shu chancellor Zhuge Liang. However, a tactical blunder by Ma Su at the Battle of Jieting resulted in Shu being dealt a huge defeat by Zhang He, a general of the rival state of Wei.

Much dramatization shrouds the death of Ma Su. In the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms as well as the Peking opera Loss of Jieting, Ma Su was said to have been beheaded on Zhuge Liang's order. However, according to the biographies of Ma Su and his close friend Xiang Lang in the Records of Three Kingdoms, Ma Su had actually attempted to escape after his defeat at Jieting, but was captured. He eventually died of illness in prison before the ordered execution could be carried out.