Historical Record
Ma Rong, styled Jichang, was a native of Maoling in Fufeng (present-day Xingping, Shaanxi), a renowned classicist and man of letters of the Eastern Han period. Born into a family of dukes and ministers over generations, he was clever and fond of learning from childhood and read widely. Ma Rong's attainments in classical scholarship were profound; he was especially well versed in the Confucian classics such as the Book of Changes, the Book of Documents, the Mao Poetry, the Three Rites, and the Zuo Commentary, and was esteemed as a "comprehensive scholar." He pioneered the teaching method of "instructing disciples behind a crimson curtain"—that is, hanging a crimson-colored curtain in the lecture hall, sitting within it to lecture while his disciples sat outside to listen—a method quite popular at the time, attracting many seekers of learning. Ma Rong achieved distinction not only in classical scholarship but also in literature, his works ornate in diction and brilliant in style. He once rose to such posts as Grand Administrator of Nan Commandery and Imperial Household Grandee, but because of his upright and forthright character and his fearlessness before the powerful, he was repeatedly ousted and demoted. Though his official career was rocky, his influence in scholarship was far-reaching; his teachings and thought exerted an important influence on later ages, making him one of the important figures in the development of Eastern Han classical scholarship.
In the Novel
In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Ma Rong's image does not appear directly as a major character but is shown indirectly through the account given by his disciple Zheng Xuan. Chapter 22 of the novel mentions that Zheng Xuan "had once studied under Ma Rong" and depicts in detail Ma Rong's distinctive teaching scene: "Whenever Rong lectured, he would set up a crimson curtain, gathering his students in front and arranging singing girls behind, with serving maids ringed about him on either side". This manner of teaching displays both Ma Rong's dignity and grandeur as a master of his age and a glimpse of his refined and unconventional way of life. The novel especially stresses that during Zheng Xuan's three years under Ma Rong, "his eyes never wandered", and that in the end he grasped the essence of Ma Rong's learning, so that Ma Rong sighed: "He who has gained the secrets of my learning is Zheng Xuan alone!". This episode is meant to set off Zheng Xuan's virtue and learning, while also obliquely highlighting Ma Rong's standing as a great Confucian of his age and his discernment of men. Although the novel's depiction of Ma Rong is brief, it sketches, through Zheng Xuan's perspective, the image of a learned and eminent gentleman with a distinctive teaching style, consistent with his standing as a "comprehensive scholar" in the historical record; yet such teaching details as "arranging singing girls behind, with serving maids ringed about him on either side" carry an obvious literary coloring and have no historical basis.
Key Relationships
* Teacher-disciple relationship: Ma Rong and Zheng Xuan: This is the only key relationship of Ma Rong's mentioned in the novel. As Zheng Xuan's teacher, Ma Rong exerted a far-reaching influence on Zheng Xuan's learning and character. The novel, through Ma Rong's appraisal of Zheng Xuan, "He who has gained the secrets of my learning is Zheng Xuan alone!", highlights Zheng Xuan's talent and Ma Rong's discernment of men. In history, Zheng Xuan did indeed study under Ma Rong and attained mastery, becoming a great classicist of his age whose learning fused the Old and New Text schools and exerted enormous influence on later ages. The teacher-disciple relationship between Ma Rong and Zheng Xuan is thus, in both history and the novel, an indispensable part of his characterization.
Signature Scenes
* Instructing disciples behind a crimson curtain: This is the most signature scene depicting Ma Rong in the novel. The novel describes in detail the distinctive sight of Ma Rong lecturing, "setting up a crimson curtain, gathering his students in front and arranging singing girls behind, with serving maids ringed about him on either side". This scene displays both Ma Rong's distinctive teaching style as a master of his age and the refinement of his way of life, while also providing the backdrop for Zheng Xuan's noble character of "listening to the lectures for three years, his eyes never wandering". Although the histories do record Ma Rong's "instructing disciples behind a crimson curtain," the novel's added details such as "arranging singing girls behind, with serving maids ringed about him on either side" give the scene a stronger literary coloring and vividness, making it the signature image that leaves a deep impression of Ma Rong in the novel even though he never directly appears (novel-only detail).
Relationships
1 relationships
Teacher & student1
Lines
- 演 ch.22 §2📍 Zhuo Commandery
「得我學之秘，惟鄭玄一人耳！」
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- 演ch.22
Inner monologues · AI-generated1 段 ▸
- I set up a crimson-curtained teaching hall to lecture on the classics. The students sat in front, while singers and ente