Ma Tie

Historical Record

The historical records concerning Ma Tie are exceedingly scarce; in the official history, the Records of the Three Kingdoms, and its associated annotations, there is no clear independent biography or detailed account of his deeds. This suggests that in actual history Ma Tie may not have been a central figure active in important historical events, or that his life and deeds were simply not recorded in detail by the historians. Like many marginal figures of the Three Kingdoms period, Ma Tie's name is mentioned more as an incidental member of a family than as the embodiment of his own achievements. In the absence of supporting historical sources, we cannot know Ma Tie's dates of birth and death, his offices, his specific military feats, or any personal traits. This leaves Ma Tie in a state of near "anonymity" in historical study; his presence is felt mainly through his family background, especially his relationship with the Xiliang warlord Ma Teng. From a purely historiographical standpoint, therefore, Ma Tie is a figure lacking independent historical support, and the construction of his image relies more on later literary creation and imagination.

In the Novel

In the literary world of Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Ma Tie, though also not a central figure, at least has a clear identity and an appearance. He is portrayed as the second son of Ma Teng, Administrator of Xiliang, and the younger brother of Ma Chao. Ma Tie's first and principal appearance occurs in Chapter 57 of the novel. At that time, Cao Cao summoned Ma Teng to the capital, and Ma Teng's nephew Ma Dai remonstrated with his uncle, holding that Cao Cao "harbored unfathomable intentions" and that going there might invite misfortune. Ma Teng nonetheless resolved to go and made his arrangements of personnel. He sent his eldest son Ma Chao to guard Xiliang and command the Qiang troops as a precaution, with Han Sui assisting him, so as to serve as a check upon Cao Cao. Ma Tie, together with his elder brother Ma Xiu and his cousin Ma Dai, accompanied their father Ma Teng to Xuchang.^[1]

The depiction of Ma Tie in Romance of the Three Kingdoms centers mainly on this event. As one of Ma Teng's attendants, he embodied the family's loyalty and support for the father. The novel, however, does not endow Ma Tie with any independent display of military talent or political stratagem. His fate is closely bound to that of his father Ma Teng, and in the end he was killed along with Ma Teng and Ma Xiu at Xuchang by Cao Cao, becoming a sacrifice in Cao Cao's elimination of dissenters and consolidation of power. The novel's shaping of Ma Tie is more a facet of the tragic fate of the Ma Teng family than a character with an independent personality. Since the histories give no record of Ma Tie's specific deeds, the novel's arrangement no doubt serves to set off the tragic color of the Ma Teng family and to lay the groundwork for Ma Chao's later uprising in revenge.

Key Relationships

* Ma Teng (kin_of): Ma Tie was the second son of Ma Teng. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Ma Tie accompanied his father Ma Teng to Xuchang and was finally killed together with his father, embodying the blood tie between father and son and the family's shared facing of peril.^[1] Although the histories give no specific deeds of Ma Tie, his identity as a son of Ma Teng is the basis of his existence.
* Ma Chao (kin_of): Ma Tie was the younger brother of Ma Chao. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Ma Chao was left at Xiliang by his father Ma Teng, while Ma Tie accompanied his father to the capital. The two brothers parted ways through their father's arrangement, and in the end Ma Tie's death directly precipitated Ma Chao's later uprising in revenge, becoming an important driving factor in Ma Chao's character arc.
* Ma Xiu (kin_of): Ma Tie was the brother of Ma Xiu. The two accompanied their father Ma Teng to the capital together in Romance of the Three Kingdoms and were killed together, sharing in the family tragedy.^[1]
* Ma Dai (kin_of): Ma Tie was the uncle of Ma Dai. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Ma Dai once remonstrated with Ma Teng but finally also accompanied Ma Teng and Ma Tie to the capital. Ma Dai was one of the few survivors of the Ma Teng family, forming a sharp contrast with the fate of Ma Tie and the others.

Iconic Scenes

* Accompanying his father to the capital (unique to the novel): Ma Tie's most iconic scene in Romance of the Three Kingdoms is his accompanying his father Ma Teng to Xuchang together with his elder brother Ma Xiu and his cousin Ma Dai. This scene is not only one of Ma Tie's few appearances in the novel but also the beginning of the tragic fate of the Ma Teng family. Although Ma Dai had warned that Cao Cao "harbored unfathomable intentions," Ma Teng still resolved to go and brought Ma Tie along, foreshadowing the perilous outcome of their journey.^[1] This episode laid the foundation for Ma Chao's later uprising in revenge and displayed the helplessness and tragic grandeur of the Ma Teng family before Cao Cao's mighty power. As one of its members, Ma Tie's very act of accompanying them constitutes the core meaning of his existence in the novel—namely, as a participant in and a sacrifice to the family's fate.