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What the Chinese surname Ma, meaning ‘horse’, symbolises and its path through history
Ma is one of mainland China’s most common surnames and is interestingly even prevalent among Chinese Muslims. We look at its history
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There have been many influential figures with the surname Ma throughout history, from the Han dynasty army general Ma Yuan and American-born cellist prodigy Yo-Yo Ma to Alibaba founder Jack Ma Yun and Tencent chief executive Pony Ma.
Ranking as the 13th most common surname in mainland China, Ma carries connotations of speed, vitality and a unique multicultural history.
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At its most literal level, Ma means “horse” – a symbol of success, power and unyielding spirit in Chinese culture.
Like many Chinese characters, the one for “Ma” is a pictograph, resembling the shape of a horse; the head, tail and four legs are visible in the traditional character’s shape, with the three strokes on the back resembling a horse’s mane.
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“In Qin and Han dynasty script, the horse’s ‘legs’ and ‘tail’ were written with five strokes together,” says Law Yin-ling, a professor of Chinese language studies at the Education University of Hong Kong. “Later, the first four strokes gradually evolved into four dots, becoming the form used in regular script today.”
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