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Ma Teng

Courtesy nameShoucheng

Warlord of Xiliang, Father of Ma Chao

The Opening Cast · Warlords & Elders

FrontierRegional PowerDeath

Who they are

A warlord of Xiliang who long held the region of Liang province, warring and reconciling by turns with Han Sui. He took part in the Girdle Edict plot against Cao Cao, then answered Cao Cao’s summons to the capital as Commandant of the Guards — in effect a hostage. When his son Ma Chao rose in arms against Cao Cao in 213 and was defeated, Cao Cao in his fury executed Ma Teng and his whole clan at Ye — a military gamble by the son abroad, paid for by the entire family kept in the capital.

Primary sourcesChen Shou, Records of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Shu, appended to the Biography of Ma Chao

Key stories

A Hostage in the Capital, His Son’s Revolt His Undoing

In his later years Ma Teng answered Cao Cao’s summons to the capital as Commandant of the Guards — in truth a surrender of his troops and himself as hostage. But his son Ma Chao, left holding Xiliang, joined Han Sui and other Guanzhong warlords in a revolt against Cao Cao in 211; though mighty for a time, it was in the end defeated. The next year, Cao Cao, on the pretext of Ma Chao’s rebellion, executed Ma Teng and more than three hundred of his clan at Ye — Ma Chao’s gamble, paid for by his father in the capital.

Relationships

Children

🏇Ma Chao

Ally

🏜️Han Sui　Warlord of Xiliang, warring and reconciling by turns

Slain by

🦅Cao Cao　Killed in reprisal for his son Ma Chao’s revolt

Echoes today

Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.

A historical footnote as Ma Chao’s fatherOf no great prominence himself, he is often mentioned as a background figure in telling the story of "Ma Chao the Splendid."

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