Ma Ai

Ma Ai was the Administrator of Dunhuang Commandery in the western Hexi Corridor during the end of the Eastern Han dynasty. His death in office destabilised the frontier and precipitated a multi-county revolt that was only quelled after Governor Su Ze intervened.

Background

Little is known of Ma Ai’s origins or early career. Sometime during the final years of Emperor Xian’s reign he was appointed Administrator of Dunhuang, the western-most Han commandery and terminus of the Silk Road.

Death and frontier crisis

According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms biography of Zhang Gong, Ma Ai died at his post. With no time for a court replacement, Dunhuang’s elites asked Chief Clerk Zhang Gong to assume acting authority and petitioned the central government for a formal successor.
While Zhang Gong’s son travelled east to request an appointment, neighboring warlords Zhang Jin and Huang Hua rebelled, seized their local governments and captured the messenger en route.

Suppression by Su Ze

The Governor of Liang, Su Ze, marched west with allied Qiang auxiliaries, coordinated with Zhang Gong and the commandaries of Wuwei, and by mid-220 defeated the insurgents: Zhang Jin was killed in battle and Huang Hua surrendered. Stability of the Hexi Corridor—vital for communications with the Western Regions—was thus restored.

Assessment

Ma Ai left no recorded achievements, but his sudden death exposed the fragility of Han control in Liang Province. Modern historians view the ensuing revolt as a prelude to the frontier administration that the Cao Wei state would formalise in 222 by creating the Wuji Colonel post at Gaochang.