#01.
People who like the story of the beach are no strangers to Ma Yongzhen, and the film and television dramas about him have also been popular with many audiences for more than a decade. So is Ma Yongzhen a figure in folklore, or is it real in history?
In traditional Chinese historiography, folk heroes like Ma Yongzhen rarely enter the official history, but some local chronicles and folk histories have many legends about him. It is only different from the old Shanghai style of the Republic of China that everyone sees from film and television dramas, Ma Yongzhen is a person in the late Qing Dynasty.
According to the "Shanghai Ethnography and People", Ma Yongzhen was a Hui from Linqing, Shandong. Some noshi believe he was born in 1851. In the era in which he lived, social unrest in China, many villages in Shandong Province raised a wave of martial arts to protect the safety of villagers. Ma Yongzhen has shown a very high talent for martial arts since he was a child, he is infinitely powerful, proficient in various martial arts, especially leg skills.
When Ma Yongzhen was young, under the arrangement of the father of his hometown friend Ma Xingtong, he came to the Shanghai Racecourse Hall to sell horses for foreigners, and once went to Today's Outer Mongolia, Rehe, Chahar and other places to engage in horse trading business. Later, he felt that there was no future in doing things for foreigners, and since he was strong in martial arts, he might as well change his career to teaching martial arts, and he also served as a military instructor in the Main Camp of Songjiang Province in the Qing Dynasty.
Many wild histories record that Ma Yongzhen was proud of his martial prowess, set up a ring to compete in various places, and wrote a couplet of "punching the north and south of the two capitals, kicking the five lakes and the four seas", a momentum of fighting invincible hands all over the world. Every time he went to a place, he would swing for three days to meet the challenges of the masters of all sides, and as a result, many people came to the stage to meet the battle, and they were defeated by him within a few rounds.
Once, Ma Yongzhen was swinging in Yangzhou, and no one defeated him for a few days, and his heart was a little fluttery. At this time, a mysterious figure wants to fight with him. See who can pull the cargo ship parked in the center of the river back to the shore and win. As a result, Ma Yongzhen tried his best, and the ship still did not move. But the mysterious figure easily brought the ship to the shore. This made Ma Yongzhen feel that "there is a sky outside the sky, and there are people outside the people", so he returned to Shanghai, and his arrogant temperament was curbed.
#02.
Some local chronicles record that Ma Yongzhen once had a legend of "Huo Yuanjia style". At that time, there was a foreign Hercules nicknamed "Invincible" in Shanghai Beach, who ran amok here and bullied Chinese. Ma Yongzhen saw the situation and decided to compete with the "invincible" to Chinese ambition.
The "Qiu County Chronicle" records: "(Two people) can break two stone slabs by first comparing their hand strength; after comparing their legs, they can break 12 wooden stakes; in the final competition of boxing, Ma Yongzhen first uses the methods of flashing, unfolding, teng, and moving to circumvent Yang Lishi, and then uses the technique of progress and continuous steps, and uses two hands to shadow the face of Yang Lishi, turn around and leave." The Yanlis thought it was a plan, and then came. Ma Yongzhen immediately turned around and kicked the foreigner with the jade ring step and the mandarin duck leg, kicking the yanglishi backwards a few steps away and falling to the ground, and only stood up after ten minutes. The Yanlis staggered out of the arena and died the next day. ”
Ma Yongzhen defeated the Western Lux and immediately caused a sensation in Shanghai Beach, and public opinion said that "Ma Yongzhen is the elite of China" and "the handsome master of the Chinese nation". Some literati also wrote the biography of Ma Yongzhen, which was quickly sold out.
Ma Yongzhen has been engaged in horse sales for a long time, so he is very proficient in equestrianism, so he participated in the jockey club held in Shanghai and competed with runners from all over the world. It is said that he can make thrilling moves such as "fishing for the moon on the seabed" (picking up silver dollars or copper plates), "turning over" and riding backwards, and "Dapeng spreading its wings" on a stirrup with one leg on a flying horse, which won the applause of the audience. More importantly, he defeated two-time champion Englishman Stephen in a horse race, once again winning glory for the country and receiving widespread praise.
Although Ma Yongzhen is strong in martial arts, he can compete strongly and competitively, and he is also a monopolist in the horse trading business on the beach. Anyone who came here to engage in the horse business had to pay him a protection fee and act according to his rules. If there is the slightest disobedience, it will inevitably be severely punished by him. Many people, photographed by his martial arts and power, dared to be angry and did not dare to speak, but some courageous horse dealers secretly laid out a killing machine.
On April 13, 1879, Ma Yongzhen came to the "Yidongtian" tea house to negotiate with horse dealers Gu Zhongxi, Ma Lian and others. Suddenly, he was hit in the face by a bag of lime, and his eyes were fascinated. A group of strong men with sharp blades stabbed and slashed at him, and Ma Yongzhen soon fell into a pool of blood. Although the patrol arrived in time and took him to the hospital, he eventually died of his wounds that night. A hero died at the hands of a villain, and had to be lamented. However, Ma Yongzhen is usually brave and fierce, and his failure to treat the horse dealer is also an important factor in his desperate road.
According to folklore, after Ma Yongzhen was killed, his sister Ma Suzhen came to Shanghai to avenge her brother. It is said that her martial arts were not under her brother's, and she eventually stabbed her enemies. However, this matter is not recorded in any way, and the possibility of fabrication is extremely high.
The above is the legendary story of Ma Yongzhen, but the authenticity of it is difficult to verify, and may contain many plots interpreted by later generations. However, the legends of breaking into the beach, the enmity between the rivers and lakes, etc., are indeed the true portrayal of the society of Shanghai in the period of China's modern transformation. Many farmers from poor areas have flocked to the "Adventurer's Paradise" world of flowers and flowers to survive in a harsh environment. Some people have soared, some have spent their lives in the ordinary, and some have lost their precious lives like Ma Yongzhen. This is exactly the great change in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, and the epitome of the lives of many poor people in China. Therefore, it is not as legendary and romantic as in film and television dramas, but a jaw-dropping history of blood and tears.