• General of the Qing Imperial Army Ma Anliang, 1855
• Officer of the Kansu Braves Ma Fulu, 1854

He defected to Qing in 1872 during the Dungan revolt, along with several other Hui Muslims, including his father, Ma Zhanao, Ma Haiyan and Ma Qianling. They belonged to the Huasi menhuan, of the Khafiya Naqshbandi Sufi order. They assisted the Qing Han Chinese general Zuo Zongtang in suppressing the Muslim revolt. In 1877, his father Ma Zhanao defeated a group of Muslim rebels who continued fighting near Hezhou.

General Ma Anliang joined the Qing General Zuo Zongtang, in the campaign against the Turkic Muslim rebels under Yaqub Beg. Ma Anliang led an entire army composed of Chinese Muslim troops against Yaqub Beg's Turkic Muslim forces, and defeated him, reconquering Turkestan for China.

In 1895, he served with the Han Chinese general Tang Yanhe and the Muslim general Dong Fuxiang, assisting them in crushing another Muslim revolt, the Dungan revolt (1895 – 1896). His Muslim cavalry defeated Muslim rebels at Oxheart Mountain, and relieved the siege of Hezhou on December 4. He led Hui cavalry troops to massacre rebel Muslim fighters who had agreed to negotiate at a banquet, and was promoted to General of Xinjiang, and Colonel of Hezhou for his service, once the revolt was crushed. The revolt was led by Ma Yonglin, Ma Wanfu and Ma Dahan. Ma Dahan was publicly executed. It was said that Ma Anliang's red cap was dyed with Muslim blood.

During that war, in 1895 He lifted the siege of Xining (sining) with four ying (ying is a Chinese unit for battalion). Ma was assigned to "Barkul military command" sometime before 1910.

In 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion, Ma Anliang, as Tongling of Ho-Chou joined Dong Fuxiang in fighting against the foreigners.

In 1905, Ma Anliang, in cooperation with the Han Chinese magistrate Yang Zengxin, attempted to arrest and execute the Yihewani (Ikhwan in Arabic) leader Ma Wanfu. Ma Qi, one of Ma Anliang's subordinates, staged a rescue operation and brought Ma Wanfu to Xining.

Even though he was a Muslim, he and his Muslim troops showed no mercy to Muslims who rebelled against the Qing government, and massacred them.

In 1911, when the Xinhai Revolution erupted, he led over 20 battalions of Hui Muslim troops to defend the Qing dynasty by attacking Shaanxi, which was held by the revolutionaries under Zhang Fenghui. He defeated the revolutionaries in combat, but then when the Qing emperor Puyi abdicated, Ma agreed to join the new Republic of China government under the Kuomintang.

In October 1903, in Ili, Ma Anliang served as "Brigadier General". In April 1912 he became "Commader - in - Chief" of Gansu.

Ma Anliang fought against the bandit Bai Lang, and attacked the Xidaotang (西道堂) Muslim organization. He was suspicious of the Republicanism of the Xidaotang, since Ma was a conservative and a monarchist and supported Yuan Shikai. Ma arranged for the Xidaotang founder Ma Qixi and his family to be shot to death. Han and Hui soldiers under the Hui generals Ma Anliang and Ma Qi united to fight against Bai Lang's bandit army.

In 1914, Ma Anliang tried to exterminate the "New New Sect", the Xidaotang and its leader Ma Qixi (his Arabic name was Ersa (Jesus), he was known as "Prophet Jesus" to westerners).

General Ma Anliang was the de facto senior leader of all Muslims in northwestern China from the beginning of the Republican era in 1912 until he died. He was succeeding by General Ma Fuxiang in this position.

Ma Anliang was considered "reactionary", while the learned "scholar" General Ma Fuxiang was considered "progressive".

In Hezhou (Hochow), on November 24, 1919, his death occurred.

His father was Ma Zhanao and his brother was Ma Guoliang

He had 5 sons, Ma Tingran, Ma Tingxian, and 3 other unknown children. Ma Tingxian was executed in 1962 by the Peoples Court.

Yuan Shikai made Ma Anliang a Baron of the First Rank (一等男 Yī děng nán) of the Empire of China (1915 – 1916).

In 1880, Ma Fulu went to Beijing to take advanced military exams when he had an audience before the Emperor. He accidentally committed a faux pas since he did not know proper palace etiquette and subsequently served as a guard for the Emperor to make up for this incident.

He studied at a martial arts hall and military school. In 1895, he served under general Dong Fuxiang, leading loyalist Chinese Muslims to crush a revolt by rebel Muslims in the Dungan revolt (1895 - 1896). His loyalist Muslim troops slaughtered and beheaded the rebel Muslims and his commanding officers received the heads of the rebels from Ma. In 1897, a military Jinshi degree was awarded to Ma Fulu.

Ma was transferred along with his brother Ma Fuxiang and several cousins to serve as officers under General Dong Fuxiang to Beijing in 1898. During the Hundred Days' Reform in 1898, Dong Fuxiang, Ma Anliang and Ma Haiyan were called to Beijing and helped put an end to the reform movement along with Ma Fulu and Ma Fuxiang. During the Boxer Rebellion, the Muslim troops came to be known as the "Kansu Braves" and fought against the Eight Nation Alliance. Ma Fulu and Ma Fuxiang both participated in ambushing and driving back the Alliance forces at the Battle of Langfang during the Seymour Expedition, leading a force of Hui, Dongxiang, and Baoan Muslims to drive the Alliance back to Tianjin and personally leading a cavalry charge, cutting down enemy troops with his sword. Ma Fulu and four cousins of his were killed in action during the battle against the foreigners in Beijing, in 1900 during the Battle of Peking (1900) during a bloody battle at Zhengyang Gate. His paternal cousins Ma Fugui 馬福貴, Ma Fuquan 馬福全 and his paternal nephews Ma Yaotu 馬耀圖 and Ma Zhaotu 馬兆圖 died in the battle. 100 of his fellow Hui and Dongxiang soldiers from his home village were killed in action at the Zhengyang Gate in the Siege of Peking. He had commanded a brigade, his brother Ma Fuxiang took over his position after his death. Ma Fuxiang inherited Ma Fulu's army.

He had a son, Ma Hongbin, who later became a General in charge of the 84th Army Corps.

Ma Fuxing, a Hui who played an important part in the history of Xinjiang, served under Ma Fulu during the Boxer Rebellion.

In the Second Sino - Japanese War, when the Japanese asked the Muslim General Ma Hongkui to defect and become head of a Muslim puppet state under the Japanese, Ma responded through Zhou Baihuang, the Ningxia Secretary of the Nationalist Party to remind the Japanese military chief of staff Itagaki Seishiro that many of his relatives fought and died in battle against Eight Nation Alliance forces during the Battle of Peking, including his uncle Ma Fulu, and that Japanese troops made up the majority of the Alliance forces so there would be no cooperation with the Japanese.

Originally buried at a Hui cemetery in Beijing, in 1995 Ma Fulu's remains were moved by his descendants to Yangzhushan in Linxia County.