Background and discovery by Emperor Taizong

Ma Zhou was born in 601, during the reign of Emperor Wen in the Sui dynasty. He appeared to have been born from a relatively poor household in Qinghe Commandery (清河, roughly modern Xingtai, Hebei) and lost his father early in life. He was studious, particularly concentrating on the Shi Jing and the Spring and Autumn Annals, but was also carefree, not paying attention to details, and because of this, the people of his home region did not view him highly. During the reign of Emperor Gaozu in the Tang dynasty, he served as a teacher in Bo Prefecture (博州, i.e., Qinghe), but was said to spend his days drinking, not concentrating on teaching the students, and was often rebuked by the prefect Daxi Shu (達奚恕). He thus resigned and went to travel in Cao Prefecture (曹州, roughly modern Heze, Shandong) and Bian Prefecture (汴州, roughly modern Kaifeng, Henan). While there, however, on one occasion he was insulted by Cui Xian (崔賢), the county magistrate for Junyi County (浚儀, in modern Kaifeng), and in anger, he travelled to the capital Chang'an. Once there, he became a guest of the general Chang He.

In 629, Emperor Gaozu's son and successor, Emperor Taizong, ordered his officials to submit suggestions for him. As Chang was unacquainted with historical writings, Ma drafted some 20 suggestions for him. When Emperor Taizong read the suggestions that Chang submitted, he was impressed, but he knew that Chang was not well-studied, he summoned Chang to ask him how he came up with the suggestions. Chang told Emperor Taizong that he did not write the suggestions and that Ma did. He also told Emperor Taizong that whenever he conversed with Ma, Ma was always concerned about faithfulness and filial piety. Emperor Taizong sent messengers to summon Ma into his presence, and once they conversed, he was impressed by Ma and, while initially not giving him an official position, had him serve at the examination bureau of the government (門下省, Menxia Sheng). In 632, he officially made Ma a governmental auditor. He awarded Chang silk for having discovered Ma.

Service under Emperor Taizong

In 632, Ma Zhou submitted a petition to Emperor Taizong that was later included in its entirety in the Old Book of Tang for its importance, which made several suggestions to Emperor Taizong:

• That Emperor Taizong expand Da'an Palace, the residence of Emperor Gaozu (who was then Taishang Huang (retired emperor)), to show filial piety.

• That Emperor Taizong should not spend much time away from Chang'an in the summer, because he would then be unable to attend to Emperor Gaozu.

• That Emperor Taizong's plans to create a feudal system of governance, where the contributors to his reign would be given inheritable prefectural posts to be passed to their descendants, were inadvisable, because there would be no guarantees in future generations that the descendants of capable men would also be capable.

• That Emperor Taizong should personally offer sacrifices to the imperial ancestors.

• That Emperor Taizong should be careful not to bestow honors on people not due them.

Emperor Taizong was impressed by Ma's suggestions and promoted him.

In 637, Ma submitted another petition considered important enough to be included in its entirety in the Old Book of Tang. He noted that at the time, even though Emperor Taizong had reigned for over a decade, the empire was still, overall, a fraction of the strength of the Sui dynasty at its prime, in terms of population and wealth. He pointed out that the population was therefore ill-equipped to deal with the construction projects that Emperor Taizong was then carrying out for his own palaces and for mansions for his sons and daughters. He advocated frugality, and further pointed out that Emperor Taizong's favors for his sons were creating competition between them, which was not good for the long term, either for his sons or for their descendants. Emperor Taizong praised Ma for his suggestions. Also based on Ma's suggestions, the institution of Chang'an city criers (who would call out at both dawn and dusk) and replaced with drums, greatly reducing the amount of labor necessary.

In 638, Ma was made a mid-level official at the legislative bureau (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng). Ma was praised for his alertness and logical thinking, and Emperor Taizong once stated, "If I did not see Ma Zhou for a while, I would always miss him." The chancellor Cen Wenben also stated, "When Mr. Ma analyzes matters, he took examples from both history and current events. He deletes what is not necessary, and then analyzes thoroughly. Nothing should be added and nothing should be taken away from what he writes. His words are well-written, and one will not get tired of them." In 641, Ma was given three different posts—assistant auditor, imperial advisor, and secretary to Emperor Taizong's son, Li Zhi (the Prince of Jin). After Li Zhi replaced his elder brother, Li Chengqian, as crown prince, Ma was made an advisor to the new crown prince as well as deputy head of the legislative bureau.

In 644, when Emperor Taizong, at an imperial gathering, stated to his key officials their strengths and weaknesses, he spoke, with regard to Ma:

:Ma Zhou has quick reactions and is faithful and honest. When he evaluated others, he did so truthfully, and whatever task I give him, he usually performed it to my great satisfaction.

Later that year, Ma was made the acting head of the legislative bureau—a position considered one for a chancellor. In 645, when Emperor Taizong attacked Goguryeo, he left Li Zhi in charge of logistics at Ding Prefecture (定州, roughly modern Baoding, Hebei), assisted by Gao Shilian, Liu Ji, and Ma. Once Emperor Taizong returned from the Goguryeo campaign, he gave Ma the additional post as minister of civil service affairs.

Ma was said to suffer from chronic diabetes, and when Emperor Taizong built the Cuiwei Palace (翠微宮, in the Qinling Mountains), he looked for a place near the palace to construct a summer mansion for Ma. He also had the imperial physicians attend to Ma and often supplied Ma with imperial meals. As Ma's illness grew worse, Emperor Taizong personally attended to Ma's medicinal needs, while sending Li Zhi to greet him. As Ma grew gravely ill, he asked his family to bring him the copies of the petitions he had submitted to Emperor Taizong, and he personally burned them, stating, "Guan Zhong and Yan Ying (晏嬰) great chancellors of the Spring and Autumn period publicly showed their lords' faults to become famous for posterity. That is something I will not do." He died in 648 and was buried near the tomb of Emperor Taizong's wife, Empress Zhangsun, where Emperor Taizong himself would eventually be buried. After Emperor Taizong died in 649 and Li Zhi succeeded him (as Emperor Gaozong), Ma was posthumously enfeoffed as the Duke of Gaotang. Later, after Emperor Gaozong's own death in 683, during the time when Emperor Gaozong's son Emperor Ruizong was emperor under the regency of his mother Empress Dowager Wu, Ma was worshipped at Emperor Gaozong's temple.

Notes and references

• Old Book of Tang, vol. 74.https://web.archive.org/web/20071011073112/http://ef.cdpa.nsysu.edu.tw/ccw/02/tan09.htm

• New Book of Tang, vol. 98.https://web.archive.org/web/20080210053058/http://ef.cdpa.nsysu.edu.tw/ccw/02/ntan14.htm

• Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 193, 194, 195, 197, 198.

簡介

馬周早年孤貧，然熟讀詩經和春秋。武德年間，馬周一度出任州助教，但因不理政事而被刺史達奚恕指責，遂辭官而去。後至汴州，被浚義令崔賢羞辱，于是西入長安，投入常何門下為門客。

貞觀五年（632年），唐太宗下詔令各官言得失；馬周為常何捉刀代寫二十餘策，得到唐太宗的賞識，入門下省為官，次年升任監察御史。馬周辦事周密，尤擅言辭，為時人稱頌，唐太宗曾表示「暫不見周，即思之」，因此升遷快速。貞觀十八年（645年），馬周升任中書令。

後馬周奉命輔佐太子李治，但由于患消渴，于48歲壯年病逝，死後被唐太宗下令陪葬昭陵。

子孫

• 馬載，尚書左丞、吏部侍郎

　• 馬觀

　• 馬覬，吏部郎中

　　• 馬元振、馬元拯

• 馬恂，河南令、丹州刺史

評價

馬周的生平其後成為許多民間故事的素材。其早期經歷被拿來用作懷才不遇之典型。李賀《致酒行》：「吾聞馬周昔作新豐（按：馬周所投之常何是居住在長安附近新豐縣）客，天荒地老無人識；空將箋上兩行書，直犯龍顏請恩澤。」

毛澤東十分賞識馬周，稱讚其《陳時政疏》是「西漢賈誼《治安策》以後第一奇文」，「「宋人萬言書，如蘇軾之流所為者，紙上空談耳」」。歐陽修《新唐書·馬周傳》認為馬周自比傅說和呂望，但才能不及此，批註：「傅說、呂望何足道哉，馬周才德，迥乎遠矣。」《新唐書·馬周傳》稱馬周頗愛飲酒，失意時曾在一個旅館「命酒一斗八升，悠然獨酌，眾異之」。

歷任官職

• 武德中，補博州助教，每日飲酒，不以講授為事。刺史達奚恕屢次斥責，馬周乃拂衣游于曹州、汴州之間，又為浚儀縣令崔賢所激辱，遂西行長安求官。

• 至京師，暫居于中郎將常何（真化府折衝都尉，武水縣開國男）之家。

• 貞觀五年（631年），常何將其所撰的表文送呈唐太宗，被太宗召入門下省任職。

• 貞觀六年（632年），授任監察御史。

• 貞觀八年（634年），擢授承議郎，行侍御史。不久，加位員外散騎侍郎，加朝散大夫。

• 貞觀十一年（637年），拜給事中。

• 貞觀十二年（638年），轉中書舍人。

• 貞觀十五年（641年），遷治書侍御史，兼知諫議大夫，又兼檢校晉王府長史。

• 貞觀十七年（643年），晉王李治被立為皇太子，馬周拜中書侍郎，兼太子左庶子。

• 貞觀十八年（644年），馬周遷除正議大夫，任中書令，依舊兼太子左庶子。唐太宗征討高句麗，皇太子在河北定州監國，馬周與高士廉、太子右庶子劉洎留守輔佐皇太子。

• 貞觀十九年（645年），唐太宗班師回朝，馬周以本官攝吏部尚書。

• 貞觀二十一年（647年），加銀青光祿大夫。賜馬周「鸞鳳凌雲，必資羽翼。股肱之寄，誠在忠良」御筆飛白書。

• 貞觀二十二年正月九日（648年2月7日），以消渴症去世于萬年縣之隆慶里府第，享年四十八。贈幽州都督，同年三月四日陪葬于昭陵。

• 永徽二年正月九日（651年），唐高宗即位後，追贈尚書右僕射、高唐縣開國公。

馬周碑

唐上元元年十月六日（674年11月19日）立。原存于陝西醴泉縣煙霞鄉上古村東約500米處馬周墓前，1975年移入昭陵博物館。碑身首高3.58米，下寬1.16米，厚39厘米。碑額篆書，題《大唐故中書令高唐馬公之碑》。許敬宗撰文，殷仲容隸書，共37行，滿行約84字。碑字除左上部較清晰外，余均磨損難以識別。碑陰刻明朝萬曆十三年（1585年）四月荏平張第的《謁唐中書令馬公碑》五律詩一首。