Background
Ma was born in a family of merchants in Beijing on August 11, 1945, with his ancestral home in Wucheng County, Shandong, he is of Hui people ethnicity, he is the third child of four children.
马德华, 馬德華
Ma was born in a family of merchants in Beijing on August 11, 1945, with his ancestral home in Wucheng County, Shandong, he is of Hui people ethnicity, he is the third child of four children.
At the age of 5, Ma started to studied Chinese martial arts
Ma aspired to act from an early age. Ma studied at the High School Affiliated to Minzu University of China. Ma entered the China National Peking Opera Company by age 14, he learned Kunqu opera and Beijing opera at there.
After graduation, Ma worked in the Northern Kunqu Opera Theater as an actor.
During the Cultural Revolution, Ma acted in Shajiabang, Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy and Dujuan Mountain. In early 1982, Director Yang Jie invited Ma to act Zhu Bajie in Journey to the West, by the age of 37.
The series was one of the most watched ones in mainland China in that year. Ma retired in 1999, at the age of 54.
In 2007, Ma starred opposite Liu Xiao Ling Tong, Chi Zhongrui, Liu Dagang in Wu Cheng"en and Journey to the West.