Ma Luk 馬祿臣

Updated March 23, 2015

temp. Notes:

Ma Luk. Credit: The Chinese Club, Hong Kong.

b.1882, Hunan 湖南 (or 1883, Hong Kong) – d.1963, Hong Kong. Variant name(s): in Chinese 馬六. Hong Kong nlt.1900.

HONG KONG. LMSHK 1905. Authorized to practice July 8, 1908 - EOP^[1]. Public Dispensary, West Point 1908. Private practitioner net.1908-EOP, address: 3/F., King's Theatre Building (tel: 26504) 1941. Authorized medical practitioner to sign medical certificates of death 1908-EOP. Inaugural directors of the board of Yeung Wo Nursing Home 1922. Vice President, HKCMA 1933-34. Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, status of the practice unknown. Resumed practice after the war nlt.1948-1960 (or shortly before he died in 1963) at prewar address, with two sons, Ma Chiu-chong 馬超莊 and Ma Chiu-ki 馬超奇. Chairman, Chinese Club 華商會所 1900-1927. Freemason^[2]. Ma died by heart failure in his Caine Road residence in the small hours of February 4, 1936. The funeral service was held in the St. John Cathedral two days later; he was buried at the Christian Cemetery in Pok Fu Lam Road 薄扶林道基督教墳場 (present day Hong Kong Christian Churches Union Pok Fu Lam Road Cemetery).

m. Li Huiying 李惠英 (educator, lawyer and promoter of Taiwan Strait relations; remarried writer and political commentator Tao Mulian 陶慕廉 after Ma's death). Had issues: 1. Ma Chiu-chong 馬超莊; 2. Ma Chiu-ki 馬超奇. 3. Ma Chiu-kuen 馬超權 (later Ma Shiu Kwan 馬兆君); 4. Ma Kwai-ying 馬桂英 [please refer to the comments (below) posted by Mr. Kent Ma on October 25, 2014]. According to the February 5, 1936 issue of the Wen Wei Po 文匯報, which had reported Ma's passing, Ma was survived by his wife, three sons, two daughters, seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

[Ma was a good friend and keen supporter of Sun Yat-sen.]

[1] LMSHK was the qualification awarded to graduates of the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese HKCMC (1887-1912). Holders of LMSHK were not authorized to practice as private practitioners until July 8, 1908^[a]. From that day on they were permitted to practice as "exempted persons", but not to be listed in the Medical Register and not be addressed officially as "Dr".

[a] There were hospital appointments, more particularly at missionary or charitable hospitals, prior to 1908. For instance, Kwan King-leung 關景良, LMSHK 1893, was permitted to practice at the Alice Memorial Hospital 1893.

[2] A source I have consulted says Ma was the first Chinese member of the Masonic order in Hong Kong. This cannot be true, early Chinese freemasons in Hong Kong had included such people as Ho Kai and Wei Yuk, years before Ma’s time.

Selected bibliography: Chinese Club, Hong Kong [internet]. The Hong Kong Government Gazette, July 10, 1908, Notice #482; May 9, 1941, Notice #558.