Yifu Ma is also known as Yifu (courtesy name) and Zhan Weng, Juan Sou or Juansi Old Man (pseudonym). Ma was born in Sichuan and moved to Shaoxing, Zhejiang when he was about six or seven years old. Ma was well-known as a master of Confucianism, calligraphy, and seal cutting. He was one of the leaders of the Modern Neo-Confucianism. Ma studied languages in America, Japan and Germany. After returning to China in 1911, Ma supported the revolution initiated by Yat-sen Sun. Later, he taught Sinological learning in Zhejiang University. In 1953, Ma worked as the president of Zhejiang Research Institute of Literature and History and in 1964, served as the vice-president of Central Research Institute of Culture and History. He died in 1967 right after the Cultural Revolution.