on 20 September. Liu Wenhui, the Xikang warlord, had reached an agreement with Ma Bufang and Ma Lin's Qinghai army to strike the Tibetans in Xikang. A coordinated joint Xikang-Qinghai attack against the Tibetan army at Qingke monastery led to a Tibetan retreat from the monastery and the Jinsha river. Xikang army officers were allowed to issue commands to Ma Bufang's Qinghai soldiers by Ma Bufang and telegraphs operated by Liu Wenhui sent messages for Ma Bufang to his soldiers. The reputation of the Muslim forces of Ma Bufang was boosted by the war and victory against the Tibetan army. The stature of Ma Biao rose over his role in the war and later in 1937 his battles against the Japanese propelled him to fame nationwide in China. Chinese control of the border areas of Kham and Yushu was guarded by the Qinghai army. Chinese Muslim-run schools used their victory in the war against Tibet to show how they defended China's territorial integrity, which Japan had begun violating in 1937. A play was written and presented in 1936 to Qinghai's "Islam Progressive Council schools" by Shao Hongsi on the war against Tibet with the part of Ma Biao appearing in the play where he defeated the Tibetans. The play presented Ma Biao and Ma Bufang as heroes who defended Yushu from being lost to the Tibetans and comparing it to the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, saying the Muslims stopped the same scenario from happening in Yushu. Ma Biao and his fight against the Japanese were hailed at the schools of the Islam Progressive Council of Qinghai. The emphasis on military training in schools and their efforts to defend China were emphasized in Kunlun magazine by Muslims. In 1939 his battles against the Japanese led to recognition across China. See also Sino-Tibetan War References Sources External links Wars and Conflicts Between Tibet and China Tibet and Nationalist China’s Frontier Tibet and Nationalist China’s Frontier Wars involving the Republic of China Military history of the Republic of China (1912–1949) Conflicts in 1931 Conflicts in 1932 Wars involving Tibet 1931 in China 1932 in China 1931 in Tibet 1932 in Tibet China–Tibet relations Ma clique