In his early years, Ma Yukun followed Song Qing to attack and twist, and accumulated meritorious work to the capital, giving him the title of Zhenyong Baturu. In the twenty-five years of Guangxu , he served as the admiral of Zhejiang and in the following year, he was transferred back to the admiral of Zhili . During the Boxer rebellion, the Eight Nation Alliance and others invaded, Ma Yukun lead the Resoloute Army to resist. The two armies fought in Tianjin and Beicang. They held a stalemate for more than a month, and Ma Yukun finally retired due to isolation and helplessness. By the next year, he would return to Peking and died in there in 1908