Yue Fei - WikiHQ

Yue Fei (; March 24, 1103 – January 28, 1142), courtesy name Pengju (), was a Chinese military general of the Song dynasty and is remembered as a patriotic national hero, known for leading its forces in the wars in the 12th century between Southern Song and the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty in northern China. Because of his warlike stance, he was put to death by the Southern Song government in 1142 under a frameup, after a negotiated peace was achieved with the Jin dynasty. He was posthumously pardoned. Yue Fei is depicted in the Wu Shuang Pu by Jin Guliang.

Yue Fei's ancestral home was in Xiaoti, Yonghe Village, Tangyin, Xiangzhou, Henan (in present-day Tangyin County, Anyang, Henan). He was granted the posthumous name Wumu () by Emperor Xiaozong in 1169, and later granted the noble title King of E () posthumously by the Emperor Ningzong in 1211. Since his death and after the fall of the Song dynasty in 1279, Yue Fei is widely seen as a culture hero in China; he has evolved into a paragon of loyalty in Chinese culture.

Biographies

Biography of Yue Fei

A biography of Yue Fei, the Eguo Jintuo Zubian (), was written 60 years after his death by his grandson, the poet and historian Yue Ke () (1183post 1240). In 1346 it was incorporated into the History of Song, a 496-chapter record of historical events and biographies of noted Song dynasty individuals, compiled by Yuan dynasty prime minister Toqto'a and others.

According to the History of Song, Yue Fei was named "Fei", meaning to fly, because at the time he was born, "a large bird like a swan landed on the roof of his house".

General Yue Fei

Chronicle of Yue, Prince of E of Song

The Chronicle of Yue, Prince of E of Song () was written by Qian Ruwen () in 1924.

Birth and early life

thumb|Portrait of Yue Fei in [[Liu Songnian|Liu Songnian's Four Generals of the Restoration.]]

Several sources state that Yue was born into a poor tenant farmer's family in Tangyin County, Anyang prefecture, Henan province. The Biography of Yue Fei mentions a flood which displaced Yue Fei's family during his childhood, but his father survived. It reads,

<blockquote>After , would offer sacrifices at his tomb. His father praised him for his faithfulness and asked him, "When you are employed to cope with the affairs of the time, will you then not have to sacrifice yourself for the empire and die for your duty?" () In ancient China, a person was required by law to temporarily resign from their job when their parents died so they could observe the customary period of mourning. For instance, Yue would have had to mourn his father's death for three years, but in all actually only 27 months. During this time, he would wear coarse mourning robes, caps, and slippers, while abstaining from silken garments. When his mother died in 1136, he retired from a decisive battle against the Jin dynasty for the mourning period, but he was forced to cut the bereavement short because his generals begged him to come back.</blockquote>

According to a book by martial arts master Liang Shouyu, " Dapeng is a great bird that lived in ancient China. Legend has it, that Dapeng Jinchi Mingwang was the guardian that stayed above the head of Gautama Buddha. Dapeng could get rid of all evil in any area. Even the Monkey King was no match for it. During the Song dynasty the government was corrupt and foreigners were constantly invading China. Sakyamuni sent Dapeng down to earth to protect China. Dapeng descended to Earth and was born as Yue Fei."

Martial training

thumb|right|upright|Illustration of Zhou Tong, Yue Fei's teacher

The Biography of Yue Fei states, "Yue Fei possessed supernatural power and before his adulthood, he was able to draw a bow of 300 catties () and a crossbow of eight stone (960 catties, ). Yue Fei learned archery from Zhou Tong. He learned everything and could shoot with his left and right hands." Shuo Yue Quanzhuan states Zhou teaches Yue and his sworn brothers archery and all of the eighteen weapons of war. This novel also says Yue was Zhou's third student after Lin Chong and Lu Junyi of the 108 outlaws in Water Margin. The E Wang Shi records, "When Yue Fei reached adulthood, his maternal grandfather, Yao Daweng (), hired a spear expert, Chen Guang, to teach Yue Fei spear fighting."

Both the Biography of Yue Fei and E Wang Shi mention Yue learning from Zhou and Chen at or before his adulthood. The Chinese character representing "adulthood" in these sources is ji guan (), an ancient Chinese term that means "20 years old" where a young man was able to wear a formal headdress as a social status of adulthood. So he gained all of his martial arts knowledge by the time he joined the army at the age of 19.

thumb|300px|right|Yue Fei's mother writes jin zhong bao guo on his back, as depicted in a "Suzhou style" beam decoration at the [[Summer Palace, Beijing.]]

Yue Fei's tattoo

According to historical records and legend, Yue had the four Chinese characters (, "serve the country with the utmost loyalty") tattooed across his back. The Biography of Yue Fei says after Qin Hui sent agents to arrest Yue and his son, he was taken before the court and charged with treason, but

Yue ripped his jacket to reveal the four tattooed characters of "serve the country with the utmost loyalty" on his back. This proved that he was clearly innocent of the charges.

right|thumb|Portion of the stele mentioning the tattoo

The common legend of Yue receiving the tattoo from his mother first appeared in Shuo Yue Quanzhuan, a historical novel. In chapter 21 titled "By a pretext Wang Zuo swore brotherhood, by tattoos Lady Yue instructed her son", Yue denounces the pirate chief Yang Yao () and passes on a chance to become a general in his army. Yue Fei's mother then tells her son, "I, your mother, saw that you did not accept recruitment of the rebellious traitor, and that you willingly endure poverty and are not tempted by wealth and status ... But I fear that after my death, there may be some unworthy creature who will entice you ... For these reason ... I want to tattoo on your back the four characters 'Utmost', 'Loyalty', 'Serve' and 'Nation' ... The Lady picked up the brush and wrote out on his spine the four characters for 'serving the nation with the utmost loyalty' ... she bit her teeth, and started pricking. Having finished, she painted the characters with ink mixed with vinegar so that the colour would never fade." Documentation before the Qing dynasty record that Yue Fei had hired a tattoo artist to tattoo the four characters on his back. Such documentations appeared in Wumu Jingzhong Zhuan, a novel published in the Ming dynasty, while Shuo Yue Quanzhuan (General Yue Fei) was published in the Qing dynasty.

The Kaifeng Jews, one of many pockets of Chinese Jews living in ancient China, refer to this tattoo in two of their three stele monuments created in 1489, 1512, and 1663. The first mention appeared in a section of the 1489 stele referring to the Jews' "Boundless loyalty to the country and Prince". The second appeared in a section of the 1512 stele about how Jewish soldiers and officers in the Chinese armies were "boundlessly loyal to the country".

Adult life

Portrait

thumb|right|The Four Generals of the Restoration painted by Liu Songnian during the [[Southern Song dynasty. Yue Fei is the second person from the left. Han Shizhong is fifth from the left and Zhang Jun is fourth from the left.]]

Southern Song era artist Liu Songnian () (1174–1224), who was best known for his realistic works, painted a picture, "Four Generals of the Restoration" (). The group portrait shows eight people – four generals and four attendants. Starting from the left: attendant, Yue Fei, attendant, Zhang Jun (), Han Shizhong (), attendant, Liu Guangshi (), and attendant.

According to history professor He Zongli of Zhejiang University, the painting shows Yue was more of a scholarly-looking general with a shorter stature and chubbier build than the statue of him displayed in his tomb in Hangzhou since 1979, which portrays him as being tall and skinny. Shen Lixin, an official with the Yue Fei Temple Administration, holds the portrait of Yue Fei from the "Four Generals of the Restoration" to be the most accurate likeness of the general in existence.

Character

upright|thumb|Calligraphy written by Yue Fei

In his From Myth to Myth: The Case of Yüeh Fei's Biography, noted Sinologist Hellmut Wilhelm concluded that Yue Fei purposely patterned his life after famous Chinese heroes from dynasties past and that this ultimately led to his martyrdom. but he was never a full-fledged member of the civil service rank. A second theory is that he joined the military in the hopes of emulating his favorite heroes. whilst others claim he was his biological son;

thumb|center|800px|Battle of Zhuxianzhen near [[Kaifeng in Henan where Yue Fei defeated the Jin army in 1140. Painting on the Long Corridor of the Summer Palace in Beijing.]]

Six methods for deploying an army

upright|thumb|Yue Fei's statue outside the [[Yue Fei Temple in Hangzhou]]

Yue Ke () states his grandfather had six special methods for deploying an army effectively:

; Careful selection: He relied more on small numbers of well-trained soldiers than he did large masses of the poorly trained variety. In this way, one superior soldier counted for as much as one hundred inferior soldiers. One example used to illustrate this was when the armies of Han Ching and Wu Xu were transferred into Yue's camp. Most of them had never seen battle and were generally too old or unhealthy for sustaining prolonged troop movement and engagement of the enemy. Once Yue had filtered out the weak soldiers and sent them home, he was only left with a meager thousand able-bodied soldiers. However, after some months of intense training, they were ready to perform almost as well as the soldiers who had served under Yue for years. The Chronicle of Yue, Prince of E of Song says he was killed in prison. Still, a great number simply say he was executed, murdered, or "treacherously assassinated".

After Yue's execution, a prison officer, Wei Shun (), who admired Yue's character, stole his body and secretly buried it at the Nine Song Cong Temple () located outside the Song capital.

Qin Hui's posthumous punishment

Shuo Yue Quanzhuan states after having Yue Fei, Yue Yun, Zhang Xian arrested under false charges, Qin Hui and his wife, Lady Wang (), were sitting by the "eastern window", warming themselves by the fire, when he received a letter from the people calling for the release of Yue Fei. Qin was worried because after nearly two months of torture, he could not get Yue to admit to treason and would eventually have to let him go. However, after a servant girl brought fresh oranges into the room, Lady Wang devised a plan to execute Yue. She told Qin to slip an execution notice inside the skin of an orange and send it to the judge presiding over Yue's case. This way, Yue and his companions would be put to death before the emperor or Qin himself would have to rescind an open order of execution. A novel about this incident, titled Dong Chuang Ji (; "Tale of the Eastern Window"), was written during the Ming dynasty by an anonymous writer.

When confronted by Han Shizhong on what crime Yue had committed, Qin Hui replied, "Though it isn't sure whether there is something that he did to betray the dynasty, maybe there is." The phrase "perhaps there is", "no reason needed", "groundless", or "baseless" (, ) has entered the Chinese language as a proverb to refer to fabricated charges, which also means 'trumped-up charge', 'setup', 'frameup', or 'concocted charge' in English.

Decades later, his grandson, Yue Ke (), had retrieved documentary evidence of his grandfather's achievements, and published an adulatory biography of him. In 1162 Emperor Xiaozong of Song posthumously dissolved his unjust charges and rehabilitated his honours. For their part in Yue's death, iron statues of Qin Hui, Lady Wang, and two of Qin's subordinates, Moqi Xie () and Zhang Jun (), were made to kneel before Yue Fei's tomb near West Lake in Hangzhou. For centuries, these statues were cursed, spat on, and urinated upon by people. The original castings in bronze were damaged, but later were replaced by images cast in iron, but these were similarly damaged. However now, in modern times, these statues are protected as historical relics. There is a poem hanging on the gate surrounding the statues that reads, "The green hill is fortunate to be the burial ground of a loyal general, the white iron was innocent to be cast into the statues of traitors." Emperor Xiaozong's court gave proper burial to his remains after Wei Shun's family revealed its location;

According to the novel Xi You Bu, a satire of Journey to the West, written in 1641 by the scholar Dong Ruoyu (also known as Dong Yue, 1620–1686), the Monkey King enthusiastically serves in hell as the trial prosecutor of Qin Hui, while Yue Fei becomes the Monkey King's third master (by teaching the latter Confucian methods). At one point, the Monkey King asks the spirit of Yue Fei if he would like to drink Qin's blood, but he politely declined. Legend has it that Yue studied in the Shaolin Monastery with a monk named Zhou Tong and learned the "elephant" style of boxing, a set of hand techniques with great emphasis on qinna (joint-locking). Other tales say he learned this style elsewhere outside the temple under the same master. After becoming a general in the imperial army, Yue taught this style to his men and they were very successful in battle against the armies of the Jin dynasty.

According to legend, Yue combined his knowledge of internal martial arts and spearplay learned from Zhou Tong (in Shaolin) to create the linear fist attacks of xingyiquan. One book claims he studied and synthesized Buddhism's Tendon Changing and Marrow Washing qigong systems to create xingyiquan. On the contrary, proponents of wudangquan believe it is possible that Yue learned the style in the Wudang Mountains that border his home province of Henan. The reasons they cite for this conclusion are that he supposedly lived around the same time and place as Zhang Sanfeng, the founder of tai chi; xingyiquans five fist attacks, which are based on the Five Chinese Elements theory, are similar to tai chi's "Yin-yang theory"; and both theories are Taoist-based and not Buddhist. The book Henan Orthodox Xingyiquan, written by Pei Xirong () and Li Ying'ang (), states xingyiquan master Dai Longbang

<blockquote>... wrote the 'Preface to Six Harmonies Boxing' in the 15th reign year of the Qianlong Emperor . Inside it says, '... when was a child, he received special instructions from Zhou Tong. He became extremely skilled in the spear method. He used the spear to create methods for the fist. He established a method called Yi Quan. Mysterious and unfathomable, followers of old did not have these skills. Throughout the Jin, Yuan and Ming dynasties few had his art. Only Ji Gong had it. ()</blockquote>

thumb|Inside the grounds of Yue Fei's tomb and shrine in [[Hangzhou; the inscriptions at the far end read "Serve the country with the utmost loyalty".]]

The man "Ji Gong" mentioned above, better known as Ji Jike () or Ji Longfeng (), is said to have trained in Shaolin Monastery for ten years as a young man and was matchless with the spear. Ji supposedly created it after watching a battle between an eagle and a bear during the Ming dynasty. Other sources say he created it while training in Shaolin. He was reading a book and looked up to see two roosters fighting, which inspired him to imitate the fighting styles of animals. Both versions of the story (eagle / bear and roosters) state he continued to study the actions of animals and eventually increased the cadre of animal forms. The "Fanzi Boxing Ballad" says: "Wumu has passed down the Fanziquan which has mystery in its straightforward movements." Wumu () was a posthumous name given to Yue after his death.

Besides martial arts, Yue is also said to have studied traditional Chinese medicine. He understood the essence of Hua Tuo's Wu Qin Xi (; "Five Animal Frolics") and created his own form of "medical qigong" known as the Ba Duan Jin (; "Eight Pieces of Brocade"). It is considered a form of Waidan (; "External Elixir") medical qigong.

He taught this qigong to his soldiers to help keep their bodies strong and well-prepared for battle. One legend states that Zhou Tong took young Yue to meet a Buddhist hermit who taught him Emei Dapeng Qigong (). His training in Dapeng Qigong was the source of his great strength and martial arts abilities. Modern practitioners of this style say it was passed down by Yue. One legend states Zhou learned Chuōjiǎo boxing from its originator Deng Liang () and then passed it onto Yue Fei, who is sometimes considered the progenitor of the style. Chuojiao is also known as the "Water Margin Outlaw style" and Yuanyang Tui (; "Mandarin Duck Leg"). In chapter 29 of Water Margin, titled "Wu Song beats Jiang the Door God in a drunken stupor", it mentions Wu Song, another of Zhou's fictional students, using the "Jade Circle-Steps with Duck and Drake feet". A famous folklore Praying Mantis manuscript, which describes the fictional gathering of eighteen martial arts masters in Shaolin, lists Lin Chong (#13) as a master of "Mandarin ducks kicking technique". However, he believes Mantis fist was created during the Ming dynasty, and was therefore influenced by these eighteen schools from the Song dynasty. He also says Lu Junyi taught Yan Qing the same martial arts as he learned from Zhou Tong. Yuen further comments that Zhou Tong later taught Yue Fei the same martial art and that Yue was the originator of the mantis move "Black Tiger Stealing Heart".

Yue Fei is also the author of at least two other poems, "Xiao Chong Shan" ("Small Hills") and another "Man Jiang Hong" with a subtitle of "Deng Huang He Lou You Gan" ("My Feelings When I Was Climbing the Yellow Crane Pavilion").

Descendants

Among Yue Fei's descendants was Yue Shenglong () and his son the Qing dynasty official Yue Zhongqi, who served as Minister of Defence and Governor-General of Shaanxi and Gansu provinces during the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor. Yue Zhongqi conquered Tibet for the Qing during the Dzungar–Qing War and attacked the Dzungars at Ürümqi in Xinjiang. The Oirats were battled against by Yue Zhongqi. Yue Zhongqi lived at the Ji Xiaolan Residence.

Another notable descendant of Yue Fei was Yue Yiqin, a flying ace of the Republic of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

In 2011, two Yue descendants, Yue Jun and Yue Haijun, with six members of their clan, protested Jiangning Imperial Silk Manufacturing Museum's Qin Hui statue, which indicates that even after centuries, the Yue family still hates Qin Hui and his conspirators for their ancestor's plight. It has been reported that male members of the Yue family were not allowed to marry anyone whose surname was Qin until 1949, and genealogical records attest that this rule was rarely broken prior to its nullification. In 2017, it was reported that were 1.81 million descendants of Yue Fei in China, and the number of Yue Fei's descendants in Anhui alone has grown to more than 1,003,000.

Culture hero

thumb|left|Statue of Yue Fei inside the grounds of Yue Fei's tomb and shrine in Hangzhou

thumb|Taoist painting of Yue Fei as the deity "General Yue" (岳元帅), from [[White Cloud Temple.]]

Yue Fei's stature in Chinese history rose to that of a national hero after his execution. Qin Hui, and in some cases Emperor Gaozong, were blamed by later historians for their supposed role in Yue Fei's execution and conciliatory stance with the Jin dynasty. The allegations that Qin Hui conspired with the Jin to execute Yue Fei are popular in Chinese literature, but have never been proven. The real Yue Fei differed from the later myths that grew from his exploits. The portrayal of Yue as a scholar-general is only partially true. He was a skilled general, and may have been partially literate in Classical Chinese, but he was not an erudite Confucian scholar. Contrary to traditional legends, Yue was not the sole Chinese general engaged in the offensive against the Jurchens. He was one of many generals that fought against the Jin in northern China, and unlike Yue Fei, some of his peers were genuine members of the scholarly elite. Many of the exaggerations of Yue Fei's life can be traced to a biography written by his grandson, Yue Ke. Yue Fei's status as a culture hero strengthened in the Yuan dynasty and had a large impact on Chinese culture. Temples and shrines devoted to Yue Fei were constructed in the Ming dynasty. A Chinese World War II anthem alludes to lyrics said to have been written by Yue Fei.

He also sometimes appears as a door god in partnership with the deity Wen Taibao.

At certain points in time, Yue Fei ceased to be a national hero, such as in 2002, when the official guidelines for history teachers said that he could no longer carry the title. This was because Yue Fei had defended China from the Jurchen people, whose descendants, the Manchu people, are presently considered to be a part of the Chinese nation. Therefore, concern for the "unity of nationalities" in China prevailed, as Yue Fei was seen as representing only one subgroup within China, and not the "entire Chinese nation as presently defined". However, both the Chinese Ministry of Education and the Minister of Defence deny such claims and still clearly address Yue Fei as a national hero of China. The Chinese Communist Party also continues to treat Yue Fei as a national hero of China.

Modern references

The ROCS Yueh Fei (FFG-1106), a Cheng Kung-class guided-missile frigate of the Republic of China Navy, is named after Yue.

The author Guy Gavriel Kay cites Yue Fei as having inspired the character Ren Daiyan in his novel River of Stars (), which is set in a fantasy world based on Song Dynasty China.

Yue Fei is one of the 32 historical figures who appear as special characters in the video game Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI by Koei.

Yue Fei is also mentioned as a "Fixer" of great skills in the game Limbus Company.

References

Citations

Sources

External links

"History of the Song" Chinese Wikipedia entry
470 volume version of the "History of the Song"
The Story of Yue Fei
"Yue Fei's Biography" from the History of the Song
"精忠报国 Utmost Loyalty to the Country", a famous Chinese song related to Yue Fei