Yue Fei
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| Names (details) | |
|---|---|
| Known in English as: | Yue Fei |
| Traditional Chinese: | 岳飛 |
| Simplified Chinese: | 岳飞 |
| Hanyu Pinyin: | Yuè Fēi |
| Courtesy name: | Pengju |
| Traditional Chinese: | 鵬舉 |
| Simplified Chinese: | 鹏举 |
| Hanyu Pinyin: | Péngjǔ |
| Posthumous name: | Wumu |
| Traditional Chinese: | 武穆 |
| Simplified Chinese: | 武穆 |
| Hanyu Pinyin: | Wǔmù |
Yue Fei (March 17, 1103 [1] – January 27, 1142) was a Chinese patriot and nationalist military leader who fought for the Southern Song Dynasty against the Jurchen armies of the Jin Dynasty.
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[edit] Birth & Early Life
He was born into a poor tenant farmer's family. His family village, Yue Village, was located in Tanyin County, Anyang Prefecture, Henan province. Days after his birth, flooding of the Yellow River destroyed Yue Fei's village. His father, Yue Huo (岳和) (1054-1122 ?), drowned in the floods, but not before he had ensured the survival of his wife and son by floating them downstream in a large clay jar. Yue Fei and his mother, Lady Yao (姚夫人), settled in Hebei province.
An alternate less-known history states Yue Fei's father survived the flood and did not die until much later. Because the Yellow River destroyed much of their property, 8 year old Yue Fei was forced to join Yue Huo in the fields. There, it is said, he gained his legendary strength through vigorous farmwork from an early age. Shortly after Yue Fei joined the army in 1122, his father died forcing him to return home. He did not return to the army until 1124 because a custom of the day required him to mourn his father's death for two years. [2]
As a child, Yue Fei learned military strategy from reading Sun Tzu's "Art of War" (孫子兵法) every night before he went to bed. [3] This knowledge would help him later in life as a Song general.
[edit] Martial Training
His first martial teacher was a then-famous spear and sword master from the same county named Chen Guang (陈广). He began teaching Yue Fei spearplay when the boy was 11 years old. [4] However, the book èr wáng shì (鄂王事), by Sun Qiu (孙遒), states Chen Guang was hired by Yue Fei's maternal grandfather, Yao Daweng (姚大翁), when the boy reached the Ji Guan (及冠) or "Conferring Hat" period of his life. This was an "adulthood" ceremony held for young man ages 15-20. His second martial teacher was the archer Zhou Tong (1040–1119?), who taught Yue Fei archery. In the History of Song - Biography of Yue Fei (宋史•岳飞传) it is recorded Yue Fei "挽弓三百斤，弩八石" (was able to draw a bow of 300 Jin and a Cross-bow of 8 Shi).
Becoming proficient in warfare at an early age, Yue Fei narrowly escaped execution after killing Cai Gui (蔡桂), the "Prince of Liang", in the martial arts tournament of the Imperial Military Exams.
[edit] Famous Tattoo
According to legend, Yue Fei's mother tattooed four characters, (Simplified Chinese: 精忠报国; Traditional Chinese: 精忠報國; pinyin: jīng zhōng bào guó) which mean literally, "diligence, loyalty, service, country," taken colloquially to mean, "serve the country loyally", on his back before he left home to join the army in 1122. This served as a constant reminder to protect China at all costs.
[edit] Adult life
[edit] Family
According to Yue Fei's biography, he had five sons and one daughter. Yue Yun (岳雲) (1119-1142), the eldest, was adopted by Yue Fei; Yue Lei (岳雷), the second, Yue Fei's first real son, succeeded to his father's post; Yue Ting, (岳霆) was the third; Yue Lin, (岳霖) was the fourth; and Yue Zhen, (岳震) the fifth, was still young at the time of his father's death. Yue Yinping was Yue Fei's daughter. One legend says she committed suicide after her father's death and became a fairy in heaven.
Yue Fei married in 1119 at the age of 16.
[edit] Military Record
Yue Fei did not join the army until 1122, but he quickly rose through the ranks to become a general in only six years. As a valiant and tactically astute general, Yue Fei led many successful campaigns against the forces of the Jin Dynasty. Taking advantage of the difficulties which his opponents' cavalry experienced in the hilly terrain of Southern China, he was able to score victories although his troops were frequently outnumbered. His forces succeeded in regaining territory south of the Yangtze and Huai Rivers. The enemies even said "撼山易, 撼岳家軍難", meaning it was easy to push over a mountain, but difficult to push over Yue's army. He was also known for his strict discipline of his legions, forbidding them to pillage, even when facing the harshest of conditions. In all, Yue Fei participated in 126 battles and won them all.
[edit] Martial Arts
Yue Fei created his own fighting form with a spear, famously known to peasants as '岳家槍'(yuè jia qiang), and all soldiers trained in it. This style is sometimes confused with the Liu He Qiang' (六和) or "Six Harmonies spear".
Several other martial arts have been attributed to Yue Fei, including Yuejiaquan (Yue Family Boxing), Wuji quan (Emptiness Boxing), Ying Jow Pai (Eagle Claw), Xingyiquan (Form-Will Boxing), Fanziquan (Tumbling Boxing), and Chuojiao quan (Feet-Poking Boxing), among others.
[edit] Poetry
He was a role model for followers of Confucian ideals and moral values, as well as being an accomplished martial artist and poet.
At the age of 30, Yue Fei wrote his most famous poem, Manjiang Hong (Simplified Chinese: 满江红; Traditional Chinese: 滿江紅; pinyin: mānjiānghóng), or Entirely Red River). This poem reflects the raw hatred he felt towards the Jin, as well as the sorrow he felt when his efforts to recoup northern lands lost to the Jin were halted by Southern Song officials of the "Peace Faction".
[edit] Death
In 1126, several years before Yue Fei became a general, the militant Jurchen of the Jin dynasty invaded the north of the country forcing the Song out of their capital Kaifeng and capturing the emperor of the time Emperor Qinzong who was sent into captivity in Manchuria. This marked the end of the Northern Song, and the beginning of the Southern Song Dynasty under Emperor Gaozong.
Yue Fei fought a long campaign against the invading Jurchen in an effort to retake the north of the country. Just when he was threatening to attack and retake Kaifeng, corrupt officials advised Emperor Gaozong to recall Yue Fei to the capital and sue for peace with the Jurchen. Fearing that a defeat at Kaifeng might cause the Jurchen to release Qinzong, threatening his claim to the throne, the emperor followed their advice. Yue Fei was ordered to return twelve times in the form of twelve gold plaques. Knowing that a success at Kaifeng could lead to internal strife Yue Fei submitted to the orders of his emperor and returned to the capital where he was imprisoned and where the traitor Qin Hui (1090 - 1155) (Simplified Chinese: 秦桧; Traditional Chinese: 秦檜; pinyin: Qín Huì) would eventually arrange for him to be executed on false charges.
Emperor Xiaozong pardoned Yue Fei posthumously and the tomb and memorial to Yue Fei was built during his reign. Yue Fei's body was exhumed from the original grave site and interred in the tomb with honours befitting his status.
[edit] Kneeling Iron Statues
Qin Hui could not find a reason to execute the captured Yue Fei and was about to release him. However, Qin Hui's wife, Lady Wang (王氏), made the suggestion that since the emperor held absolute power, Qin Hui having the authority of the emperor, needed no reason to execute Yue Fei. He and his adopted-son, Yue Yun (Traditional Chinese: 岳雲; Simplified Chinese: 岳云; pinyin: Yuè Yún） (1119-1142), were sentenced to death and executed on charges that were not proven but instead "could be true" (Traditional Chinese: 莫須有; Simplified Chinese: 莫须有; pinyin: mò xū yǒu, lit. "could be true"). The phrase has entered the Chinese language as an expression to refer to fabricated charges. For their part in Yue Fei's death, iron statues of Qin Hui, Lady Wang, and two of Qin Hui's subordinates, Moqi Xie (万俟軼) and Zhang Jun (張俊), were made to kneel before Yue Fei's tomb (located by Hangzhou's West Lake). For centuries, these statues have been cursed, spat and urinated upon by young and old. But now, in modern times, these statues are protected as historical relics.
[edit] Modern Day
- The tale of how Lady Yao tattooed young Yue Fei's back has always been read and told for Chinese children in the hopes that they will learn from Yue Fei's personal bravery of not bowing to any pain and also his obedience towards his mother.
- Yue Fei, is also considered as one of China's national heros, the phrase "To protect and Serve" 精忠報國 is often associated with Yue Fei and is still being used in Chinese language.
[edit] Film
In the movie The Birth of Yue Fei 岳飛出世 (1962), young Yue Fei was played by 10 year old Sammo Hung. This was his second acting role.
[edit] Folk Legends
- Those who plotted to have Yue Fei executed were haunted by his ghost and driven to commit suicide.
- In a previous life, Yue Fei was born a Peng (Roc) and poked out the eye of a Dragon living in the Yellow River. Years later, when the Peng was reborn as Yue Fei, the dragon flooded the Yellow River in order to kill the newborn, but failed.[5]
- The god Guan Di visited Song Emperor Huizong in a dream and revealed the hero Zhang Fei was reborn as a child named "Yo Fei" (Yue Fei). This child would grow up to battle the northern barbarians.
- "Qin Hui - The Stinker". During the Ming Dynasty, the new Provincial Govenor-General of Hangzhou, who was a direct descendant of Qin Hui and Madam Wang, had both iron statues thrown into the West Lake under cover of night. The next day, the lake turned pitch-black and smelt of vomit. The townsfolk realized that the lake’s condition coincided with the statues' disappearance. When Official Qin arrived on the scene, the people questioned him about his relationship with Qin Hui. Because he knew the statues had sunk to the bottom of the lake, he boasted "If anyone can really scoop the statues out of the lake, this official is waiting to resign and ask for punishment." At that exact moment, the murky water became clear and the statues drifted ashore as if propelled by an invisible force. The cowardly official bolted for his sedan when he saw this miraculous sight. As his drivers fled the scene, his sedan was pelted with rocks from the angry towsfolk. That night, Official Qin escaped Hangzhou, never to be heard from again. Listen to this Story
- When Yue Fei was 13, he accompanied his adopted father Zhou Tong on a visit to a Buddhist Priest at the "Temple of Dripping Water". Being a curious lad, Yue Fei wandered behind the temple and found a cave in which lived a monstrous snake. When the snake charged at Yue Fei, he leapt to one side and squeezed the snake's tail with his supernatural strength. The snake then turned into the magic "Golden Spear of Dripping Water". This became his favorite weapon.
- Some account states that when Yue Fei was jailed and stripped down for torture, the guardsmen hesitated when they saw Yue Fei's tattoo, knowing that Yue Fei is a national hero who fights for the nation.
[edit] Sources
- General Yue Fei ISBN 962-04-1279-6
- èr wáng shì (鄂王事) - by Sun Qiu (孙遒) [ISBN ?]
- History of Song - Biography of Yue Fei (宋史•岳飞传) [ISBN ?]
