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 Chinese) Yue Ke, E Guo Jintuo Zhuibian ()Yue Ke, E Guo Jintuo Xubian () 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. Yue Fei's biography is found in the 365th chapter of the book and is numbered biography 124 in volume 365. Some later historians including Deng Guangming (1907–1998) now doubt the veracity of many of Yue Ke's claims about his grandfather.
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".History of Song Chapter 365 "飞生时，有大禽若鹄，飞鸣室上，因以为名."
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.Henning, Stanley E., M.A. Chinese General Yue Fei: Martial Arts Facts, Tales and Mysteries. Journal of Asian Martial Arts. Vol. 15 #4, 2006: 30–35
Birth and early life
Several sources state that Yue was born into a poor tenant farmer's family in Tangyin County, Anyang prefecture, Henan province.Qian, Cai. General Yue Fei. Trans. Honorable Sir T.L. Yang. Joint Publishing (H.K.) Co., Ltd. (1995) Giles, Herbert Allen. A Chinese biographical dictionary = Gu jin xing shi zu pu. Kelly & Walsh, 1939 (ISBN ?) (See here also) The Biography of Yue Fei mentions a flood which displaced Yue Fei's family during his childhood, but his father survived. It reads,
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?" ()
Yue Fei's father used his family's plot of land for humanitarian efforts, but after it was destroyed in the flood, the young Yue Fei was forced to help his father toil in the fields to survive. Yue received most of his primary education from his father. In 1122 Yue joined the army, but had to return home later that year after the death of his father.Wright, Arthur F., and Denis Crispin Twitchett. Confucian Personalities. Stanford studies in the civilizations of eastern Asia. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 1962 () 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.Song Ci. The Washing Away of Wrongs. Trans. Brian E. McKnight. Center for Chinese Studies, The University of Michigan, 1981 () 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.Waters, T. Essays on the Chinese Language. Shanghai: Presbyterian Mission Press, 1889 (ISBN ?) 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.
Shuo Yue Quanzhuan gives a very detailed fictional account of Yue's early life. The novel states after being swept from Henan to Hubei, Yue and his mother are saved by the country squire Wang Ming () and are permitted to stay in Wang's manor as domestic helpers. The young Yue Fei later becomes the adopted son and student of the Wang family's teacher, Zhou Tong, a famous master of military skills. (Zhou Tong is not to be confused with the similarly named "Little Tyrant" in Water Margin.) Zhou teaches Yue and his three sworn brothers – Wang Gui (), Tang Huai () and Zhang Xian () – literary lessons on odd days and military lessons, involving archery and the eighteen weapons of war, on even days.
After years of practice, Zhou Tong enters his students into the Tangyin County military examination, in which Yue Fei wins first place by shooting a succession of nine arrows through the bullseye of a target 240 paces away. After this display of archery, Yue is asked to marry the daughter of Li Chun (), an old friend of Zhou and the county magistrate who presided over the military examination. However, Zhou soon dies of an illness and Yue lives by his grave through the winter until the second month of the new year when his sworn brothers come and tear it down, forcing him to return home and take care of his mother.
Yue eventually marries and later participates in the imperial military examination in the Song capital of Kaifeng. There, he defeats all competitors and even turns down an offer from Cai Gui (), the Prince of Liang, to be richly rewarded if he forfeits his chance for the military degree. This angers the prince and both agree to fight a private duel in which Yue kills the prince and is forced to flee the city for fear of being executed. Shortly thereafter, he joins the Song army to fight the invading armies of the Jurchen-ruled Jin dynasty.
The Yue Fei Biography states,
When was born, a Peng flew crowing over the house, so his father named the child Fei . Before was even a month old, the Yellow River flooded, so his mother got inside of the center of a clay jar and held on to baby Yue. The violent waves pushed the jar down river, where they landed ashore ... Despite his family's poverty, was studious, and particularly favored the Zuo Zhuan edition of the Spring and Autumn Annals and the strategies of Sun Tzu and Wu Qi. ()History of Song – Biography of Yue Fei (《宋史·岳飛傳》) (ISBN ?) (See also, 岳飛子雲 (Chinese only))
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."Liang, Shou-Yu, Wen-Ching Wu, and Denise Breiter-Wu. Qigong Empowerment: A Guide to Medical, Taoist, Buddhist, Wushu Energy Cultivation. The Way of the Dragon, Limited, 1996 ()
Martial training
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.""生有神力，未冠，挽弓三百斤，弩八石。學射与周侗，盡其術，能左右射。"Jin, Yunting.The Xingyi Boxing Manual: Hebei Style's Five Principles and Seven Words. Trans. John Groschwitz. North Atlantic Books; New edition, 2004 () 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.""岳飛及冠時，外祖父姚大翁聘請當時的槍手陳廣教授岳飛槍法。"Kaplan, Edward Harold. Yueh Fei and the founding of the Southern Sung. Thesis (PhD) – University of Iowa, 1970. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International, 1970.
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.及冠 jíguàn This leads to an English-Chinese dictionary. Type the characters "及冠" in for a definition.A Study of the Gender and Religious Implications of Nü Guan (See page 18) (PDF) So he gained all of his martial arts knowledge by the time he joined the army at the age of 19.
These chronicles do not mention Yue's masters teaching him martial arts style; just archery, spearplay and military tactics. However non-historical or scholarly sources state, in addition to those already mentioned, Zhou Tong taught Yue other skills such as hand-to-hand combat and horseback riding. Yet again, these do not mention any specific martial arts style. One legend says Zhou took young Yue to an unspecified place to meet a Buddhist hermit who taught him the Emei Dapeng qigong () style. This is supposedly the source of his legendary strength and martial arts abilities.Lian, Shou Yu and Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming. Xingyiquan: Theory, Applications, Fighting Tactics and Spirit. Boston: YMAA Publication Center, 2002. () According to thirteenth generation lineage Tai He ("Great Harmony") Wudangquan master Fan Keping (), Zhou Tong was a master of various "hard qigong" exercises.Wu Tang Golden Bell (Chinese only)Wu Tang pail builds up the Dan Tian (Chinese only)
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.
Later fictionalizations of Yue's biography would build upon the tattoo. For instance, one of his earliest Ming era novels titled The Story of King Yue Who Restored the Song dynasty () states that after the Jurchen armies invaded China, young heroes in Yue's village suggest that they join the bandits in the mountains. However, Yue objects and has one of them tattoo the aforementioned characters on his back. Whenever others want to join the bandits, he flashes them the tattoo to change their minds.Chang, Shelley Hsueh-lun. History and Legend: Ideas and Images in the Ming Historical Novels. University of Michigan Press, 1990 (), p. 104