Biography of Yue Fei

Author: Gong Yanming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-04-01
Features: Yue Fei (1103-1142), a famous general of the Southern Song Dynasty who resisted the Jin forces and is regarded as a national hero. From the second year of Jianyuan (1228), when he encountered Zong Ze amidst gloomy winds and dark clouds, within less than a decade, with his outstanding military talent, he led the Yue Family Army in hundreds of battles against the Jin forces, invincible and achieving high military ranks ("reaching the position of general and minister"). In the tenth year of Shaoxing (1140), just as he was leading his army northward in a campaign, Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty and Qin Hui, however, insisted on seeking peace and ordered the army to retreat with twelve imperial orders. After returning to Lin'an, Yue Fei was stripped of his military command and appointed as Vice Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs. Soon after, he was falsely accused of "plotting rebellion" and imprisoned. In December of the eleventh year of Shaoxing (January 1142), he was executed on the charge of "non-existent rebellion." This book, based on detailed historical records, elaborates on the governance of the Southern Song Dynasty, the life of Yue Fei, and the process of his unjust case being rectified and his name cleared. It also discusses Yue Fei's noble character and his military thought, "Man Jiang Hong" and its literary influence, as well as the enduring impact of Yue Fei's spirit on later generations, described as "his heart shining like the sun and moon."