A Hero Rediscovered

The blockbuster movie, which takes its title from a poem written by Song Dynasty (960-1279) military general Yue Fei, revolves around events surrounding his demise, and who plotted and carried out the act. The movie’s popularity sparked a new wave of admiration for the national hero and a surge in tourism in Yue’s hometown of Tangyin in Central China’s Henan Province. 

In 1125, the Jurchen-ruled Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) of northern China invaded Song territory. After witnessing people slaughtered and enslaved, Yue decided to join the Song army. His mother showed support and encouragement by tattooing four Chinese characters across his back that read jinzhong baoguo, meaning “serve the country with utmost loyalty.” Starting as an ordinary soldier, he was promoted quickly and earned a reputation for his keen military insight and extraordinary martial art skills. 　

In 1127, the Jin army besieged and sacked the Song capital of Bianliang, now Kaifeng in Henan Province. Known as the Jingkang Incident after the reign name of the ninth Song Emperor Qinzong, Jin forces captured and looted the imperial buildings, taking hostage the emperor and his father, retired emperor Huizong, as well as most of the imperial court, including female servants. This marked the end of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). Both Huizong and Qinzong remained prisoners, and lived out their days as hostages of the Jin in their northeastern stronghold. 　

But it was not the end of the line for the Song Dynasty. Zhao Gou, ninth son of Emperor Huizong and younger brother of Qinzong was not in the capital when the Jin attacked. With the assistance of the Northern Song’s remaining generals and officials, he re-established the Song empire in Yingtianfu, the present-day city of Shangqiu in Henan Province. 　

The Jin continued to hunt the escaped Zhao Gou, now Emperor Gaozong, who remained on the run. He appealed to all loyal forces of the Song to fight the Jin and protect his new regime. 　

Several times, General Yue Fei tried to persuade Emperor Gaozong to fight and take back the lost lands and people. But the emperor feared if his father and elder brothers were released from Jin captivity, he would lose the throne. Yue Fei was demoted and finally removed from the imperial army. 　

Many of the Song’s loyal generals and officials were invested in the fight against the Jin, and civilians in northern China did not want to be ruled by the Jurchens. Volunteer armies sprung up, and Yue Fei joined them, later establishing his own force known as the Yue Family Army, whose soldiers were carefully trained and strictly disciplined. 　

The Yue Family Army, along with other loyalist forces, engaged the Jin army, at a disadvantage because the rivers and hills of southern China prevented them from using their cavalry. In the meantime, Yue Fei increased the size of his army and suppressed rebellions within the Southern Song territory. 　

In 1133, Emperor Gaozong summoned Yue Fei and his eldest son Yue Yun to the Southern Song capital of Lin’an, now Hangzhou in East China’s Zhejiang Province. The emperor granted them armor, bows and arrows, and wrote on a silk banner praising Yue Fei’s loyalty. He assigned general Niu Gao and others to Yue’s army. It was then that the Yue Family Army really began to take shape, with more than 20,000 soldiers. 　

After Emperor Gaozong learned of the death of his father, former emperor Huizong in 1135, he began the fight against the Jin in earnest to take back the Song’s lost territory, as he felt his claim to the throne was secure. He named Yue Fei chief commander of the Southern Song army. They marched northward, defeated the Jin’s main force, and seized many lost lands, including six military strongholds in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. 

However, his attempt to push further north and recover all the lost territory was opposed by a peace faction within the imperial court headed by prime minister Qin Hui, who believed that to further wage war would be too costly. This meant that all their efforts and achievements over the last decade, and all the lands and people they had recovered, would be lost again to their enemy. 　

Greatly disheartened, Yue retired from the army, and in order to observe the mourning period for his mother, who had passed away in 1136, handed over leadership to his subordinate, doing so without permission from the emperor. 　

But Emperor Gaozong used Yue Fei’s success in several battles as a bargaining chip to sign a peace treaty with the Jin in 1138. He agreed to give back all the lands that the Song armies had won back and offered a great tribute each year, recognizing the Jin as the sovereign. 　

Two years after signing the treaty, the Jin reneged on the deal, invading Song territory again in 1140. Stricken with panic, Emperor Gaozong summoned Yue Fei back to lead the Song army. Under his command, and with the assistance of many volunteer armies in the Jin-controlled northern lands, the Song army was victorious, recovering more and more lost territory. 　

Just when Yue Fei was threatening to force his way into the Jin capital close to present-day Harbin in Heilongjiang Province, Emperor Gaozong followed the advice of the peace faction and ordered Yue Fei to return. He defied the order at first, but the emperor sent 12 urgent summons carved of lacquered wood with the characters painted in gold, to call him back. 　

Knowing that the Jin would soon reoccupy the lands he had just recovered, Yue Fei wrote in tears his most celebrated poem Full River Red, which reflected his outrage toward the Jin invaders, as well as his sorrow for the wasted efforts to recoup the lost lands and people. Famed translator Xu Yuanchong, a professor at Peking University who died at the age of 100 in 2021, translated Yue’s poem as The River All Red. 　

The Jin realized that the Southern Song would not be easily defeated, so they were prepared to negotiate a truce on the condition that Yue Fei had to die. Framed by Qin Hui, Yue Fei was jailed for the crime of betraying the country. He denied the accusation even after a few months of cruel physical torture. Qin Hui and his followers failed to find a shred of evidence to prove their charge. 　

When asked by officials who felt compassion toward Yue Fei what crime he had committed, Qin Hui replied that although there was no certain proof he had betrayed the dynasty, maybe there was. The phrase mo xu you (“maybe there was”, or “to tacitly endorse”) is listed in the Chinese dictionary as an expression that refers to fabricated charges or official connivance. 　

Emperor Gaozong did not support Yue Fei because the general had defied his orders on several occasions. Yue Fei’s fate was sealed as political victim. He was murdered in 1142 amid accusations of betraying the country that he had dedicated his entire life to protecting. There is no solid evidence as to how Yue Fei died. Some stories say he was poisoned or hanged after being accused of treason by Qin Hui and his wife, or ambushed and killed on the way to his trial. 　

Twenty years later, Emperor Xiaozong ascended the throne as the second emperor of the Southern Song. He is believed to be the most exceptional emperor of the dynasty, demonstrating strong will to recover the lost lands of the empire. In 1169, Emperor Xiaozong restored Yue Fei’s reputation and posthumously granted him the name Wumu, with wu referring to his military achievements, and mu as a word to show respect. 　

During their lifetime, neither Qin Hui nor his wife were punished, in fact living out their days with a luxurious and influential life. Qin passed away peacefully in his mansion under the protection of the Jin. But later, during the Ming Dynasty, cast-iron statues of Qin, his wife and two subordinates were made in a kneeling posture and installed before Yue Fei’s tomb located by the West Lake in Hangzhou, where they can still be seen today. 　

Since his death, Yue Fei has been revered as a hero, evolving into the epitome of loyalty in Chinese culture. Today, people can still see his courage and vision in the poems and calligraphy works he left behind and feel just how much he sincerely wanted to recover his lands and save his people.