岳飞 Yuè Fēi (1103-1142)—中国历史人物英文介绍

岳飞YuèFēi (1103-1142)

A Peerless General and National Hero Chinese people believe that eventful times usually would bring forth heroes. It's certainly true when the Jurchen-ruled Jin Dynasty invaded thenorthern territory of China in the early years of the last millennium.

The invasion had not only marked the end of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) and the beginning of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279),but also generated Yue Fei, a great patriotic general and national hero.

Yue Fei was born to a farmer's family in Tangyin of today's Henan Province. According to legends, when he was born, a large, sacred bird descendedon the roof of his parents' house. Therefore, his father gave the newly born baby the given name Fei, meaning "to fly" or "flight." It also implied thebaby would achieve great things when he grew up.

As a child, Yue loved military classics and practiced all types of martial arts. Later, he became extremely skilled in archery, boxing and spear-fighting,thanks to training from famous masters such as Zhou Tong and Chen Guang.

Yue first joined the army when he was 19. He quit soon after and returned to his home because his father had died. According to the local custom, onehad to resign and observe a three-year mourning ritual when a parent died. However, he had to cut short his bereavement because he was called back to the army after the Jin Dynasty invaded the northern territory of thecountry in 1125.

Before leaving, Yue's mother tattooed four Chinese characters Jing Zhong Bao Guo, meaning "Serve the Country with Utmost Loyalty," on his back. Itbecame his motto for the rest of his life. According to history books, Yue fought 126 battles as a military leader and won them all. He launched dozens of successful offensives into the territoryoccupied by the Jin Dynasty and also quelled a number of rebellions in areas controlled by the Song Dynasty. His military success ensured the survivalof the Southern Song regime.

But, most of Yue's achievements had come to no avail because of fierce internal political strife in the imperial court.

In 1142, when Yue was ready to launch a decisive campaign to recapture the former capital of Song, the emperor, following the ill advice of Qin Hui, avenal official, ordered Yue to stop the offensive and summoned him back to the new capital.

The emperor was told that if Yue defeated the Jin army again, the Jin Dynasty could be forced to release his predecessor, whom they captured whenthey conquered the Northern Song, thus threatening his status as the incumbent ruler.

After Yue came to Hangzhou, the capital of the Southern Song, he was jailed and soon after, executed on false charges of treason. Yue was only 39.

It was not until more than 25 years later that Yue was