The Master of Demon Gorge: A Chinese History Podcast Loyalty onto Death: Yue Fei
Over the centuries, Chinese civilization has produced a number of figures who have entered the pantheon of national heroes. Perhaps none is more famous than Yue Fei (1103-42).
As the great defender of the Song Dynasty, Yue Fei repeatedly beat back the Jurchen or Jin invaders who swept down from the north. As a notable poet, he left Chinese literature with arguably its most resonant statement on patriotism.
Finally, Yue Fei is remembered as an embodiment of the Confucian virtue of undying fidelity. When corrupt Song courtiers conspired with the Jurchens and convinced the Song emperor that his greatest general intended treason, the emperor urgently recalled Yue Fei. Even knowing that the recall was the product of treachery and that to return was to accept execution, Yue Fei welcomed his fate, because his emperor willed it so.
In the centuries since, Yue Fei has secured an unshakeable place in the Chinese imagination as the paragon of patriotism and loyalty. The people have mythologized him as an epic hero, and in some temples they even worship him like a god. And his example has served as the template for heroes to come.