This article is about the Southern and Northern Dynasties in China. For the same-name period in other countries, see Northern and Southern Courts period (disambiguation).

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Southern and Northern Dynasties
Southern Dynasties
Country	Capital	Number of Rulers -Founding Emperor -Final Emperor	Founding Year Ending Year
Liu Song	Jiankang	8 Liu Yu Liu Zhun	420 AD 479 AD
Southern Qi	Jiankang	7 Xiao Daocheng Xiao Baorong	479 AD 502 AD
Liang	1.Jiankang 2.Jiangling	5 Xiao Yan Xiao Fangzhi	502 AD 557 AD
Chen	Jiankang	5 Chen Baxian Chen Shubao	557 AD 589 AD
Northern Dynasties
Country	Capital	Number of Rulers Founding Emperor Final Emperor	Founding Year Ending Year
Northern Wei	1.Shengle, near modern Hohhot 2.Pingcheng 3.Luoyang	17 Tuoba Gui Yuan Xiu	386 AD 534 AD
Eastern Wei	Ye	1 Yuan Shanjian Yuan Shanjian	534 AD 550 AD
Western Wei	Chang'an	3 Yuan Baoju Yuan Kuo	535 AD 557 AD
Northern Qi	Ye	6 Gao Yang Gao Heng	550 AD 577 AD
Northern Zhou	Chang'an	5 Yuwen Jue Yuwen Yan	557 AD 581 AD
Territory at the beginning: ■ Blue represents the territory of Northern Wei, ■ Yellow represents the territory of Liu Song.

Approximate territories of the Northern Wei (blue) and Liu Song (maroon) states in AD 440.

Northern and Southern Dynasties by AD 560.

The Southern and Northern Dynasties (Chinese: 南北朝; pinyin: Nánběicháo) was a period in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589 AD. Though an age of civil war and political chaos, it was also a time of flourishing arts and culture, advancement in technology, and the spreading of Mahayana Buddhism and Daoism. The period saw large-scale migration of Han Chinese people to the lands south of the Yangtze River.

During this period the process of sinicization accelerated among the non-Chinese arrivals in the north and among the aboriginal people in the south. This process was also accompanied by the increasing popularity of Buddhism (introduced into China in the 1st century AD) in both north and south China, along with Daoism gaining influence from the outline of Buddhist scriptures (with two essential Daoist canons written during this period). Although multiple story towers such as guard towers and residential apartments existed in previous periods,^[1] during this period the distinct Chinese pagoda tower (for storing Buddhist scriptures) evolved from the stupa, the latter originating from Buddhist traditions of protecting sutras in ancient India.

There were notable technological advances during this period. With the invention of the stirrup during the earlier Western Jin Dynasty, heavy cavalry became standard in combat. Advances in medicine, astronomy, mathematics, and cartography are also noted by historians. The famous Chinese mathematician and astronomer Zu Chongzhi (429–500 AD) belonged to this age, an intellectual and social product of the elite culture shaped and developed in southern China during this period of time.

Background[link]

After the collapse of a united China under the Han dynasty in 220 AD due in large part to the Yellow Turban and Five Pecks of Rice rebellions, China eventually coalesced into the Three Kingdoms. Of these Three Kingdoms, Cao Wei was the strongest followed by Eastern Wu and Shu Han, but they were initially in a relatively stable formation. After a 249 AD coup by Sima Yi, the Sima family essentially controlled Cao Wei and soon conquered Shu Han. Following a failed coup by the ruling Cao family against the Sima family, the final Cao ruler abdicated. Sima Yan then founded the Jin Dynasty and in 280 AD conquered Eastern Wu, ending the Three Kingdoms and uniting China again.

The Jin Dynasty was severely weakened after the War of the Eight Princes from 291 to 306 AD. During the reigns of Emperor Huai of Jin and Emperor Min of Jin, the country was put into grave danger with the uprising of the northern non-Han barbarians collectively known as Wu Hu. Invading barbarian armies almost destroyed the dynasty in the Disaster of Yongjia, which was the 311 AD sack of Luoyang . Chang'an met a similar fate in the year 316 AD. However, a scion of the royal house, the Prince of Langya (Sima Rui), fled south of the Huai River to salvage what was left in order to sustain the empire. Cementing their power in the south, the Jin established modern-day Nanjing (then called Jianye and renamed Jiankang) as their new capital, renaming the dynasty as the Eastern Jin (317–420 AD) since the new capital was located southeast of Luoyang. In the north, the barbarians established numerous kingdoms, leading to the period being known as the Sixteen Kingdoms. Eventually, the Northern Wei conquered the rest of the northern states in 386 AD. Although the Chinese of the Eastern Jin (and successive southern dynasties) were well-defended from the northern barbarians by placement of naval fleets along the Yangtze River, there were still various problems faced with building and maintaining military strength. The designation of specific households for military service in the Tuntian system eventually led to a falling out in their social status, causing widespread desertion of troops on many occasions. Faced with shortage of troop numbers, Jin generals were often sent on campaigns to capture non-Chinese tribesman in the south in order to draft them into the military. The Eastern Jin Dynasty fell not because of external invasion, though, but because the general Liu Yu seized the throne from Emperor Gong of Jin, becoming Emperor Wu of Liu Song (reigned 420–422 AD), starting the Southern and Northern Dynasties period.

The Southern Dynasties[link]

A scene of two horseback riders from a wall painting in the tomb of Lou Rui at Taiyuan, Shanxi, Northern Qi Dynasty (550–577)

The Jin were supplanted by the Liu Song (420–479 AD), the Southern Qi (479–502 AD), the Liang Dynasty (502–557 AD), and then the Chen Dynasty (557–589 AD). Because all of these dynasties had their capital at Jiankang (with the exception of Liang after they moved their capital), they are sometimes grouped together with Eastern Wu and Eastern Jin as the Six Dynasties. The rulers of these short-lived dynasties were generals who seized and then held power for several decades, but were unable to securely pass power of rule onto their heirs to continue their dynasty successfully. Emperor Wu of Liang (502–549 AD), however, was the most notable ruler of his age, being a patron of the arts and of Buddhism. Under the later waning leadership of the Chen Dynasty, the southern Chinese were unable to resist the military power amassed in the north by Yang Jian, who declared himself Emperor Wen of Sui and invaded the south to reunify China.

Liu Song (420–479 AD)[link]

Liu Song founder Liu Yu was originally a leader of the Army of the Northern Garrison (北府军) that notably won the Battle of Fei River in 383 AD. In 404 AD, he helped suppress Huan Xuan's rebellion, leading to his dominance over the Eastern Jin court. In order to gain popularity to take the throne, Liu Yu undertook two northern expeditions against the Sixteen Kingdoms, capturing Shandong, Henan, and briefly Guanzhong by 416 AD. He gave up Guanzhong to try to take the throne. Because he believed in a prophecy saying there would be one more emperor after Emperor An of Jin, he deposed Emperor An, and soon afterwards Emperor An's replacement, Emperor Gong of Jin in 420 AD, ending the Eastern Jin dynasty. Even after crowning himself Emperor Wu of Liu Song, he remained diligently frugal. However, he did not care for education and trusted unsavory people. He felt that the nobility (世族) had too much power, so he tended to appoint the lower classes (寒族) to government positions and gave military power to imperial kinsmen. Ironically, because the imperial kinsmen stabilized their military power and wished to gain political power, Emperor Wu was afraid they would have thoughts of usurping the throne. Thus, he frequently killed his kinsmen.

After the death of Emperor Wu, his son Emperor Shao of Liu Song ruled briefly before being judged incompetent and killed by government officials led by Xu Xianzhi, replacing him with Emperor Wen of Liu Song, another son of Emperor Wu. Those government officials were soon killed by Emperor Wen. Emperor Wen's reign was a period of relative political stability because of his frugality and good government; the period was called the Yuanjia administration (元嘉之治). In 430 AD, Emperor Wen started a number of northern expeditions against Northern Wei. These were ineffective because of insufficient preparations and excessive micromanagement of his generals, decreasing weakening the dynasty. Because of his jealousy of Tan Daoji, a noted leader of the Army of the Northern Garrison, he deprived himself of a formidable general to the great delight of the Northern Wei. Thus, they were unable to capitalize when Northern Wei suffered the Wuqi Incident. Starting in 445 AD, Northern Wei, taking advantage of Liu Song's weakness, made major incursions in the lands between the Yellow and Huai River (modern Shandong, Hebei, and Henan) and devastating six provinces. Emperor Wen lamented that if Tan were still alive, he would have prevented Northern Wei advances. From then on, Liu Song was in a weakened state.

Emperor Wen was assassinated by Crown Prince Shao and the second prince Jun in 453 after planning to punish them for consorting with witchcraft. However, they were both defeated by the third prince Jun (spelled with a different character than the aforementioned Jun), who become Emperor Xiaowu of Liu Song. Emperor Xiaowu proved to be licentious and cruel, supposedly committing incest with the daughters of an uncle who had helped him gain the throne; his rivals also claimed he had incest with his mother. This led to two rebellions by the imperial clan, one of which saw him slaughter the inhabitants of Guangling. The following ballad gives an idea of those times:

遥望建康城， Looking toward Jiankang city

小江逆流萦， the little river flows against the current

前见子杀父， in front, one sees sons killing fathers

后见弟杀兄。 and behind, one sees younger brothers killing older brothers ^a[›]

Emperor Xiaowu died naturally in 464 AD and was succeeded by his son, who became Emperor Qianfei of Liu Song. Emperor Qianfei proved to be similar to his father, engaging in both kin slaughter and incest. In a scandalous move, because his sister complained about how it was unfair that men were allowed 10,000 concubines, he gave her 30 handsome young men as lovers. His uncle Liu Yu, the Prince of Xiangdong, whom he called the "Prince of Pigs" for his obesity, eventually assassinated him and became Emperor Ming of Liu Song. Emperor Ming began his reign by killing all the descendants of Emperor Xiaowu, and his suspicious nature resulted in the loss of the provinces north of the Huai River, which were only briefly regained in the other Southern Dynasties. Emperor Ming's young son became Emperor Houfei of Liu Song. The political situation was volatile. The general Xiao Daocheng slowly gained power and eventually deposed Emperor Houfei in favor of his brother who became Emperor Shun of Liu Song. After defeating his rival general Shen Youzhi, Xiao forced Emperor Shun to yield to throne and crowned himself as Emperor Gao of Southern Qi, ending the Liu Song dynasty.

Southern Qi (479–502 AD)[link]

A map of the Southern Qi Dynasty and Northern Wei Dynasty (550–577)

Though distantly related, the Southern Qi and the following Liang dynasty were members of the Xiao (萧) family from Lanling (兰陵, in modern Cangshan County, Shandong). Because Emperor Gao had a low social standing, he earned the disdain of nobility. His style of governance was similar to the early style of the Liu Song dynasty and was very economical. He died in the fourth year of his reign and his heir, who was only 13 years younger than him, succeeded him as Emperor Wu of Southern Qi. Emperor Wu made peace with the Northern Wei, content to protect his borders. This period of peace was known as Yongming Administration (永明之治). He also used government secretaries (典签官) appointed with provincial governors and members of the imperial clan to monitor them.

The short reigns of Emperor Wu's grandsons, Xiao Zhaoye and Xiao Zhaowen (his first son predeceased him), were dominated by Xiao Luan, Emperor's Wu's first cousin. He killed them in turn and crowned himself as Emperor Ming of Southern Qi. Using the government secretaries (典签官), he slaughtered all the descendants of Emperors Gao and Wu. Emperor Ming soon became very ill and started following Daoism, changing his whole wardrobe to red. He also passed an edict making officials try to find silver fish (银鱼). He died in 498 AD and was succeeded by his son Xiao Baojuan, whose killed high officials and governors at his whim, sparking many revolts. The final revolt in 501 AD started after Xiao Baojun killed his prime minister Xiao Yi, leading his brother Xiao Yan to revolt under the banner of Xiao Baojun's brother who was declared Emperor He of Southern Qi. Xiao Baojun was killed by one of his general during the siege of his capital at Jiankang, and after a short puppet reign by Emperor He, Xiao Yan overthrew the Southern Qi and established the Liang dynasty.

Liang (502–557 AD)[link]

Emperor Wu was economical, worked hard at governing, and cared for the common people. His early reign was known as Tianjian Administration (天监之治). The Liang dynasty's military strength gradually surpassed the strength the Northern Wei, who suffered internal strife due to their policy of sinicization. In 503 AD, Norhtnern Wei invaded, but were defeated at Zhongli (modern Bengbu). He supported Northern Expeditions, but did not aggressively take advantage of his victory in 516 AD at Shouyang because of heavy casualties. Given the excessive kin-slaughter in the Liu Song and Southern Qi dynasties, Emperor Wu was very lenient to imperial clansmen, not even investigating them when they committed crimes. Because Emperor Wu was very learned, supported scholars, and encouraged the flourishing education system, the Liang dynasty reached a cultural peak. An avid poet, Emperor Wu was fond of gathering many literary talents at court, and even held poetry competitions with prizes of gold or silk for those considered the best.

Emperor Wu of Liang's portrait

However, in his later years, sycophants surrounded him and because of his belief in Buddhism, he dedicated his life (舍身) and tried to become a monk three times to Buddhism, but each time was persuaded to return by extravagant court donations to Buddhism. Furthermore, since Buddhists and Daoists were exempt from taxation, nearly half of the population fraudulently named themselves as such, badly damaging state finances. Imperial clansmen and officials were also greedy and wasteful.

Because Emperor Wu was willing to accept defected generals from Northern Wei, when Northern Wei suffered major revolts in their northern garrison towns, he sent his general Chen Qingzhi to support the pretender Yuan Hao. Despite the fact that Chen was only given 7,000 troops, Chen still managed to defeat army after army and even captured Luoyang, the capital of Northern Wei. Ultimately, Chen was not supplied enough and was defeated by troops ten times his size. After the splitting of Northern Wei into Eastern and Western Wei, Emperor Wu granted asylum to rebel Eastern Wei commander Hou Jing, sending him on Northern Expeditions against Eastern Wei. After some initial successes, Liang forces were decisively defeated. Rumors abounded that Emperor Wu intended to give Hou as a peace offering. Despite Emperor Wu's assurances, Hou decided to rebel in the name of Xiao Dong, the grandson of the former crown prince Xiao Tong who died in 531 AD and was removed from crown prince because of conflicts with his father. Hou surprised Emperor Liang by besieging the Liang capital at Jiankang. Attempts by Liang forces to break the siege failed, and Emperor Wu was forced to negotiate a ceasefire and peace. However, because Hou thought that since peace was not sustainable, he broke the ceasefire and captured the palace. The slaughter of the nearby populace occurred. Emperor Wu was starved to death and after the short puppet reigns of crown prince Xiao Gang and Xiao Dong, Hou seized power in his own hands and established the Han dynasty.

In spite of conquering Jiankang, Hou essentially only controlled the nearby areas. The rest of the Liang dynasty lands were under the control of members of the imperial clan. Their squabbling amongst themselves weakened their efforts to defeat Hou. In the end, Xiao Yi with the aid of his generals Wang Sengbian and Chen Baxian defeated Hou, crowning himself Emperor Yuan of Liang. His brother Xiao Ji based in Sichuan was still a major threat. Emperor Yuan asked for assistance from Western Wei to defeat Xiao Ji, but after subduing Xiao Ji, they kept Sichuan. Due to a diplomatic faux pas, he incited the anger of Yuwen Tai, the leading general of Western Wei, which resulted in him being deposed and his death. Western Wei set up the puppet state of Western Liang with capital at Jiangling. Northern Qi also had designs on the Liang throne, and sent an expedition under the banner of the a cousin of Emperor Yuan. Chen Baxian and Wang Sengbian set up the last surviving son of Emperor Yuan, Xiao Fangzhi, as Liang ruler, but he was not given the imperial title. After some defeats to the forces of Northern Qi, Wang Sengbian allowed their pretender, Xiao Yuanming to establish himself as Emperor Min of Liang. However, Chen Baxian was displeased with the arrangements, and in a surprise move killed Wang and deposed Emperor Min in favor of Xiao Fangzhi who became Emperor Jing of Liang. After a short reign, Chen deposed Emperor Jing and took power himself as Emperor Wu of Chen in 557 AD.

Chen (557–589 AD)[link]

Emperor Wu of Chen's portrait

A map of the Chen dynasty along with Northern Zhou, Northern Qi and Western Liang

Emperor Wu of Chen came from the region of Wu (a region near modern-day Shanghai). At that time, due to the Hou Jing rebellion, the Qiao and Wu clans were greatly weakened, and many places set up independent regimes. Because Emperor Wu had could not pacify all the independent regimes, he adopted conciliatory measures. After the sudden death of Emperor Wu, his nephew Chen Qian took power as Emperor Wen of Chen. After the fall of Liang, the general Wang Lin had established an independent kingdom based in modern day Hunan and Hubei provinces and was now starting to cause trouble. Wang Lin allied with Northern Wei and Northern Qi to take take conquer the Chen capital at Jiankang. Emperor Wen first defeated the combined forces of Northern Qi and Wang Lin before preventing the forces of Northern Wei from entering the South at Yueyang. Furthermore, through Emperor Wen's extensive efforts at good governance, the economic situation of the South was greatly improved, restoring his kingdom's national strength.

Following the death of Emperor Wen, his son, the weak-willed Chen Bozong, took power and became Emperor Fei of Chen. His uncle, Chen Xu, after essentially controlling the country through his short reign, eventually deposed him and took power as Emperor Xuan of Chen. At that time, the Northern Wei intended to conquer Northern Qi and thus invited the Chen dynasty to help. Emperor Xuan agreed to help because he wanted to recover the lost territories south of the Huai River. In 573 AD, he sent general Wu Mingche to assist the effort; in two years, he managed to recover he lost territories south of the Huai River. At the time, Northern Qi was in a precarious situation with little military strength and Emperor Xuan could have taken advantage of the opportunity to entirely defeat Northern Qi. However, he only wanted to protect his territories south of the Huai River. Northern Wei instead took advantage of Northern Qi's weakness and following their defeat of Northern Qi, in 577 AD, they sent troops to the territories south of the Huai River, where they decisively defeated the Chen dynasty forces. The Chen dynasty was in imminent danger.

In a stroke of fortune, Northern Wei's Emperor Wu suddenly died and his general Yang Jian attempted to take the throne. This stopped the southern advance of the Northern Troops. The respite was short though as after Yang Jian defeated his rival General Weichi Jiong, he usurped the throne from Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou and established the Sui Dynasty, crowning himself Emperor Wen of Sui. He proceeded to invade the south to reunify China. Emperor Xuan had just died and his son incompetent son Chen Shubao (Houzhu of Chen) took power. He was licentious and wasteful, resulting in chaos and corruption in the government; many of those government officials heavily exploited the people, causing great suffering. In planning tactics defeat the Chen dynasty, Emperor Wen of Sui took the suggestion of his general Gao Jiong and waited until the South were harvesting their crops to entirely burn the farmland, crippling the strength of the Chen dynasty. In 588 AD, Emperor Wen of Sui sent his son Yang Guang (who would become Emperor Yang of Sui) to finally vanquish the Chen dynasty. Chen Shubao relied on the natural barrier of the Yangtze River and continued as always with his festive and licentious activities. The next year, Sui forces captured the Chen capital of Jiankang. Chen Shubao and his favorite concubine Zhang Lihua attempted to hide in a well, but eventually were captured by Sui forces, thus ending the Chen dynasty.

The Northern Dynasties[link]

Northern Zhou Daoist stele made of limestone.

In the first half of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386–534 AD), the Xianbei steppe tribesmen who dominated northern China kept a policy of strict social distinction between them and their Chinese subjects. Chinese were drafted into the bureaucracy, employed as officials to collect taxes, etc. However, the Chinese were kept out of many higher positions of power. They also represented the minority of the populace where centers of power were located, such as the first Northern Wei capital at Pingcheng in modern-day northern Shanxi province.

Widespread social and cultural transformation in northern China came with Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei (reigned 471–499 AD), whose father was a Xianbei, but whose mother was Chinese. Although of the Tuoba Clan from the Xianbei tribe, Emperor Xiaowen asserted his dual Xianbei-Chinese identity, renaming his own clan after the Chinese Yuan (元 meaning "Elemental"). In the year 493 Emperor Xiaowen instituted a new sinification program that had the Xianbei elites conform to many Chinese standards. These social reforms included donning Chinese clothing (banning Xianbei clothing at court), learning the Chinese language (if under the age of thirty), applied one-character Chinese surnames to Xianbei families, and encouraged the clans of high-ranking Xianbei and Chinese families to intermarry. Emperor Xiaowen also moved the capital city from Pingcheng to one of China's old imperial sites, Luoyang, which had been the capital during the earlier Eastern Han and Western Jin dynasties. The new capital at Luoyang was revived and transformed, with roughly 150,000 Xianbei and other northern warriors moved from north to south to fill new ranks for the capital by the year 495. Within a couple decades, the population rose to about half a million residents, and was famed for being home to over a thousand Buddhist temples. Defectors from the south, such as Wang Su of the prestigious Langye Wang family, were largely accommodated and felt at home with the establishment of their own Wu quarter in Luoyang (this quarter of the city home to over three thousand families). They were even served tea (by this time gaining popularity in southern China) at court instead of yogurt drinks commonly found in the north.

Northern Wei Buddha Maitreya gilt-bronze figurine, 443 AD.

In the year 523, Prince Dongyang of the Northern Wei was sent to Dunhuang to serve as its governor for a term of fifteen years. With the religious force of Buddhism gaining mainstream acceptance in Chinese society, Prince Dongyang and local wealthy families set out to establish a monumental project in honor of Buddhism, carving and decorating Cave 285 of the Mogao Caves with beautiful statues and murals. This promotion of the arts would continue on for centuries at Dunhuang, and is now one of China's greatest tourist attractions.

A limestone statue of a bodhisattva, from the Northern Qi era

In that same year of 523 a revolt of several military garrisons was caused by a food shortage far north of Luoyang. After this was suppressed, the government had 200,000 surrendered garrison rebels deployed to Hebei, which proved later to be a mistake when a former garrison officer organized another rebellion in the years 526–527. The Wei court was betrayed by one of their own generals, who had the empress dowager and the young emperor thrown into the Yellow River, while establishing his own puppet ruler to maintain authority. As conflict swelled in the north between successive leaders, Gao Huan took control of the east and Luoyang (holding Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei as a puppet ruler) by 534, while his rival Yuwen Tai took control of the west and the traditional Chinese capital of Chang'an by 535. Eventually, Gao Huan's son Gao Yang forced the Eastern Wei emperor to abdicate in favor of his claim to the throne, establishing the Northern Qi Dynasty (551–577 AD). Afterwards, Yuwen Tai's son Yuwen Jue seized the throne of power from Emperor Gong of Western Wei, establishing the Northern Zhou Dynasty (557–580 AD). The Northern Zhou Dynasty was able to defeat and conquer Northern Qi in 577, reunifying the north. However, this success was short-lived, as the Northern Zhou was overthrown in 581 by Yang Jian, who became Emperor Wen of Sui. With greater military power and morale, along with convincing propaganda that the Chen Dynasty ruler Chen Shubao was a decadent ruler who had lost the Mandate of Heaven, the Sui Dynasty was able to effectively conquer the south. After this conquest, the whole of China entered a new golden age of reunification under the centralization of the short-lived Sui Dynasty and succeeding Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD).

Northern Wei (386–534 AD)[link]

Eastern Wei (534–550 AD)[link]

Western Wei (535–557 AD)[link]

Northern Qi (550–577 AD)[link]

Northern Zhou (557–581 AD)[link]

Culture[link]

Philosophy[link]

Confucianism's unchallenged domination of Chinese culture and thought was greatly weakened during the Jin Dynasty, which lead to a wide diversification of political thought and philosophy by the time of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. This era produced a myriad of writers that advocated practical systems of governance and administration, such as Cao Cao and Zhuge Liang in the Three Kingdoms Period, Wang Dao and Bao Jingyan of the Eastern Jin, as well as Fan Zhen, Xing Shao (Chinese: 邢邵), and Fan Xun (Chinese: 樊逊) of the Southern and Northern period. Much of the philosophy of the period is despondent and dispirited, and a number of scholars and poets became reclusive mountain hermits living apart from society.^[2] Of these various trends, the most influential was Neo-Daoism (Chinese: 玄学; pinyin: Xuánxué). Neo-Daoism was highly influential during the Southern Dynasty, to the point that Emperor Wen of Liu Song established a Neo-Daoist Academy and promoted it, along with Confucianism, literature, and history, as the four great subjects of study. A phenomenon known as "empty chat" (Chinese: 清谈; pinyin: Qīng tán) became common, where educated men would meet and talk about philosophy all day without paying any attention to "mundane" things such as their profession or family. The phenomenon gradually waned during the Sui Dynasty, though it did not fully disappear until the Tang Dynasty.^[3]

Literature[link]

Literature was particularly vibrant during the Southern Dynasty and tended to be flowery and frilly, while Northern Dynasty literature was rougher and more straightforward. Notable writers include Yu Xin, Xing Fang, Wei Shou, and Wen Zisheng of the Northern Dynasty. In the Southern Dynasty, a type of essay known as pian wen (Chinese: 骈文), which used metered rhyme, flowery language, and classical allusions, became popular. Writings often spoke of removing oneself from everyday material existence and jettisoning cares and anxiety.

Poets of the Southern and Northern Dynasties focused on imitating older classical poets of Ancient China, formalizing the rhyme patterns and meters that governed poem composition. However, scholars realized that ancient songs and poems, like those of the Shijing, in many instances no longer rhymed due to sound shifts over the previous centuries. The introduction of Buddhism to China, which began in the late Han Dynasty and continued through the Tang Dynasty, introduced Chinese scholars to Sanskrit and its highly organized phonological system. For the first known time, Chinese scholars began attempting to analyze and categorize the syllables and tones of their language and dialects. During this period, scholar Zhou Yi wrote the first known description of the four tones of early Middle Chinese.

Other[link]

Northern Wei wall murals and painted figurines from the Yungang Grottoes.

The southern dynasties of China were rich in cultural achievement, with the flourishing of Buddhism and Daoism; especially the latter as two new canons of scriptual writings were created for the Supreme Purity sect and its rival the Numinous Treasure Sect. The southern Chinese were influenced greatly by the writings of Buddhist monks such as Huiyuan, who applied familiar Daoist terms to describe Buddhism for other Chinese. The Chinese were in contact and influenced by cultures of India and trading partners farther south, such as the kingdoms of Funan and Champa (located in modern-day Cambodia and Vietnam). The Chinese arts of poetry, calligraphy, painting, and playing of music found greater precedent during this age, as their sophistication and complexity reached new heights. The earlier Cao Zhi, son of Cao Cao, is regarded as one of the greatest poets of his day. His style and deep emotional expression in writing influenced later poets of this new age, such as Tao Qian (365–427 AD) or Tao Yuanming. Even during his lifetime, the written calligraphy of the "Sage of Calligraphy", Wang Xizhi (307–365 AD), was prized by many and considered a true form of personal expression like other arts. In regards to painting, this art became highly prized with artists such as Gu Kaizhi (344–406 AD), who largely established the tradition of landscape art in classical Chinese painting (to learn more, refer to the "Far East" section of the article for Painting). Institutions of learning in the south were also renowned, including the Zongmingguan (Imperial Nanjing University), where the famed Zu Chongzhi (mentioned above) had studied. Zu Chongzhi devised the new Daming Calendar in 465 AD, calcuated one year as 365.24281481 days (which is very close to 365.24219878 days as we know today), and calculated the number of overlaps between sun and moon as 27.21223 (which is very close to 27.21222 as we know today). Using this number he successfully predicted 4 eclipses during a period of 23 years (from 436–459 AD).

Part of the scroll for Admonitions of the Instructress to the Palace Ladies, a Tang Dynasty duplication of the original by Gu Kaizhi.

Demographic Changes[link]

It was during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period that southern China (below the Yangtze River) was greatly developed from its previous state of early Chinese colonization and settlement. Beforehand, the south was inhabited by small and isolated communities of Chinese in a vast uncolonized wilderness of non-Chinese tribes, starting as a near peripheral frontier and changing into a thriving, urbanized, sinicized region of China. In his book Buddhism in Chinese History, Arthur F. Wright points out this fact by stating:

"When we speak of the area of the Yangtze valley and below in the period of disunion, we must banish from our minds the picture of the densely populated, intensively cultivated South China of recent centuries. When the aristocrats of the remnants of the Chin [Jin] ruling house fled to the Nanking [Nanjing] area early in the fourth century, the south contained perhaps a tenth of the population of China. There were centers of Chinese culture and administration, but around most of these lay vast uncolonized areas into which Chinese settlers were slow to move".^[4]

See also[link]

• Southern dynasties
• Northern dynasties
• Sui Dynasty
• Chinese sovereign
• List of tributaries of Imperial China
• Avars
• Buddhism
• Buddhism in China
• Empress Dowager Hu (Xiaoming)
• Yan Zhitui

Notes and Citations[link]

Notes[link]

^ a: The ballad rhymes in the original Middle Chinese.

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Graff, David A., Medieval Chinese Warfare, 300–900. ISBN 0-415-23954-0
• Ebrey, Walthall, & Palais (2006). East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
• Miller, Roy Andrew (1959): Accounts of Western Nations in the History of the Northern Chou Dynasty. University of California Press.
• Wright, Arthur F. (1959). Buddhism in Chinese History. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

External links[link]

• Period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties
• Early Imperial China: A Working Collection of Resources
• The Southern Dynasties Imperial Tombs in Danyang

The Northern Dynasties (北朝 běi cháo) included Northern Wei Dynasty, Eastern Wei Dynasty, Western Wei Dynasty, Northern Qi Dynasty, Northern Zhou Dynasty.

Also see Southern and Northern Dynasties.

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

See also[link]

• Chinese history
• Southern and Northern Dynasty
• Chinese sovereign

External links[link]

• History of China: A good catalogue of info

Statue of Yue Fei in the Yue Fei Temple, Hangzhou. The four Chinese characters on the plaque above the statue read huan wo he shan (simplified Chinese: 还我河山; traditional Chinese: 還我河山; pinyin: huán wǒ hé shān; literally "return my rivers and mountains"), or "return my territory".
Names (details)
Known in English as:	Yue Fei, Yueh Fei, Yo Fei, Yao Fei, Ngok Fei, Nawk Fai
Traditional Chinese:	岳飛
Simplified Chinese:	岳飞
Hanyu Pinyin:	Yuè Fēi
Wade-Giles:	Yüeh Fei
Gan:	Ngok5 Fi1
Cantonese:	Ngok[1] Fei[2]
Style name:	Pengju
Traditional Chinese:	鵬舉
Simplified Chinese:	鹏举
Hanyu Pinyin:	Péngjǔ
Wade-Giles:	P'eng-chü
Cantonese:	Paang4-geui2
Posthumous name(s):	Wumu, Zhongwu
Chinese:	武穆, 忠武
Hanyu Pinyin:	Wǔmù, Zhōngwǔ
Wade-Giles:	Wu-mu, Jung-wu
Cantonese:	Mou5-muk6, Jung1-mou5

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Yue Fei (March 24, 1103 – January 27, 1142), style name Pengju, was a military general during the era of the Southern Song Dynasty. His ancestral home was in Xiaoti, Yonghe Village, Tangyin, Xiangzhou, Henan (in present-day Tangyin County, Anyang, Henan). He is best known for leading the defense of Southern Song against invaders from the Jurchen-ruled Jin Dynasty in northern China, before being put to death by the Southern Song government.^[2] He was granted the posthumous name of Wumu by Emperor Xiaozong in 1169, and later granted the posthumous title of Prince of E (鄂王) by Emperor Ningzong in 1211. Widely seen as a patriot and national hero in China, since after his death, Yue Fei has evolved into a standard epitome of loyalty in Chinese culture.

Yue Fei’s biographies[link]

Biography of Yue Fei[link]

Yue Fei

A biography of Yue Fei, the Eguo Jintuo Zubian (鄂國金佗稡编), was written 60 years after his death by his grandson, the poet and historian Yue Ke (岳柯) (1183-post 1240).^[3][4][5] 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 Toktoghan and others.^[6] Yue Fei's biography is found in the 365th chapter of the book and is numbered biography 124.^[7] Some later historians including Deng Guangming (1907–1998) now doubt the veracity of many of Yue Ke's claims about his ancestor.^[8]

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".^[9]

The Story of Yue Fei[link]

Yue Fei's second biography, a wuxia novel titled Shuo Yue Quanzhuan (simplified Chinese: 说岳全传; traditional Chinese: 說岳全傳; pinyin: Shuō Yuè Quán Zhuàn; literally "Telling the Complete Biography of Yue Fei", was written by Qian Cai (錢彩), who lived sometime during the reigns of the Kangxi and Yongzheng (1661–1735) emperors of the Qing Dynasty.^[10] A dating symbol in its preface points either to the year 1684 or to 1744.^[1] It was banned during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. There are two main versions of this novel in existence. The original one had 80 chapters. There was an illustrated edition of this version published in 1912.^[11] The other version also had 80 chapters and was published during the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor (1861–1875). Starting in 1964 and finishing in 1995, Sir Yang Ti-liang, former Chief Justice of Hong Kong, current Chairman of the Hong Kong Red Cross, combined the first chapters of these works (in an attempt to weed out the overabundance of supernatural elements) to create a 79 chapter version with 961 pages, which he translated into English. It is currently sold under the title General Yue Fei (ISBN 978-962-04-1279-0).

Some people mistakenly take this novel to be historical fact when it is purely fiction.^[12] According to Sir Yang Ti-liang's introduction to his translation:

The work is a historical novel in form, but it is in fact based almost mainly on legends which were current amongst the common people for centuries. Indeed some of the events described there are nothing more than Qian Cai's own imagination.^[10]

Chronicle of Yue, Prince of E of Song[link]

The Song Yue E Wang Nianpu (simplified Chinese: 宋岳鄂王年谱; traditional Chinese: 宋岳鄂王年譜; pinyin: Sòng Yuè È Wáng Niánpǔ; literally "Chronicle of Yue, Prince of E of Song") was written by Qian Ruwen (钱汝雯) in 1924.^[11]

Birth and early life[link]

Several sources state that Yue was born into a poor tenant farmer's family in Tangyin County, Anyang prefecture, Henan province.^{[7][10][13][14]} According to the Shuo Yue Quanzhuan, the immortal Chen Tuan, disguised as a wandering priest, warned Yue Fei's father, Yue He (岳和), to put his wife and child inside a clay jar if the infant Yue Fei began to cry. A few days later, a young child squeezed Yue Fei's hand too hard and he began to cry. Soon, it began to rain and the Yellow River flooded, wiping out the village. Yue Fei's father held onto the clay jar as it was swept down the river, but eventually drowned. Although the much older Biography of Yue Fei also mentions the flood, it states Yue Huo survived. It reads,

After [the death of his teacher Zhou Tong], [Yue Fei] 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?" (侗死，溯望設祭于其冢。父義之，曰：“汝為時用，其徇國死義乎。)^[6][7]

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.^[6] 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.^[15] 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.^[16] 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.^[6]

Zhou Tong teaching Yue Fei archery.

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 (王明) 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 (王贵), Tang Huai (湯懷) and Zhang Xian (張顯) - 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 (李春), 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 (蔡桂), 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.^[10]

The Yue Fei Biography states,

When [Yue] was born, a Peng flew crowing over the house, so his father named the child Fei [(飛 - "flight")]. Before [Yue] 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, [Yue Fei] was studious, and particularly favored the Zuo Zhuan edition of the Spring and Autumn Annals and the strategies of Sun Tzu and Wu Qi. (飛生時，有大禽若鵠，飛鳴室上，因以為名。未彌月，河決內黃，水暴至，母姚抱飛坐瓮中，衝濤及岸得免，人異之。-- 家貧力學，尤好【左氏春秋】、孫吳兵法。)^[7]

According to a book by martial arts master Liang Shouyu, "[A] Dapeng is a great bird that lived in ancient China. Legend has it, that Dapeng 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."^[17]

Martial training[link]

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. [Yue Fei] learned archery from Zhou Tong. He learned everything and could fire with his left and right hands."^[7][18] 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 Chronicle of Yue, Prince of E of Song) says he studied the bow and military tactics under Zhou Tong and the spear under the spear master Chen Guang (陳廣). Before he was an adult, Yue could draw a bow of 300 catties and a crossbow of eight stones and could fire a bow with either his left or right hand.^[11][17][19] The E Wang Shi records, "When Yue Fei reached adulthood, his maternal grandfather, Yao Daweng (姚大翁), hired a spear expert, Chen Guang, to teach Yue Fei spear fighting."^[20][21]

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 (Chinese: 及冠; pinyin: jí guàn; literally "conferring headdress"), 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.^[22][23] So he gained all of his martial arts knowledge by the time he joined the army at the age of 19.^[7][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 (峨嵋大鵬氣功) style. This is supposedly the source of his legendary strength and martial arts abilities.^[13][17] According to thirteenth generation lineage Tai He ("Great Harmony") Wudangquan master Fan Keping (范克平), a collector of rare martial arts manuals,^[24] Zhou Tong was a master of various "hard qigong" exercises.^[25][26]

Yue Fei's mother writes jin zhong bao guo on his back, as depicted in a "Suzhou style" beam decoration at the Summer Palace, Beijing.

Yue Fei's tattoo[link]

According to historical records and legend, Yue had the four Chinese characters jin zhong bao guo (simplified Chinese: 尽忠报国; traditional Chinese: 盡忠報國; pinyin: jìn zhōng bào guó; literally "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 brush-stroke characters of "serve the country with the utmost loyalty" on his back. This proved that he was clearly innocent of the charges. (飛裂裳以背示鑄，有“盡忠報國”四大字，深入膚理。既而閱實無左驗，鑄明其無辜。)^[7]

It does not comment when and who gave him the tattoo, though. 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 (大宋中興岳王傳) 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.^[27]

The common legend of Yue receiving the tattoo from his mother first appeared in Shuo Yue Quanzhuan. In chapter 21 titled "By a pretext Wang Zuo swore brotherhood, by tattoos Lady Yue instructed her son", Yue denounces the pirate chief Yang Yao (杨幺) and passes on a chance to become a general in his army. Yue Fei's mother then tells her son, "I, your mother, saw that you did not accept recruitment of the rebellious traitor, and that you willingly endure poverty and are not tempted by wealth and status ... But I fear that after my death, there may be some unworthy creature who will entice you ... For these reason ... I want to tattoo on your back the four characters 'Utmost', 'Loyalty', 'Serve' and 'Nation' ... The Lady picked up the brush and wrote out on his spine the four characters for 'serving the nation with the utmost loyalty' ... [So] she bit her teeth, and started pricking. Having finished, she painted the characters with ink mixed with vinegar so that the colour would never fade."^[10]

The Kaifeng Jews, one of many pockets of Chinese Jews living in ancient China, refer to this tattoo in two of their three stele monuments created in 1489, 1512, and 1663. The first mention appeared in a section of the 1489 stele referring to the Jews' "Boundless loyalty to the country and Prince."^[28] The second appeared in a section of the 1512 stele about how Jewish soldiers and officers in the Chinese armies were "boundlessly loyal to the country."^[29]

Adult life[link]

Portrait[link]

The "Four Generals of Zhongxing" painted by Liu Songnian during the Southern Song Dynasty. Yue Fei is the second person from the left.

Southern Song era artist Liu Songnian (劉松年) (1174–1224), who was best known for his realistic works, painted a picture, "Four Generals of Zhongxing" (中興四將).^[30] The group portrait shows eight people — four generals and four attendants. Starting from the left: attendant, Yue Fei, attendant, Zhang Jun (張浚), Han Shizhong (韓世忠), attendant, Liu Guangshi (劉光世), and attendant.^[31]

According to history professor He Zongli of Zhejiang University, the painting shows Yue was more of a scholarly-looking general with a shorter stature and chubbier build than the statue of him currently displayed in his tomb in Hangzhou, which portrays him as being tall and skinny. Shen Lixin, an official with the Yue Fei Temple Administration, holds the portrait of Yue Fei from the "Four Generals of Zhongxing" to be the most accurate likeness of the general in existence.^[32]

Character[link]

Calligraphy written by Yue Fei

In his From Myth to Myth: The Case of Yüeh Fei's Biography, noted Sinologist Hellmut Wilhelm^[33] concluded that Yue Fei purposely patterned his life after famous Chinese heroes from dynasties past and that this ultimately led to his martyrdom.^[6] Apart from studying literature under his father Yue He (岳和), Yue Fei loved to read military classics. He favored the Zuo Zhuan commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals and the strategies of Sun Tzu and Wu Qi. Although his literacy afforded him the chance to become a scholar, which was a position held in much higher regard than the common soldiery during the Song Dynasty, Yue chose the military path because there had never been any tradition of civil service in his family. Therefore he had no reason to study Confucian classics in order to surpass the accomplishments of his ancestors or to raise his family's social status to the next level. His fourth generation ancestor, Yue Huan (岳渙), had served as a lingshi (令使) (essentially a low-level functionary),^[34] but he was never a full-fledged member of the civil service rank.^[35] A second theory is that he joined the military in the hopes of emulating his favorite heroes.^[6]

Scholars were always welcome in Yue Fei's camp. He allowed them to come and tell stories and deeds of past heroes to bolster the resolve of his men. This way he was able to teach them about the warriors that he had constructed his own life after. He also hoped that one of these scholars would record his own deeds so he would become a peer amongst his idols. He is recorded in saying that he wished to be considered the equal of Guan Yu and other such famous men from the Three Kingdoms period. Yue succeeded in this endeavor since later "official mythology" placed him on the same level as Guan Yu.^[6]

Yue was careful to conduct himself as the ideal Confucian gentleman at all times for fear that any misconduct would be recorded and criticized by people of later dynasties. However he had his faults. He had a problem with alcohol during the early part of his military career. Yue drank in great excess because he believed it fitted the image of heroes of old. However once he nearly killed a colleague in a drunken rage, the emperor made him promise not to drink any more until the Jurchen invaders had been driven away.^[6]

Family[link]

Yue Yun (岳雲), Yue Fei's eldest son

According to Shuo Yue Quanzhuan, Yue had five sons and one daughter. The History of Song records that Yue Yun (岳雲) (1119–1142) was adopted by Yue Fei at the age of 12^[36] whilst others claim he was his biological son;^[21] Yue Lei (岳雷), the second, succeeded to his father's post; Yue Ting (岳霆) was the third; Yue Lin (岳霖) was the fourth; and Yue Zhen (岳震), the fifth, was still young at the time of his father's death. Yue Yinping was Yue Fei's daughter. The novel states she committed suicide after her father's death and became a fairy in heaven. However, history books do not mention her name and therefore she should be considered a fictional character.^[21] Yue Fei married the daughter of Magistrate Li when he was 16 years old (1119).^[10] However, the account of his marriage is fictional.^[21]

The Biography of Yue Fei states that Yue left his ailing mother with his first wife while he went to fight the Jin armies. However she "left him (and his mother) and remarried."^[6] He later took a second wife and even discussed "affairs" pertaining to his military career with her. He truly loved her, but his affection for her was second to his desire to rid China of the Jurchen invaders. Her faithfulness to him and his mother was strengthened by the fear that any infidelity or lacking in her care of Lady Yue would result in reprisal.^[6]

Yue forbade his sons from having concubines, which he almost took one himself. Even though she was presented by a friend, he did not accept her because she laughed when he asked her if she could "share the hardships of camp life" with him.^[6] He knew she was liberal and would have sex with the other soldiers.^[6]

Though not mentioned in the memoir written by Yue Fei's grandson, some scholarly sources claim Yue had a younger brother named Yue Fan (岳翻). He later served in the army under his brother and died in battle in 1132.^[21]

Military record[link]

This article needs attention from an expert on the subject. Please add a reason or a talk parameter to this template to explain the issue with the article. WikiProject China may be able to help recruit an expert. (November 2008)

A northern Chinese from a humble background, he participated in the Song Dynasty's attempt in 1122 to capture the 16 prefectures lost to the Jin Dynasty, and defended Kaifeng after the Jin armies withdrew in 1127. Yue moved south with other loyalist forces in 1129, and took an active part in during the Jin advance back across the Yangtze River that year. He continued to advance in rank, and to increase the size of his army as he repeatedly led successful offensives into northern China and suppressed rebellions within Song territory. Several other generals were also successful against the Jin Dynasty, and their combined efforts secured the survival of the Song Dynasty. Yue, like most of them, was committed to recapturing northern China.

Stone Lake: The Poetry of Fan Chengda 1126-1193 states, "...Yue Fei ([1103]-1141)...repelled the enemy assaults in 1133 and 1134, until in 1135 the now confident Song army was in a position to recover all of north China from the Jin Dynasty ... [In 1140,] Yue Fei initiated a general counterattack against the Jin armies, defeating one enemy after another until he set up camp within range of the Northern Song Dynasty's old capital city, Kaifeng, in preparation for the final assault against the enemy. Yet in the same year Qin [Hui] ordered Yue Fei to abandon his campaign, and in 1141 Yue Fei was summoned back to the Southern Song capital. It is believed that the emperor then ordered Yue Fei to be hanged."^[37]

Battle of Zhuxianzhen near Kaifeng in Henan where Yue Fei defeated the Jin army in 1140. Painting on the Long Corridor of the Summer Palace in Beijing.

Six methods for deploying an army[link]

Yue Ke (岳珂) states his grandfather had six special methods for deploying an army effectively:

Careful selection

He relied more on small numbers of well-trained soldiers than he did large masses of the poorly-trained variety. In this way, one superior soldier counted for as much as one hundred inferior soldiers. One example used to illustrate this was when the armies of Han Ching and Wu Xu were transferred into Yue's camp. Most of them had never seen battle and were generally too old or unhealthy for sustaining prolonged troop movement and engagement of the enemy. Once Yue had filtered out the weak soldiers and sent them home, he was only left with a meager thousand able-bodied soldiers. However, after some months of intense training, they were ready to perform almost as well as the soldiers who had served under Yue for years.^[6]

Careful training

When his troops were not on military campaigns to win back lost Chinese territory in the north, Yue put his men through intense training. Apart from troop movement and weapons drills, this training also involved them leaping over walls and crawling through moats in full battle garb. The intensity of the training was such that the men would not even try to visit their families if they passed by their homes while on movement and even trained on their days off.^[6]

Justice in rewards and punishments

He rewarded his men for their merits and punished them for their boasting or lack of training. Yue once gave a foot soldier his own personal belt, silver dinner ware, and a promotion for his meritorious deeds in battle. While on the reverse, he once ordered his son Yue Yun to be decapitated for falling off his horse after failing to jump a moat. His son was only saved after Yue's officers begged his mercy. There were a number of soldiers that were either dismissed or executed because they boasted of their skills or failed to follow orders.^[6]

Clear orders

He always delivered his orders in a simple manner that was easy for all of his soldiers to understand. Whoever failed to follow them were severely punished.^[6]

Strict discipline

While marching about the countryside, he never let his troops destroy fields or to pillage towns or villages. He made them pay a fair price for goods and made sure crops remained intact. A soldier once stole a hemp rope from a peasant so he could tie a bale of hay with it. When Yue discovered this, he questioned the soldier and had him executed.^[6]

Close fellowship with his men

He treated all of his men like equals. He ate the same food as they did and slept out in the open as they did. Even when a temporary shelter was erected for him, he made sure several soldiers could find room to sleep inside before he found a spot of his own. When there was not enough wine to go around, he would dilute it with water so every soldier would have a cup to drink from.^[6]

Death[link]

Front entrance to Yue Fei's tomb in Hangzhou (30°15′15.03″N 120°7′48.64″E / 30.254175°N 120.1301778°E / 30.254175; 120.1301778).

Imperial Order to General Yue Fei (賜岳飛手勅), Emperor Gaozong of Song, National Palace Museum, Taipei

In 1126, several years before Yue became a general, the Jurchen-ruled Jin Dynasty invaded northern China, forcing the Song Dynasty out of its capital Kaifeng and capturing Emperor Qinzong of Song, who was sent into captivity in Manchuria. This marked the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, and the beginning of the Southern Song Dynasty under Emperor Gaozong.

Yue fought a long campaign against the invading Jurchens in an effort to retake northern China. Just when he was threatening to attack and retake Kaifeng, corrupt officials advised Emperor Gaozong to recall Yue to the capital and sue for peace with the Jurchens. Fearing that a defeat at Kaifeng might cause the Jurchens to release Emperor Qinzong, threatening his claim to the throne, Emperor Gaozong followed their advice, sending 12 orders in the form of 12 gold plaques to Yue Fei, recalling him back to the capital. Knowing that a success at Kaifeng could lead to internal strife, Yue submitted to the emperor's orders and returned to the capital, where he was imprisoned and where Qin Hui would eventually arrange for him to be executed on false charges.^[10]

There are conflicting views on how Yue died. According to The History of China: (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations) and other sources, Yue died in prison.^[13][38] The Chronicle of Yue, Prince of E of Song says he was killed in prison.^[7] Shuo Yue Quanzhuan states he was strangled to death. It reads, "...[Yue Fei] strode in long steps to the Pavilion of Winds and Waves ... The warders on both sides picked up the ropes and strangled the three men [Yue Fei, Yue Yun, and Zhang Xian (張憲), Yue's subordinate] without further ado ... At the time Lord Yue was 39 years of age and the young lord Yue Yun 23. When the three men returned to Heaven, suddenly a fierce wind rose up wildly and all the fires and lights were extinguished. Black mists filled the sky and sand and pebbles were blown about."^[10]

The Secrets of Eagle Claw Kung Fu: Ying Jow Pai comments, "Finally, [Yue Fei] received the 'Twelfth Golden Edict' [from the emperor calling him back to the capital], which if ignored meant banishment. Patriotism demanded that he obey. On his way back to the capital he stopped to rest at a pavilion. Qin Hui anticipated Yue Fei's route and sent some men to lie in wait. When Yue Fei arrived, Qin's men ambushed and murdered him. Just 39 years old, Yue Fei like many good men in history, had a swift, brilliant career, then died brutally while still young."^[39]

According to A Chinese Biographical Dictionary, "[Father and son] had not been two months in confinement when Qin Hui resolved to rid himself of his enemy. He wrote out with his own hand an order for the execution of Yue Fei, which was forthwith carried into effect; whereupon he immediate reported that Yue Fei had died in prison."^[14] Meaning he had Yue and his son executed but reported they both died while in captivity.

Other sources say he was poisoned to death.^[40][41] Still, a great deal simply say he was executed, murdered, or "treacherously assassinated".^[42][43][44]

Kneeling Iron Statues[link]

Statues of Lady Wang (秦王氏) and Qin Hui (秦檜) at the Yue Fei Temple, Hangzhou

Statues of Moqi Xie (万俟卨) and Zhang Jun (張俊) at the Yue Fei Temple, Hangzhou

Shuo Yue Quanzhuan states after having Yue Fei, Yue Yun, Zhang Xian arrested under false charges, Qin Hui and his wife, Lady Wang (王氏), were sitting by the "eastern window", warming themselves by the fire, when he received a letter from the people calling for the release of Yue Fei. Qin was worried because after nearly two months of torture, he could not get Yue to admit to treason and would eventually have to let him go. However, after a servant girl brought fresh oranges into the room, Lady Wang devised a plan to execute Yue. She told Qin to slip an execution notice inside the skin of an orange and send it to the judge presiding over Yue's case. This way, Yue and his companions would be put to death before the emperor or Qin himself would have to rescind an open order of execution.^[10] This conspiracy became known as the "East Window Plot".^[45] A novel about this incident, titled Dong Chuang Ji (東窗記; "Tale of the Eastern Window"), was written during the Ming Dynasty by an anonymous writer.^[46]

When asked by Han Shizhong on what crime Yue had committed, Qin Hui replied, "Though it isn't sure whether there is something that he did to betray the dynasty, maybe there is." The phrase "perhaps there is" or "could be true" (Chinese: 莫須有; pinyin: mò xū yǒu, often mistranslated from Ancient to Contemporary Chinese as "you committed no crime") has entered the Chinese dictionary as an expression to refer to fabricated charges.^[47] For their part in Yue's death, iron statues of Qin Hui, Lady Wang, and two of Qin's subordinates, Moqi Xie (萬俟軼) and Zhang Jun (張俊), were made to kneel before Yue Fei's tomb (located by the West Lake, Hangzhou). For centuries, these statues have been cursed, spat and urinated upon by people. The original castings in bronze were damaged, but later were replaced by images cast in iron, but these were similarly damaged. However now, in modern times, these statues are protected as historical relics.^[48]

There is a poem hanging on the gate surrounding the statues that reads, "The green hill is fortunate to be the burial ground of a loyal general, the white iron was innocent to be cast into the statues of traitors."^[49]

According to one source, "In 1162 Emperor Xiaozong of Song restored his honours, and gave proper burial to his remains. A [tomb] was put up in his memory, and he was designated Zhongwu (忠武; "Loyal and Martial"). In 1179 he was canonized as Wumu (武穆)."^[14]

According to the novel Xi You Bu, a satire of Journey to the West, written in 1641 by the scholar Dong Ruoyu (also known as Dong Yue, 1620–1686), the Monkey King enthusiastically serves in hell as the trial prosecutor of Qin Hui. At one point, the Monkey King asks the spirit of Yue Fei if he would like to drink Qin's blood.^[46]

Talents[link]

Martial arts[link]

The two styles most associated with Yue are Eagle Claw and Xingyi boxing. One book states Yue created Eagle Claw for his enlisted soldiers and Xingyi for his officers.^[50] Legend has it that Yue studied in Shaolin Monastery with a monk named Zhou Tong and learned the "elephant" style of boxing, a set of hand techniques with great emphasis on qinna (joint-locking).^[39][51][52] Other tales say he learned this style elsewhere outside the temple under the same master.^[13] Yue eventually expanded elephant style to create the Yibai Lingba Qinna (一百零八擒拿 - "108 Locking Hand Techniques") of the Ying Sao (Eagle Hands) or Ying Kuen (Eagle Fist).^[39] After becoming a general in the imperial army, Yue taught this style to his men and they were very successful in battle against the armies of the Jin Dynasty.^[13] Following his wrongful execution and the disbandment of his armies, Yue's men supposedly traveled all over China spreading the style, which eventually ended right back in Shaolin where it began. Later, a monk named Li Quan (麗泉) combined this style with Fanziquan, another style attributed to Yue, to create the modern day form of Northern Ying Jow Pai boxing.^[39][53]

According to legend, Yue combined his knowledge of internal martial arts and spearplay learned from Zhou Tong (in Shaolin) to create the linear fist attacks of Xingyi boxing.^[13][54] One book claims he studied and synthesized Buddhism's Tendon Changing and Marrow Washing qigong systems to create Xingyi.^[55] On the contrary, proponents of Wudangquan believe it is possible that Yue learned the style in the Wudang Mountains that border his home province of Henan. The reasons they cite for this conclusion are that he supposedly lived around the same time and place as Zhang Sanfeng, the founder of t'ai chi; Xingyi's five fist attacks, which are based on the Five Chinese Elements theory, are similar to tai-chi's "Yin-yang theory"; and both theories are Taoist-based and not Buddhist.^[56] The book Henan Orthodox Xingyi Quan, written by Pei Xirong (裴锡荣) and Li Ying'ang (李英昂), states Xingyi master Dai Longbang

...wrote the 'Preface to Six Harmonies Boxing' in the 15th reign year of the Qianlong Emperor [1750]. Inside it says, '...when [Yue Fei] was a child, he received special instructions from Zhou Tong. He became extremely skilled in the spear method. He used the spear to create methods for the fist. He established a method called Yi Quan [意拳]. Mysterious and unfathomable, followers of old did not have these skills. Throughout the Jin, Yuan and Ming dynasties few had his art. Only Ji Gong had it. (于乾隆十五年为“六合拳”作序云：“岳飞当童子时，受业于周侗师，精通枪法，以枪为拳，立法以教将佐，名曰意拳，神妙莫测，盖从古未有之技也。)^[57][58]

Inside the grounds of Yue Fei's tomb and shrine in Hangzhou; the inscriptions at the far end read "Serve the country with the utmost loyalty".

The Ji Gong mentioned above, better known as Ji Jike (姬際可) or Ji Longfeng (姬隆丰), is said to have trained in Shaolin Monastery for ten years as a young man and was matchless with the spear.^[54] As the story goes, he later traveled to Xongju Cave on Mount Zhongnan to receive a boxing manual written by Yue Fei, from which he learned Xingyi. However, some believe Ji actually created the style himself and attributed it to Yue Fei because he was fighting the Manchus, descendants of the Jurchens who Yue had struggled against.^[59] Ji supposedly created it after watching a battle between an eagle and a bear during the Ming Dynasty.^[60] Other sources say he created it while training in Shaolin. He was reading a book and looked up to see two roosters fighting, which inspired him to imitate the fighting styles of animals.^[54][61][62] Both versions of the story (eagle / bear and roosters) state he continued to study the actions of animals and eventually increased the cadre of animal forms.^[54]

Several other martial arts have been attributed to Yue Fei, including Yuejiaquan (Yue Family Boxing), Fanziquan (Tumbling Boxing), and Chuojiao quan (Feet-Poking Boxing), among others.^[63][64][65] The "Fanzi Boxing Ballad" says: "Wumu has passed down the Fanziquan which has mystery in its straightforward movements." Wumu (武穆) was a posthumous name given to Yue after his death.^[14] One Chuojiao legend states Zhou Tong learned the style from its creator, a wandering Taoist named Deng Liang (鄧良), and later passed it onto Yue Fei, who is considered to be the progenitor of the style.^[63][66]

Besides martial arts, Yue is also said to have studied traditional Chinese medicine. He understood the essence of Hua Tuo's Wu Qin Xi (五禽戲 – "Five Animal Folics") and created his own form of "medical qigong’’ known as the Ba Duan Jin (八段錦 – "Eight Pieces of Brocade"). It is considered a form of Wai Dan (外丹 – "External Elixir") medical qigong.^[67] He taught this qigong to his soldiers to help keep their bodies strong and well-prepared for battle.^[68][69] One legend states that Zhou Tong took young Yue to meet a Buddhist hermit who taught him Emei Dapeng Qigong (峨嵋大鵬氣功). His training in Dapeng Qigong was the source of his great strength and martial arts abilities. Modern practitioners of this style say it was passed down by Yue.^[17]

Connection to Praying Mantis boxing[link]

According to Shuo Yue Quanzhuan, Lin Chong and Lu Junyi of the 108 outlaws in Water Margin were former students of Yue's teacher Zhou Tong.^[70] One legend states Zhou learned Chuojiao boxing from its originator Deng Liang (鄧良) and then passed it onto Yue Fei, who is sometimes considered the progenitor of the style.^[63] Chuojiao is also known as the "Water Margin Outlaw style" and Yuanyang Tui (鴛鴦腿 - "Mandarin Duck Leg").^[71] In chapter 29 of Water Margin, titled "Wu Song beats Jiang the Door God in a drunken stupor", it mentions Wu Song, another of Zhou's fictional students, using the "Jade Circle-Steps with Duck and Drake feet".^[72] A famous folklore Praying Mantis manuscript, which describes the fictional gathering of eighteen martial arts masters in Shaolin, lists Lin Chong (#13) as a master of "Mandarin ducks kicking technique".^[63] This creates a folklore connection between Yue and Mantis boxing.

Lineage Mantis master Yuen Man Kai openly claims Zhou Tong taught Lin Chong and Lu Junyi the "same school" of martial arts that was later combined with the aforementioned seventeen other schools to create Mantis fist.^[73] However, he believes Mantis fist was created during the Ming Dynasty, and was therefore influenced by these eighteen schools from the Song Dynasty. He also says Lu Junyi taught Yan Qing the same martial arts as he learned from Zhou Tong.^[74] Yuen further comments that Zhou Tong later taught Yue Fei the same martial art and that Yue was the originator of the mantis move "Black Tiger Steeling [sic] Heart".^[74]

Poetry[link]

At the age of 30, Yue supposedly wrote his most celebrated poem, "Man Jiang Hong" ("Entirely Red River"). This poem reflects the raw hatred he felt towards the Jurchen-ruled Jin Dynasty, as well as the sorrow he felt when his efforts to recoup northern lands lost to Jin were halted by Southern Song officials of the "Peace Faction". However, several modern historians, including Princeton University Prof. James T.C. Liu, believe certain phrasing in the poem dates its creation to the early 16th century, meaning Yue did not write it.^[75]

Posterity[link]

Among the Yue Fei's descendants there was Yue Zhongqi zh:岳钟琪, the minister of defence (兵部尚書, Bingbu Shangshu) and general governor of Shanxi and Gansu province during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng.

Modern references[link]

A Republic of China propaganda poster. The four Chinese characters read huan wo he shan.

The ROCS Yueh Fei (FFG-1106), a Cheng Kung-class guided-missile frigate of the Republic of China Navy, is named after Yue.

See also[link]

Poetry portal

• Media about Yue Fei
• History of the Song Dynasty
• Yue Fei Temple
• Tomb of Yue Fei

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Yue Fei

• (Chinese) "History of the Song" Chinese Wikipedia entry
• (Chinese) 470 volume version of the "History of the Song"
• (Chinese) "The Story of Yue Fei"
• (Chinese) "Yue Fei's Biography" from the History of the Song
• Works by Yue Fei at Project Gutenberg
• "精忠报国 Utmost Loyalty to the Country", a famous chinese song related to Yue Fei

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