Yue Fei's Temple and His Tomb

Yuefei Temple

Yue Fei (1103–1142) was a famous generated in the Southern Song Dynasty. He led the army in the fight against the Jin invaders when Hangzhou was capital city of the country. He attempted to recover the lost territories and welcome back Emperors Hui and Qin who were kidnapped by the Jin invaders. Emperor Gaozong Zhao Gou together with his prime minister Qin Hui was a capitulationist and held peace talks with the invaders. They hated Yue Fei for his successive victories at the front. Yue Fei received ordinance to withdraw and was framed and killed in cold blood along with his son. Twenty-one years later, Xiaozong came to the throne, exonerated Yue Fei under pressure from public opinion and had him buried with ceremony. In 1221 a temple was built to honor Yue Fei, and was renovated altogether in 1979.

Yue Fei’s Temple is located at the foot of Qixia Ridge by the side of the West Lake. In the center of the main hall is the 4.54 meter-high statue of Yue Fei. Over the statue hangs a horizontal board inscribed with Yue Fei’s words:” RECOVER OUR LOST TERRITRIES”.

Yuefei Tomb

On the right side of the temple through a gate on adjacent grounds is Yue Fei’s tomb, once a cement dome, was rebuilt in 1979 in accordance with the Southern Song style with grass growing on top. On the left hand side of Yue Fei’s tomb is the tomb of his eldest son, Yue Yun.

Four iron statues are kneeling in front of the tomb. They are held responsible for framing and murdering Yue Fei and his son. A couplet on the gate reads:

“The green hills are fortunate to be the burial ground of a loyal general,
The white iron is unfortunate to be cast into the statues of traitors.”

In Qing Dynasty, an unlknown person wrote a couplet on a pair of wooden boards. The board hanging on Qin Hui’s neck reads:
“What a shame! I have lost my conscience. Would I have to come to such a bad end had I a good wife?”

The other one hanging on Qin’s wife’s neck reads: ” Bah! Although I am a gossipmonger, I would never be in such a position wothout this wicked husband of mine.”

The couplet depicts the two traitors’ disgraceful conduct, to the immense gratification of the average people.

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