General Yue Fei (岳飞) was a brave and patriotic warrior who had been the chief general of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). The General had led the battle against the Jin Dynasty; in which he emerged victorious. However, his victory was short-lived as he was wrongly accused of a treason charge on which he never commit and was sentenced to death.
His death was believed to be an act of betrayal and also of unjust reasons by the authorities, which was rectified 21 years when the Emperor Song Xiaozong was installed as the ruler of the country.
Returning General Yue Fei his reputation and his innocence reinstated, the Emperor ordered for proper burial and handling of the late general's remains which was laid to rest in this mausoleum erected in his honor.
The Mausoleum, besides being home to the brave General's tomb, is also the site of Yue Fei's Temple and the tomb of the General's son, Yue Yun.
In front of the tomb of the General were four bronze statues which were in kneeling forms, and with their hands bound behind their backs. These statues represent Qinhui, his wife Mrs Wang, Zhang Jun and Mo QiXie, who were the four people who betrayed and directly caused the death of the brave General.
The statues of them were erected there to condemn the wrong acts of these traitors and to remind the future generation not to follow in their footsteps.
There are also statues of dog, sheep and tiger before these statues, and I cannot remember what they represent.
Our tour guide had warned us against taking photos of the tomb and statues, well, for superstitious reasons, but I do wish I had gone against the instructions as I have found many photos of the mausoleum on the Internet.
Therefore, I do not have many photos of the mausoleum, except the gardens and paths surrounding the place.
Anyway, this is a place to commemorate the courage and noble deeds of a national hero and is a place of solemnity and contemplation to pay respect to the honorable General Yue Fei.
He is indeed, an honor to the nation, who, though met with a sad end, but will be remembered by the generations to come.
Extra links:
Absolute China Tours
Wikipedia
Travel China Guide
Warrior Tours
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