Yo Fei

Chinese military leader

• Born: 1103
• Birthplace: Tangyin, Henan Province, China
• Died: December 29, 1141
• Place of death: Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China

The Chinese general Yo Fei was killed in prison by members of his own government during a war against an external army. Since that time, he has been hailed as a symbol of patriotic resistance to foreign invaders.

Early Life

One of the exemplary heroes of Chinese civilization is Yo Fei (yoh fay), also known as Yue Fei. The many myths and legends surrounding his life make it difficult to see the real man, and not much is known of his early life. Modern biographers accept that his father, Yo He (Yo Ho), was a farmer of modest wealth. The family property was damaged by a flood when Yo Fei was an infant, and his mother narrowly escaped with her child by floating to safety in a large water jar.

Although he did not pursue a career in the civil service, Yo Fei was apparently well educated by his father in the literary, historical, and military classics. The discipline and dedication of the young student and devoted father can be seen in the formation of an impressive writing style, evidenced by the extant specimens of his calligraphy. In addition to his scholarly interests, the young Yo Fei had unusual physical strength and became highly skilled in archery, swordsmanship, and the use of the lance.

At age nineteen, Yo chose the military route to prominence when he volunteered to serve in a special force that sought to seize Beijing from the Khitan state (Liao Dynasty ; 907-1125) in the northeast. Although the campaign failed in its objective, Yo was impressed with the great city to the north and remained with his commander, Liu Jia (Liu Chia), in what amounted to police action on the frontier between their Song regions and the Khitan, a federation of nomadic Mongolian tribes. During this campaign, Yo demonstrated a remarkable military skill, which prompted many tales of courage and daring. Before the end of his nineteenth year, however, as a result of his father’s death, he returned home to attend to the needs of his mother and family. During the four years that he remained with his family, 1122-1126, one foreign invader replaced another in China. In 1123, the Jurchen from Manchuria overthrew the Khitan with some assistance from the Song. This move was soon recognized as an error, and the Song withdrew southward, establishing the Southern Song Dynasty (Sung; 1127-1279) and seeking to hold the area north of the Yangtze River to the Huai River. This action resulted in a fierce and extended war between the Song and the Jurchen and prompted Yo Fei’s return to military service.

Life’s Work

From his return to the field in 1126 until his death in 1141, Yo Fei occupied a prominent place in the military history of the Southern Song Dynasty. Personality conflicts among the ambitious officers complicated the command system, however, and for a brief period Yo moved out of the official army to become the commander of an independent army unit on the frontier. Eventually, he would return to the ranks and establish an army that enjoyed a wide and prestigious reputation for its spirit, discipline, and striking power. Under his leadership, his army was reported to have never suffered a defeat. According to his grandson, Yo built his army on the following principles: careful selection, careful training, justice in rewards and punishments, clear orders, strict discipline, and community of both pleasure and toil. Yo was widely known for sharing with his troops the fortunes and misfortunes of war. He slept where they slept, ate what they ate, and inflicted a fair but severe justice. On one occasion he sentenced his son to be decapitated for permitting his horse to stumble during military exercises. His son was spared only by the pleadings of the other generals.

Yo’s early education led him to welcome scholars and civilians to his various camps. He reportedly sought their advice and used them to relate tales of past military heroics to the troops. A portion of his spare time was spent in the writing of poetry and music, some of which survives as early symbols of Chinese nationalism and patriotism. His goal was a unified China under an emperor who would be a scholar, warrior, and statesman; undoubtedly, he saw himself in that role. With the confidence of success behind him, Yo went so far as to recommend to Emperor Gaozong (Kao-tsung; r. 1127-1162) that he seek to meet that ideal more effectively. From 1129 to 1134, Yo Fei’s army operated in the valley of the Yangtze River and on the frontier between the Southern Song Dynasty and the Jurchen, who were now identified as the Jin Dynasty (Chin; 1115-1234). This period was marked by Yo Fei’s struggles against independent military units similar to those he had previously commanded and by general frontier lawlessness. In 1134, Yo was named regional commandant and directed a number of major campaigns against the Jin and their Qi (Ch’i) buffer state, which had been established between themselves and the Southern Song. Here he achieved his greatest military reputation, directing large forces and coordinating with other armies to drive forcefully into northern China, his target being Beijing. The rallying cry of the campaign “Give us back our rivers and mountains!” came from one of his poems, an expression that remains symbolic as a cry of Chinese nationalism.

It may have been Yo’s great successes, however, that contributed to his downfall and death. The campaign of 1140 proved especially effective, with his army driving far north into Jin areas along the Yellow River. This invasion encouraged the Jin to establish negotiations with the government of the Southern Song, an opportunity that the latter seemed eager to pursue if for no other reason than to slow the successes of an ambitious and powerful general. While the army was in the field, a treaty was concluded that provided for the withdrawal of the Song army from the Jin areas in the north. Emperor Gaozong had decided on retrenchment rather than restoration. This decision may have been motivated by the fact that the Jin were holding the emperor’s older brother captive; should the army of Yo Fei have proven too successful, the emperor would probably have been forced to surrender his throne. The emperor used his chief councillor, Qin Gui (Ch’in Kuei), to negotiate a settlement with the Jin that effectively made the Southern Song a vassal state of the Jin. Yo had little choice except to withdraw or lose his command. The army pulled back but protested what was widely regarded as a traitorous peace. As a result of this protest, a number of leading generals, Yo Fei included, were removed from military command and relocated to civilian posts. Loyal subordinate officers objected to this action, and rumors of plots began to emerge, including one alleged plan by Yo’s principal lieutenant, Zhang Xian (Chang Hsien), and Yo’s son Yo Yun, which resulted in their arrest and public execution. Yo Fei was himself soon identified as having been a party to the rumored plot and was imprisoned. On December 29, 1141, he was murdered.

Significance

Although the details of Yo Fei’s death are obscure, the traditional account relates that the arrangements for his murder were included in the negotiations and agreement between the Jin and Qin Gui. The Chinese therefore universally view Qin Gui as the quintessential traitor, while Yo Fei is depicted as the ideal patriot and national hero. Late nineteenth and early twentieth century groups that organized to oppose foreign exploitation of China took his name as the symbol of their cause. As the Chinese depend heavily on models, imitation, and precedent to teach, Yo Fei has been an enduring subject, combining those values that are so much a part of Confucian China: discipline, courage, loyalty to parents, self-sacrifice, harmony with one’s community members, intense dedication to vocation, scholarship, and strength. Yo Fei is the subject of numerous plays, novels, and poems, and there are many temples that stand in celebration of his defense of his country. He remains a powerful symbol of Chinese nationalism and resistance to foreign invaders.

Major Rulers of the Southern Song Dynasty, 1127-1279

Reign

• Ruler

1127-1162

• Gaozong

1163-1190

• Xiaozong

1190-1194

• Guangzong

1195-1224

• Ningzong

1225-1264

• Lizong

1265-1274

• Duzong

1275-1275

• Gongdi

1276-1278

• Duanzong

1279

• Bing Di

Bibliography

Franke, Herbert, and Hok-lam Chan. Studies on the Jurchens and the Chin Dynasty. Brookfield, Vt.: Ashgate, 1997. An examination of the rise of the Jurchens, against whom Yo Fei battled. Bibliography and index.

Hartman, Charles. “The Making of a Villain: Ch’in Kuei and Tao-hsueh.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 58, no. 1 (June, 1998): 59-88. An analysis of Qin Gui’s role as reputed executioner of Yo Fei and the myths that have arisen around him.

Kuhn, Anthony. “Age-Old Nationalist Hero Gets a Demotion in China: Beijing Decides That a Twelfth Century General Long Revered for His Loyalty Is No Longer PC.” The Los Angeles Times, January 28, 2003, p. A3. Discusses the reasons that China removed Yo Fei from its list of national heroes.

Rodzinski, Witold. The Walled Kingdom: A History of China from Antiquity to the Present. 2d ed. London: Fontana, 1991. Contains an excellent chapter on the Song Dynasty and the northern invaders. Briefly discusses Yo Fei’s role in the wars between the Song and the Jin and the significance of Yo’s historical image.

Tillmann, Hoyt Cleveland, and Stephen H. West, eds. China Under Jurchen Rule: Essays on Chin Intellectual and Cultural History. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995. A study of the Jin Dynasty that examines, among other topics, its conflict with the Song Dynasty. Bibliography and index.