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.
Mausoleum of General
Yuefei is situated at
the southern foot of
Qixia Hill and the
northwest bank of West
Lake.
Yuefei, born in 1103, is
a great national hero of
the Southern Song
dynasty (1127-1279) who
distinguished himself in
battles against northern
invaders. During the
12th century, when china
was attacked by Jurchen
invaders from the north,
General Yuefei was
commander of the Song
armies. His attempt to
push north and recover
all the lost Chinese
territory was opposed,
however, by a peace
party within the capital
headed by the minister
Qinhui, who believed
that further prosecution
of the war would be too
costly. Qinhui’s faction
proved more influential,
and in 1141 Yuefei was
recalled to the Song
court and imprisoned,
later executed after
being framed by Qinhui.
In 1163, Song Emperor
Gaozong exonerated
Yuefei and had his
corpse reburied at the
present site. In 1221, a
memorial temple of
Yuefei was built here
with statue of Yuefei
enshrined inside.
The memorial temple have
been destroyed and
rebuilt for several
times. The present
structure was the
product of the
restoration in 1923. It
contains a
4.54-meter-high statue
of Yuefei, which was
well armed with a sword
in the left hand,
seeming to prepare for
fighting at all time. A
calligraphy work of
Yuefei reading "return
the mountains and rivers
to us" is hung on the
wall, being a reference
to his patriotism and
resistance to the
Jurchen. In the two side
halls of the temple are
120 tablets; the tablets
are engraved with
Yuefei’s poems as well
as eulogies to him by
noted figures.
To the right of memorial
temple is the mausoleum
of Yuefei. Four iron
statues: Qinhui and his
wife, Zhangjun and Mo
Qixie are kneeling in
front of the tomb, all
cursed and spat by
visitors for their
guilt. On both side of
the tomb are six stone
figures, two horses, two
tiger and two goats,
symbolizing the guards
of Yuefei.
Each year, moved by
Yuefei’s deeds and
encouraged by his
spirit, countless people
come here to memorialize
this patriotic general. |