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Mausoleum
of General Yue Fei
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.
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