Tomb of Yue Fei’s Memorial Garments and Tomb of Yue Lin

The Tomb of Yue Fei’s Memorial Garments and Tomb of Yue Lin

The Tomb of Yue Fei’s Memorial Garments and Tomb of Yue Lin is a cultural relics protection unit of Yixing City.

The Tomb of Yue Fei’s Memorial Garments and Tomb of Yue Lin are located in Anqian Natural Village, Penggan Village, Zhoutie Town, Yixing City. In January 1985, they were designated as a county-level cultural relics protection unit by the Yixing County People's Government.

Yue Fei (1103–1142), courtesy name Pengju, was a native of Tangyin in Xiangzhou (present-day Tangyin, Henan). Born into a tenant farming family, he was a renowned anti-Jin general of the Southern Song Dynasty. During the Jianyan era, he was appointed as the military commissioner of Qingyuan, where he strongly advocated for resisting the Jin and achieved numerous military successes. In the 12th year of the Shaoxing era of the Southern Song (1142), he was wrongfully executed in prison on the fabricated charge of “having something he should not have.” He was posthumously honored with the title “Martial and Solemn” (Wumu) in the 32nd year of Shaoxing (1162), and was later granted the title Prince of E by Emperor Ningzong.

Historical records indicate that during the Jianyan era of the Song Dynasty, Yue Fei stationed his troops in Yixing multiple times to resist the Jin army and suppress lake bandits, earning him deep affection from the local populace. Through years of arduous struggle by pro-resistance generals such as Yue Fei and Han Shizhong, significant victories were achieved in the war against the Jin, reclaiming large territories occupied by the invaders. Just as Yue Fei and others were preparing to regroup their forces and launch a counteroffensive straight into the heart of the Jin territory, the capitulationist faction led by Emperor Gaozong of Song, Zhao Gou, fearing that powerful generals would become too influential to control and also concerned about having to abdicate if Emperor Qinzong, Zhao Huan, returned, were persuaded by traitors like Qin Hui to order all armies to retreat. They then stripped Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, and others of their military command. Soon after, in a bid to demonstrate their commitment to peace negotiations with the Jin, Yue Fei and his son were executed on the trumped-up charge of “having something they should not have.”

After Yue Fei’s execution, his descendants scattered across the country to avoid persecution. In July of the 32nd year of Shaoxing (1162), Emperor Xiaozong ascended the throne and posthumously rehabilitated Yue Fei, restoring his official titles, giving him a proper burial, and ennobling six of his grandsons. Yue Fei’s third son, Yue Lin, returned with his mother from Lingnan, first going to Jiangzhou (Jiujiang), and then coming to Yixing. “The local people, moved by the virtue of Martial Prince (Yue Fei), vied to buy land and rent houses for the family to live in, and thus the family settled in Tangmenli of the county.” Yue Lin eventually rose to the position of Attendant at the Fuweng Pavilion and was posthumously honored as Marquis Zhuangzhong. His third son, Yue Ke, initially served as magistrate of Yixing, later becoming prefect of Jiaxing and then Minister of Revenue. The descendants of Yue Lin have lived in Yixing for generations, and the Yue family in present-day Zhoutie are all his descendants.

The burial site is commonly known as “Golden Hook Fishing the Moon,” named for the presence of one round and one long pond to the northeast of the graves. The cemetery stretches approximately 50 meters from east to west and nearly 100 meters from north to south. Originally, there were pairs of stone figures such as human statues, horses, and sheep in front of the tombs, but these were destroyed in 1958. In 1975, during land leveling, the tomb mounds were flattened without excavation. In 1989, the Yixing municipal government allocated funds to rebuild the Tomb of Yue Fei’s Memorial Garments and Tomb of Yue Lin at the original site, consisting of two parallel north–south mounds facing east, each with a diameter of 4.7 meters and a height of about 2 meters, surrounded by cypress trees. About 50 meters northeast of the tombs once stood the “Ancestral Temple of Prince Wumu of E,” built during the Chunyou era of the Song Dynasty (1241–1252), which had two courtyards. The current structure has been modified, but remnants of the temple plaque still exist.

Zhoutie Town: Located on the western shore of Taihu Lake and in the northeastern part of Yixing City, Zhoutie Town enjoys a superior geographical location with convenient water and land transportation. It is close to the cities of Suzhou, Wuxi, and Changzhou, and adjacent to the Suyi Expressway to the west, providing direct access to Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou within just an hour and a half by car. The town covers a total area of 73.2 square kilometers, with a population of 58,800. It administers 14 village committees and 2 neighborhood committees, and is home to over 400 industrial enterprises.

Zhoutie Town boasts a long and rich history. According to historical records, the town was established as an administrative unit as early as the Zhou Dynasty, making it over 2,700 years old. Lake... More detailed information about Zhoutie Town++