Yuewang Temple

Yuewang Temple

Yuewang Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Originally located about thirty-five li northwest of Mengcheng County, there once stood a temple with a wooden plaque hanging above its entrance inscribed with “Yuewang Temple.” The temple complex consisted of two main halls totaling six rooms, along with two wing rooms on the east and west sides, each with two rooms. Inside the temple, statues of Yue Fei, Yue Yun, and others were enshrined. To the west of the temple was a well.

According to the Ming Dynasty’s Jiajing Shouzhou Annals, “Tuojian is located forty li northwest of the county. It was here that Yue Fei defeated Jin Wushu at Tuojian, and the remains of military camps can still be found.”

In the tenth year of the Shaoxing era (1140), Jin Wushu besieged Shunchang (present-day Fuyang, Anhui). Liu Qi, the deputy defender of Dongjing, devised a strategy to achieve victory against overwhelming odds, inflicting a major defeat on Jin Wushu. Yue Fei also pressed forward in a winning streak, recovering six cities in just over a month. Leading the elite cavalry unit “Backed-up Army” (背嵬军)① of the Yue Family Army, Yue Fei fought bravely near Tuojian and achieved a great victory over the Jin forces.

Later generations often visited Tuojian to pay tribute to the martyrs and visit Yue Fei’s temple, leaving behind numerous poems and writings. During the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong era, Wang Dajing, the magistrate of Mengcheng County, composed a poem titled “Reminiscing About the Past at Tuojian”:

Beside the stream near the Martial King’s stronghold,

The Backed-up Army swept through enemy lines, clearing barbarian dust.

At this desolate village, many shed tears in reverence,

Let alone those from Zhuxian Town.

Note: ① Yue Fei had two elite cavalry units, one named “Backed-up Army” and the other “Roaming Cavalry Army.”

Yue Fei (1103–1142), courtesy name Pengju, was a native of Tangyin, Xiangzhou (now part of Henan). He was an outstanding military strategist and tactician of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Yue Fei’s father, Yue He, and mother, Lady Yao, were farmers. In his youth, Yue Fei studied archery and spear techniques under Zhou Tong and Chen Guang, becoming the most skilled martial artist in the county. However, due to poverty, he later went to Xiangzhou (now Anyang) “to work as a farmhand for Han Weigong (Qi)’s estate.”

In the fourth year of the Xuanhe era (1122), Yue Fei first joined the army. In October of the same year, during the Northern Song’s campaign against the Liao, he reached the Liao capital of Yanjing… More detailed information about Yue Fei++

Yue Yun, the eldest son (or possibly adopted son) of the national hero Yue Fei, was one of the rare youthful heroes in Chinese history. Brave, loyal, and exceptionally talented like his father, he achieved remarkable feats in battles against the Jin invaders and was undefeated in combat. However, on New Year’s Eve of the eleventh year of the Shaoxing era, he, along with his father Yue Fei and general Zhang Xian, was tragically executed. He was only 22 years old at the time.

Yue Yun, courtesy name Yingxiang, style name Huiqing, was born during the reign of Emperor Qinzong, in Tangyin, Xiangzhou (Henan).

In the thirtieth year of the Shaoxing era (1161), after Emperor Xiaozong of the Song Dynasty posthumously rehabilitated Yue Fei and his son, Yue Yun was buried alongside Yue Fei at the foot of Qixia Ridge in Hangzhou. Later, Emperor Xiaozong… More detailed information about Yue Yun++