Ancestral Temple of Yue Fei’s Loyal Descendants

Ancestral Temple of Yue Fei’s Loyal Descendants

The Ancestral Temple of Yue Fei’s Loyal Descendants is a cultural relic protection unit of Suining City and a patriotic education base.

Among the five ancient towns in Pengxi, today's Wenjing Town boasts a history of over a thousand years. Originally named Wenjingchang, the old town was built first and originally belonged to Xichong (it was only incorporated into Pengxi County after liberation). The old town was quite small, with only one main street divided into two rows, where the eaves of the houses drained rainwater into a small central gutter. The old town had several large teahouses, including one run by Wen Shouqing, the helmsman on the lower row of the main street; an impressive teahouse owned by the Wang family near the chicken market entrance on the upper row; as well as the large “Duofangyuan” teahouse and restaurant on the lower row. To the right of the Guanyue Temple was a small street, which was the original entrance to the old town. Another street, Jijixiang Lane, was very rudimentary. Climbing the stone steps from the side of Jijixiang Lane led to the old rice market slope, where grains, chickens, ducks, pigs, and sheep were traded, with markets held on the 1st, 4th, and 7th days of each lunar month. The main street had a gatehouse built from the Guanyue Temple down to E’xiangjing, where the neighborhood hired a “night watchman” responsible for opening the gates at dawn and locking them after the second watch each night.

Exiting through Jijixiang Lane in the old town, there was a large courtyard that belonged to the wealthy merchant Wang Xingmo, with many other members of the Wang clan living nearby. Further ahead was Yuejiazui, where a stone arch bridge was originally built, and most of the nearby residents were surnamed Yue. Walking along a large stone-paved road for two or three li would lead to the Loyal Ancestral Temple of the Yue clan (also known as the Flower Ancestral Hall), with all nearby residents also surnamed Yue.

The “Loyal Ancestral Hall” was built on the tenth day of the first month of winter in the seventeenth year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty. The temple covered an area of over one mu and included a training ground for horse riding and martial arts. The roof of the temple’s main gate featured an ornamental ridge. Upon entering, there was a theater stage, whose roof also had a colorful ceramic ridge adorned with fine porcelain depictions of opera scenes, including palace-style patterns, with stone turtles sculpted at both ends of the ridge, their heads downward and tails upward—hence the name “Flower Ancestral Hall.” On either side of the stage were study rooms, and a few steps up from the stage led to the main hall of the ancestral temple, which also had an ornamental ridge like the stage. At the center of the hall stood a statue of General Yue Fei, the Southern Song Dynasty hero who resisted the Jin invaders, wearing a commander’s helmet, fully armored, with five strands of black beard, looking solemn and dignified. On either side were statues of Yue Yun and Zhang Xian (Zhang Xian was Yue Fei’s adopted son, executed alongside him by Qin Hui), with Yue Yun holding a pair of bronze hammers and Zhang Xian holding a pair of bronze halberds—all gilded statues. The shrine was exquisitely carved and painted. To the left of the main hall was a building used for annual Qingming gatherings, and to the right was a similar building, with male and female toilets constructed outside, managed by a designated person appointed by the former clan leader. The origins of the Yue clan, according to the *Genealogy of the Loyal King Yue* compiled in the 27th year of the Republic of China (Year of Dingmao) by Yue Ziming and Yue Huoran, the 27th-generation descendants of the loyal King Yue Wumu, and a summary of the clan genealogy from “Erjingzi” (Jinji Market) in Yanting County in the 28th year of the Republic of China, are as follows:

Yue Fei (1103–1142), a renowned general of the Southern Song Dynasty who resisted the Jin invaders, styled himself Pengju and was originally from Tangyin, Henan. In the late Northern Song Dynasty, he joined the army. From the third year of Emperor Gaozong’s Jianyan reign (1129) onwards, in order to halt the Jin army’s southern advance, he launched three northern expeditions, recovering vast areas such as Henan and Hebei, with the single-minded goal of “marching straight to Huanglong and welcoming back the Two Emperors.” However, Emperor Gaozong Zhao Gou and the treacherous Prime Minister Qin Hui sought peace. In the eleventh year of the Shaoxing reign (1142), Yue Fei was falsely accused and killed under the charge of “unsubstantiated crimes.” Yue Fei’s loyalty and bravery were unparalleled, and he was both a literary and martial genius. He once composed the patriotic poem *Man Jiang Hong*, filled with fervent love for his country, which inspired the Chinese nation’s deep sense of patriotism. During the War of Resistance against Japan, this poem, set to a majestic and solemn melody, inspired countless patriots.

After Yue Fei’s execution, his family was exiled to Hainan Island. Many people surnamed Yue, fearing guilt by association, either changed their surname to Le or fled to other provinces. It was not until Emperor Xiaozong of Song ascended the throne and, following the appeals of Yue Fei’s grandson Yue Ke (son of Yue Lin), that the emperor in 1163 AD ordered the family’s return, posthumously honored the descendants, and decreed the construction of the Loyal Ancestral Hall. At the time, some settled in Hangzhou, Zhejiang; others in Shandong; and still others in Hubei, Hunan, and Guangdong. By the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, during the great migration to Sichuan, one branch of the Yue clan moved from Macheng, Hubei (Xiaogan) to Erjingzi (Jinji Market) in Yanting County. Several years later, a branch from Jinji Market relocated to the Wenjingchang area of Xi-Peng, where they thrived. By the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, the Yue clan had grown prosperous. In the 28th year of the Republic of China, Yue Lüheng, Yue Ziming, and other members of the Yanting Yue clan invited fourteen representatives from ten branches of the Xichong clan, four from Feifeng Mountain in Wenjing (Pengxi), three from Santai, and ten initiators from Yanting County to hold a conference in Wenjingchang. They unanimously agreed that the *Genealogy of Yue Wumu* compiled by the Jinji Market Yue clan was the most detailed. Representatives were then sent to Yanting’s Jinji Market to connect with the clan and receive six handed-down genealogical volumes, which clearly documented the origins of the Yue clan. The Yue descendants in today’s Wenjing Town are all descended from Yue Lin, the third son of Yue Fei, with “generational numbers” noted in the genealogy. Among the Wenjing clansmen, aside from the earlier and larger-scale Loyal Ancestral Hall (Flower Ancestral Hall) built during the Qing Dynasty, there were also smaller ancestral halls built in the late Republic of China era in Shiyanwan of the Eighth Brigade and Qinggangwan of the Tenth Brigade in Wenjing. The ancestral halls survived after liberation but were partially destroyed during the Cultural Revolution’s campaign to eradicate the “Four Olds.”

Since the 17th generation of the Yue clan migrated to Wenjing, the family has now grown to the 35th generation.

Yue Fei (1103–1142), styled Pengju, was a native of Tangyin, Xiangzhou (present-day Henan), an outstanding military strategist and statesman of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Yue Fei’s father, Yue He, and mother, Lady Yao, were generations of 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 (present-day Anyang) and “worked as a farmhand for the estate of Han Weigong (Qi).”

In the fourth year of Xuanhe (1122), Yue Fei first joined the army. In October of the same year, during the Northern Song’s war against the Liao, he reached Liaoyang (Yanjing)... (More details on Yue Fei++)

Yue Yun, the eldest (or possibly adopted) son of the national hero Yue Fei, was one of the rare youthful heroes in Chinese history. Generous, loyal, and brave, he resembled his father and achieved remarkable feats in battles against the Jin invaders, winning countless victories. However, on New Year’s Eve of the 11th year of Shaoxing, he was tragically executed along with his father Yue Fei and the general Zhang Xian, at the young age of 22.

Yue Yun, styled Yingxiang, also known as Huiqing, was born during the reign of Emperor Qinzong, a native of Tangyin, Xiangzhou (Henan).

In the 30th year of Shaoxing (1161), after Emperor Xiaozong of Song posthumously rehabilitated Yue Fei and his son, Yue Yun was buried next to his father at Qixialing in Hangzhou. Later, Emperor Xiaozong... (More details on Yue Yun++)

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