In the turbulent moments of the early Southern Song Dynasty, Yue Fei stepped forward and resolutely resisted the Jin army, committed to regaining the lost territory.
He led the army to the north, fought the enemy in blood, achieved an immortal heroic legend, and won high praise and reverence from the people of all ethnic groups. However, he was finally framed by the traitor Qin Hui of the pacifist faction, more than 800 years ago.
During these hundreds of years, people have maintained a strong interest in the whereabouts and fate of Yue Fei's descendants.
It is rumored that Yue Fei's descendants were unfortunate and even "sold their ancestors" out of economic needs.
Why is it said that Yue Zhongqi, a famous general of the Qing Dynasty, may not be a descendant of Yue Fei?
The whereabouts of Yue Fei's descendants
Yue, a surname derived from the ancient "Four Yue" official positions, has a prominent origin and a long history. This family, distributed throughout the country, has produced many outstanding figures, including Yue Fei, a national hero in the early Southern Song Dynasty.
Yue Fei, a hero of the early Southern Song Dynasty, is known for his heroic deeds of bravely resisting the enemy and recovering territory. He was unfortunately framed by Qin Hui and died young, leaving behind a far-reaching historical impact and deep concern for future generations.
In these long years, where are Yue Fei's descendants, and people who revere Yue Fei are often concerned.
Yue Fei's eldest son, Yue Yun, was extremely brave and martyred at the age of 23. On Chinese New Year's Eve in the eleventh year of Shaoxing, he was unjustly killed in Hangzhou along with his father's subordinate Zhang Xian.
Yue Yun's death shook the Song Dynasty. Twenty years later, Song Xiaozong rehabilitated the Yue family, and Yue Yun was given the post of Anyuanjun to inherit the history and received a grand funeral.
Yue Yun's two sons, Yue Fu and Yue Shen, inherited their father's mantle.
Yue Fu's official to the Ministry of Shangshu, his descendants are all over the south of the Yangtze River, among which Yue Fu's eldest son Yue Ji, once served as the chief secretary of Jiangxi Xinchang.
During the Yue E and Yue Mei periods of the 9th Dynasty, they chose to live in seclusion in Anhui to avoid the disturbances of the Yuan Dynasty. In the 13th century, Yue Xianyuan settled in Changsha, and his descendant Yue Hai moved to Yiyang, Hunan. The Yue Fei family took root in Yiyang, and there are still descendants living around Dongting Lake.
As for Yue Fu's younger brother, he served in Jiangling, and the family was based in Hangzhou. Today, Yue Fei's descendants have been passed down to the 31st generation, and there are still tens of thousands of descendants of the Yue family in Hangzhou Nanmat, Qing'an Bridge and other places.
Yue Lei, the second son of Yue Fei, a loyal minister in the Song Dynasty, had a bad fate.
In 1126, he was born in a military camp in Dingxian County, Shanxi. As a teenager, Yue Lei experienced the tragedy of the unjust murder of his father and brother, and witnessed them being tortured in prison. This experience is deeply imprinted in his heart.
His mother, Li, was exiled to Lingnan and died in a foreign land, unable to wait for the family's rehabilitation. Yue Lei's four sons, Yue Jing, Yue Wei, Yue Gang, and Yue Ji, all received official positions. In particular, Yue Ji once served as Zhenjiang Tidian Medicine, and their descendants have taken root in Suzhou, Hangzhou, Changzhou and other places.
In the eighth Yuefu, he moved to Jingzhou, Hubei.
During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, Yue Junqing, the thirteenth generation descendant of Yue Lei, followed Zhu Yuanzhang's general Fu Youde to fight in Qianchuan, Yunnan and finally guarded the area of Weining, Guizhou today. Today, Yue Lei's descendants have been passed down to more than 30 generations and are all over Guizhou.
Yue Fei's third son, Yue Lin, and his descendants: After the tragic misfortune of his father and brother, Yue Lin was exiled to Lingnan along with his mother and brother Yue Lei. After the case of his father and brother was rehabilitated, Yue Lin went to the court to ask for a doctor and serve in the Wenge.
He had three sons: Yue Cong, Yue Chen, and Yue Ke. Among them, the descendants of Yue Cong and Yue Ke are widely distributed, covering Jiangsu, Gansu, Shanxi, Henan and other places.
Particularly striking are the descendants of Yongtai Yuecong in Gansu. This family originated in Yixing, Jiangsu, and later moved to Yongtai Fort in Zhuanglang, Gansu, and gradually formed the famous Yongtai lineage.
The family's prominence began with Yue Zhenbang, an important figure who served as the governor of Zuodu during the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty. Under his influence and leadership, family members gradually played an important role in the political arena of the Qing Dynasty.
Yue Zhenbang's sons, Yue Shenglong and Yue Chaolong, also held important positions in the Qing Dynasty, continuing the family's political influence.
Special mention should be made of Yue Shenglong's son, Yue Zhongqi, whose achievements and fame are particularly prominent in the history of the Qing Dynasty.
Yue Zhongqi served as an important military commander in the northwest region during the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong dynasties.
His military talents and military exploits were highly praised by Emperor Qianlong, and he was honored as "the great warrior of the three dynasties".
His leadership and strategic vision played a key role in maintaining and consolidating the Qing Dynasty's northwestern frontier.
Until the ** period, the Yue family's influence in the political field was still significant, and family members continued to engage in public office and contributed to the stability and development of the country.
However, whether Yue Zhongqi is the descendant of Yue Fei, the national hero of the Southern Song Dynasty, is still an unsolved historical mystery, which will be discussed in detail later.
The descendants of Yue Fei in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, originated from Yue Lin's third son, Yue Ke, who lived in Jintuofang and devoted himself to rehabilitating his grandfather Yue Fei.
Based on his father's posthumous manuscripts, Yue Ke further wrote the "Jin Tuo Duo Edition" and the "Jin Tuo Continuation", which have been passed down to the 30th generation.
Among them, Yue Shichen of the 28th generation is known for his calligraphy and painting talents and friends, and he is still deaf and eyed even at the age of 88.
Tangyin's descendants of Yue Fei were not handed down from the Song Dynasty, but later moved from Xi County, Guangzhou, Henan. The descendants of Tangyin have been passed down for more than 30 generations.
Yue Fei's fourth son, Yue Zhen, had a shadowy childhood. When he was seven years old, his father had a tragic accident, and Yue Zhen had to change his surname to E, hiding in Niejiawan, Huangmei County, and began a secret life.
Despite the hardships, Yue Zhen's descendants are still silently inherited in Dahe Town and have become a strong line in the family.
Twenty years later, Song Xiaozong rehabilitated Yue Fei, restored the reputation of Yue Zhen and his family, and appointed Yue Zhen as the court doctor, responsible for the salt affairs of Jiangnan East Road.
Yue Zhen had six sons, among whom Yue Ju inherited his father's mantle and served in Hangzhou. Unfortunately, he died a heroic death in the battle against the Yuan Dynasty.
In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, the twelfth generation of Sun Yue Huichun moved to Hengshan, and since then the descendants of the Yue family have been distributed in Hengnan, Xiangtan, Yunnan, Hubei and other places.
The fifth son, Yue Ting, Yue Fei suffered misfortune when Yue Ting was five years old. His real name is Yue Ai, he is excellent in martial arts, and he once defeated the son of a traitor in the ring, so he was given the name Yue Ting by the emperor.
Yue Ting had three sons: Yue Fan, Yue and Yue Kun.
Yue Fan and Yue He settled in Shaoyang and Fuyang, respectively, while Yue Kun stayed in Huangmei and Guangji counties. The glory of the family has not diminished with the passage of time.
In the period of the fifteenth generation of Sun, during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, they made outstanding military achievements, officers to the general army, stationed in Yingzhou, defending the border for the country to resist the enemy, and continuing the heroic tradition of the Yue family.
Yue Fei's descendants "sell their ancestors"?
After the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, the remnants of the Yue Fei family, including tombs and temples, gradually fell into ruin and oblivion.
At this time, a man named Yue Shidi claimed to be the sixth grandson of Yue Fei and lived in Jiangzhou (now Jiujiang, Jiangxi). He noticed the situation, but due to geographical and resource constraints, Yue Shidi could not afford to take on the task of repairing it himself.
So, he came up with a unique solution: to communicate with the Yue clan in Yixing Prefecture.
The Yue family in Yixing Prefecture was not related to the Yue Fei family, but had gradually become wealthy and influential at that time.
Through the genealogy, that is, the "marriage" of two unrelated families on the family tree, Yue Shidi obtained the necessary support and funds to restore the remains of the Yue Fei family.
This strategy not only cleverly solves the problem of resources, but also reflects the admiration for the hero Yue Fei and the importance of family honor on a socio-cultural level.
Zhong Yuan, the representative of the Yixing Yue family, lived in the Song and Yuan dynasties, and his family had become a prominent local family at that time.
The support of the Zhongyuan family is not only material assistance, but also a symbol of social status and influence. This union not only restored the material relics, but also reshaped Yue Fei's image in people's hearts.
It is worth mentioning that this practice of genealogy was not uncommon at the time, and it reflected the high importance attached to family lineage and honor in traditional Chinese society.
At the same time, it reveals the complex relationship between social status, reputation, and economic power. Through such initiatives, Yue Shidi not only restored the physical remains of the family, but also restored the social status and reputation of the family to a certain extent.
Therefore, the so-called "selling ancestors" at that time was probably that during the Yuan Dynasty, Yue Fei's tomb and temple were abandoned due to the destruction of monks, and even became owned by others.
Yue Fei's descendants lived in Jiangzhou (now Jiujiang, Jiangxi), and in order to save the situation, Yue Zongyuan (Yue Shidi) was sent to Hangzhou to carry out "reincarnation" – to restore the remains of their ancestors.
The project received strong support from the Yixing Yue clan, who provided the necessary funding. And in the articles of later generations, the fact of "general spectrum" was deliberately avoided.
However, soon after the restoration works, the Yue Tomb and Yue Temple were damaged again. This time, the abbot of Baozhong Temple (i.e., Yue Temple) was considerable, and from 1326 onwards he actively promoted the restoration work, which was supported by all sectors of society and local **.
Among them, the prestigious calligrapher and painter Ke Jiusi, who was favored by Yuan Wenzong and served as a doctor of scholars in Kuizhangge, facilitated the return of Terada by sending a letter to the magistrate.
At the same time, the Confucian scholar Zhao Yuanhua, although he later moved to Pingjiang (now Suzhou, Jiangsu), still had a deep affection for the Yue Temple and made great efforts to recover the occupied Terama.
The reconstruction of the Yue Temple was led by Li Quanchu, the governor of Hangzhou Road, and Wang Huafu, a local, was in charge of the specific works. The layout of the new temple is the temple gate, the two pang, the main bed and the swallow bed.
The main bed is dedicated to Yue Fei and Yue Yun, and the Yan bed is dedicated to Yue Fei's parents, wife and children. The murals in the temple retain the images of the generals under Yue Fei.
After the completion of the new temple, the local ** and the people have come to worship, Hangzhou Road also applied for a gift, and in 1340, that is, to the sixth year of the first year, the original appearance of the temple was restored.
What is Yue Zhongqi the best person?
Yue Zhongqi, a Han military general who left a strong mark on the historical picture scroll of the Qing Dynasty, is famous for his character Dongmei and his name Rongzhai.
During the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong dynasties, this military giant played a pivotal role in the military and political arena of China's western frontier.
His military career is full of legends, especially in major military operations such as Pingding**, Qinghai and Jinchuan, Yue Zhongqi has shown extraordinary military talent and heroic leadership.
Yue Zhongqi's career is brilliant, and he has successively served as the governor of Sichuan, the governor of Gansu, the governor of Gansu, the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, and the general of Ning Yuan.
Under his administration, the politics and economy of the northwest region have been effectively managed and developed.
He was not only an outstanding military commander, but also a visionary administrator.
In the "Qing Historical Manuscript", Yue Zhongqi was praised as "the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Han ministers worshiped the generals, the Manchurian soldiers were under control, and Zhong Qi was alone", which fully reflected his important position in the political and military history of the Qing Dynasty.
However, despite the widespread recognition and research of Yue Zhongqi's achievements, the question of his origins remains a point of contention in the field of history.
Regarding Yue Zhongqi's birthplace, different historical documents and scholars have put forward various opinions and hypotheses, but no consensus has been reached.
At present, there are four main views on the issue of Yue Zhongqi's origin: people from Lintao in Shaanxi, people from Lanzhou in Gansu, people from Zhuanglangwei in Gansu, and people from Chengdu, Sichuan.
First of all, some scholars believe that Yue Zhongqi was born in Lintao, Shaanxi (now Lintao, Gansu), according to the records in the Yongxian Lu and the Unification Chronicles of the Qing Dynasty. Yang Weijun also supports this view in "A Brief Description of the Northwest Martial Arts of the Famous Qing Dynasty General Yue Zhongqi".
The second view locates Yue Zhongqi as a native of Lanzhou, Gansu, based on Zhang Wei's "Gansu Characters", "Ciyuan", "Poets of the National Dynasty" and the relevant records in the "Collection of Tablet Biography". In these documents, there are many references to "ancestral home in Lanzhou".
The third view is that Yue Zhongqi is a native of Zhuanglangwei, Gansu, and even specifically Yongdeng. This view is mainly based on the records in the "Unification Chronicles of the Great Qing Dynasty" and Zhao Pengzhu's research in "Yue Zhongqi was born in Yongdeng Kao".
The fourth view is that Yue Zhongqi was born in Chengdu, Sichuan. "Qing Historical Manuscript", "Biography of Seven Hundred Famous Persons of the Qing Dynasty", "Biography of Famous Ministers of the Han Dynasty" and other documents all support this statement. Most scholars tend to this view, including the work of Xu Kai, Jie Dun, Zheng Guanglu, Gong Yilong, Luo Yuandao, Zhang Zutao, and others.
However, there was no agreement on the controversy over Yue Zhongqi's origin. Even in the preface to the Collected Poems of Yue Rongzhai by Yuan Mei, Huang Tinggui, Wang Tingsong, Sun Shu and others, no unified view has been formed.
So what is Yue Zhongqi the best person?
In the preface to the Collected Poems of Yue Rongzhai, Sun Shu believes that Yue Zhongqi's ancestors were from Lanzhou, while the Poems of Li Yucun claims that his ancestors were from Zhuang Langwei.
Yue Zhongqi's grandfather Yue Zhenbang, the first in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, his ancestors settled in Lanzhou, Gansu. However, during the Shunzhi period, Yue Zhenbang moved to the Hexi area, which is now the Yongtai area, which is under the jurisdiction of Zhuang Langwei.
Yue Zhongqi's father, Yue Shenglong, lived in Zhuang Langwei during Yongtai's tenure.
It can be seen that Yue Zhongqi's ancestors and fathers have lived in Zhuang Langwei for a period of time.
Considering that Yue Zhongqi's life before the age of ten was also spent in Zhuang Langwei, according to the concept of "hometown", Zhuang Langwei can be regarded as his birthplace and hometown, while Gansu Lintaowei is his ancestral hometown.
On the other hand, in documents such as "Gansu People", "Ciyuan", and "Lanzhou Mansion of the Great Qing Dynasty", Yue Zhongqi is classified as a native of Lanzhou or Lintaowei, but these statements are not accurate enough.
As the population movement of Qing society accelerated, the concept of origin became more complex and ambiguous. When considering the diversity of ancestry, birth, and residence, it becomes more difficult to determine a person's place of origin.
To sum up, considering that Yue Zhongqi's ancestors, fathers, and himself have lived in Zhuanglang for a long time and have been deeply influenced by the local area, before changing his nationality to Sichuan, Yue Zhongqi's native home should be Zhuang Langwei, not Lintao.
Is Yue Zhongqi really a descendant of Yue Fei?
The question of whether Yue Zhongqi is a descendant of Yue Fei has always been controversial and mysterious in history.
During the reign of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing dynasty, Yue Zhongqi's identity sparked a series of incidents and suspicions.
During the Yongzheng period, there was a shocking scene on the streets of Chengdu: Lu Zonghan openly shouted, claiming that Yue Zhongqi's generals had rebelled against the soldiers and horses of Sichuan and Shaanxi.
In addition, Zhang Xi, Zeng Jing and others tried to persuade Yue Zhongqi to join them in the rebellion, preaching that Yue Zhongqi was a descendant of Yue Fei and should avenge his ancestors. These turbulent events put Yue Zhongqi in an extremely dangerous situation.
Faced with this situation, Yue Zhongqi tried his best to show his loyalty and reported all the truth to the imperial court. Although Emperor Yongzheng comforted and rewarded him, he also began to be wary of him, and these events undoubtedly brought magnificent ups and downs to his life.
It is worth noting that Emperor Yongzheng explicitly denied the claim that Yue Zhongqi was a descendant of Yue Fei.
Even if Yue Zhongqi was really Yue Fei's descendant, he did not dare to admit it openly in the political atmosphere at that time.
However, historical documents such as "Rebuilding Gaolan County Chronicles", "Collection of Tablet Biography", "The First Serious Affairs of the National Dynasty", "Yue Rongzhai Poetry Collection" and so on all record that Yue Zhongqi is a descendant of Yue Fei.
Yue Zhongqi's descendants also seemed to acquiesce to this identity and did not deny it.
Of course, there is no shortage of cases in history where people have been seconded in order to follow celebrities.
As an outstanding Han frontier official of the Qing Dynasty, Yue Zhongqi made outstanding contributions to the consolidation and development of the Qing Dynasty's frontiers, and he also showed extraordinary talents in local governance.
Considering the remoteness of time and the complexity of history, the question of whether Yue Zhongqi is a descendant of Yue Fei seems to have become a historical mystery that cannot be accurately answered.
Perhaps we should not dwell too much on the mystery of his origins, but should pay more attention to the profound imprint and contributions he left in history as a prominent general.
After all, Yue Zhongqi's life and deeds are rich and thought-provoking enough, and there is no need to use the glory of his ancestors to add to his legend.
Reference: Wang Guoping, editor-in-chief;Xu Jijun, Wang Qihuang, Gu Zhixing, editor-in-chief of this volume. General History of West Lake Vol. 1 [M]. 2014
The traces of Yue Fei's descendants are slightly traced Yin Shixue, Li Zhipeng.
Yue Zhongqi is from Chen Yuan.