''General Yue Fei'' () is a Chinese historical novel written by Qian Cai in the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. Consist of 80 chapters, the first 61 chapters detail the life and adventures of

Yue Fei Yue Fei ( zh, t=岳飛; March 24, 1103 – January 28, 1142), courtesy name Pengju (), was a Chinese military general who lived during the Song dynasty, Southern Song dynasty and a national hero of China, known for leading Southern Song force ...

, while the last 19 concern the exploits of Yue Fei's son Yue Lei after Yue Fei's unjust death.

Description

The author

Qian Cai Qian may refer to: *Guizhou, abbreviated as ''Qián'' (黔), province of China *Mace (unit) A mace (; Hong Kong English usage: tsin; Southeast Asian English usage: chee) is a traditional Chinese measurement of weight in East Asia that was also us ...

(錢彩) lived sometime during the reigns of the

Kangxi The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...

and

Yongzheng , regnal name = , posthumous name = Emperor Jingtian Changyun Jianzhong Biaozhen Wenwu Yingming Kuanren Xinyi Ruisheng Daxiao Zhicheng Xian()Manchu: Temgetulehe hūwangdi () , temple name = Shizong()Manchu: Šidzung () , house = Aisin Gioro ...

(1661–1735) emperors of the

. A dating symbol in its preface points either to the year 1684 or to 1744.Jochen Degkwitz, Yue Fei und sein Mythos. Die Entwicklung der Yue-Fei-Saga bis zum, Shuo Yue quan zhuan, Chinathemen 13, edited by Helmut Martin, Volker Klapsch and Martin Krott (Bochum: N Brockmeyer, 1983 () It was banned during the reign of the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...

. There are two main versions of this novel. The original one had 80 chapters. There was an illustrated edition of this version published in 1912. The other version also had 80 chapters and was published during the reign of the

Tongzhi Emperor The Tongzhi Emperor (27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), born Zaichun of the Aisin Gioro clan, was the ninth List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign, from 1 ...

(1861–1875). Some people mistakenly take this novel to be historical fact when it is purely fiction.The Creation of Xingyi
– Though it is presented as historical fact, the Yue Fei biography from this page is derived solely from the fictional elements of this

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted f ...

novel. According to Sir Yang Ti-liang's introduction to his translation:

The work is a historical novel in form, but it is in fact based almost mainly on legends which were current amongst the common people for centuries. Indeed some of the events described there are nothing more than Qian Cai's own imagination.

English translation

Starting in 1964 and finishing in 1995, Sir Yang Ti-liang, former Chief Justice of Hong Kong, current Chairman of the

Hong Kong Red Cross The Hong Kong Red Cross (HKRC, ) is the national Red Cross society of Hong Kong as part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Its head office is in West Kowloon. It was established officially on 12 July 1950 as a branch of ...

, combined the first chapters of these works (in an attempt to weed out the overabundance of supernatural elements) to create a 79-chapter version with 961 pages, which he translated into English. It was published by

Joint Publishing Joint Publishing (), also known as Sanlian Press or SDX Joint Publishing, is a book store chain and publisher founded at Queen's Road Central in Hong Kong on 18 October 1948. Joint Publishing (Hong Kong) is one of major book store chains in Hong ...

in 1995.Qian, Cai. ''General Yue Fei''. Trans. Honorable Sir T.L. Yang. Joint Publishing (H.K.) Co., Ltd. (1995)

Major characters

Protagonists

and his family **

Yue Yun Yue or Yueh ( ) may refer to: Places * Guangdong, abbreviated (), a province of China * Yue Nan (), the Chinese name for Vietnam * Zhejiang, commonly abbreviated (), a province of China Languages * Yue Chinese, a branch of Chinese, spoken ...

, Yue Fei's first son ** Yue Lei, Yue Fei's second son * Zhang Xian * Niu Gao *

Yang Zaixing Yang Zaixing (, died 21 August 1140) was a Song dynasty general under Yue Fei, known for his ferocity in battles. He fought against the Jin dynasty in the Jin–Song Wars. His heroic death in the battle of Yancheng—where he led 300 cavalry to ...

Gao Chong Gao Chong (, died 527 AD) was a Chinese official of the Northern Wei Dynasty with the courtesy name of Jishan (), from the Bohai Commandery. Biography His mother, Princess Wuwei, was the daughter of Juqu Mujian of Northern Liang and of Queen T ...

* Lu Wenlong * Wang Zuo * Zhou Tong *

Huyan Zhuo Huyan Zhuo is a fictional character in ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Double Clubs", hə ranks eighth among the 36 Heavenly Spirits (天罡), the first third of the 108 Stars of Destiny ...

Han Shizhong Han Shizhong () (1089–1151) was a Chinese military general, poet, and politician of the late Northern Song Dynasty and the early Southern Song Dynasty. He dedicated his whole life to serving the Song Dynasty, and performed many legendary de ...

Liang Hongyu Liang Hongyu (1102–1135) was a Chinese general of the Song Dynasty. She became famous during the Jin–Song wars against the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty. Her real given name was lost in time. She was simply referenced in the official Chines ...

Complete Tales of Yue Shaoxing opera 2.jpg, Lu Wenlong in

Yue opera Yue opera, also known as Shaoxing opera, is the Chinese opera genre. Only Peking opera is more popular nationwide. Originating in Shengzhou, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province in 1906, Yue opera features actresses in male roles as well as femininity ...

IMGP0187 (18298409050).jpg,

Peking opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

Antagonists

Qin Hui Qin Hui or Qin Kuai (January 17, 1090 – November 18, 1155) was a Chinese politician. He was a Chancellor of the Song dynasty in Chinese history. He was a contemporary of Yue Fei during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Song. Modern historians ...

and his wife *

Wuzhu Jin Wuzhu (金兀朮, died 1148), also known by his sinicised name Wanyan Zongbi (完顏宗弼), was a prince, military general and civil minister of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty of China. He was the fourth son of Aguda (Emperor Taizu), the f ...

* Hamichi, Wuzhu's strategist Long Corridor-Yue Fei2.jpg, Yue Fei kills the Little Prince of Liang Long Corridor-Wang Zuo.jpg, Wang Zuo "surrenders" to Jin

References

{{reflist Novels set in the Northern Song 18th-century Chinese novels Chinese historical novels Qing dynasty novels Chinese novels adapted into films Chinese novels adapted into television series Novels set in the 12th century Novels set in Henan