This Man Could be China's Greatest General

Hey, what's up guys? Welcome to another episode of Off the Great Wall. I'm Dan. I'm Mike. Happy New Year. Happy New Year to you. In Chinese culture, certain stories are passed down through the ages to exemplify a particular concept. Yo, this is not a movie trailer. Oh, right. For example, the story of Mulan exemplifies the concept of felial piety. And for those of you who've never seen Mulan, please do not go and just watch the Disney version, okay? And the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is an epic story that exemplifies honor. In the story of China's most celebrated general, Yue Fei exemplifies loyalty. Now, we're going to mostly talk about Yue Fei because he was the man. Yue Fei is arguably China's most celebrated general. Born at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, Yue Fei was not only known for his military successes, but also for his high ethical standards. In Chinese lore, Yue Fei is an enduring symbol of loyalty. As Yue Fei was coming of age, China was invaded from the north by the Jurchens or the Jin Dynasty, and the imperial court was in desperate need of capable warriors. Yue Fei faced a dilemma. On the one hand, he wanted to battle the invaders and defend his country. But on the other hand, he also wanted to stay home and take care of his elderly mother. Which is also important. Yes. Torn between two Chinese virtues of loyalty and felial piety, he did not know what to do. To encourage him, his mother asked him to take off his shirt. Then she tattooed four Chinese characters on his back. 金中豹 Guo, serve the country loyally. Now able to fulfill both his mother's wish and his duty to the country, Yue Fei promptly went off to battle. Yue Fei was undefeated in battle and was a national symbol of hope during difficult times. Once, with only 500 men, he defeated like 100,000 Jurchen soldiers, forcing them to flee. Besides his bravery and military skills, Yue Fei was famous for protecting civilians and caring for his soldiers off the battlefield. He was also strict with the soldiers and forbade them from taking advantage of common folk in the towns that they passed through. Yue Fei also cared deeply for his men. If they fell ill, he would personally administer medicine to them. If they died in battle, he would help their families. When receiving rewards from the imperial court, he shared the wealth with his soldiers. But darkness fell as Yue Fei's accomplishments prompted jealousy among several officials close to the emperor who taught him into believing that far from the capital, Yue Fei might become too powerful and too dangerous. And so Yue Fei was forced to return to the palace, leaving the areas that he had secured to be reconquered by enemy armies. Yue Fei is said to have remarked sadly, 10 years' effort destroyed in a flash. Unfortunately, the general's troubles did not end with his return to the palace. Yue Fei was stripped of his power, and a year later, a magistrate named Qin Hui sentenced him to death on trumped-up charges. Yue Fei was only 39 years old. I hate Qin Hui. And guys, if you like that story, the best production that we've seen that exemplified that story on stage was none other than Shen Yun Performing Arts. And guys, we talked about Shen Yun in the past. It's a Chinese performance show that revives 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture. The first time I learned about Mulan, the real stories of Mulan, Yue Fei, Chang'e, was actually all from Shen Yun like six years ago when I first watched it. So I was like, yeah, this is so awesome. Like, why, you know, better than reading a book or watching a movie? Why can't more people see the show? Exactly. And the show is coming to New York. If you're in New York like us, we're going to go see the show actually next week. And if you don't live in New York, no biggie, because Shen Yun travels to over 150 cities all around the world. So check out their website. I'll have it down in the description box for you. Shenyunperformingarts.org. Anyways, guys, if you do live in New York, there's no excuse for you not to see the show. Bring your whole family. Bring your friends. It's amazing. Check it out. And if you see us there, say hi. I'll be dressed as Yue Fei. And I'll be dressed all proper like I'm supposed to, not as... I thought you're going to be dressed as Mulan. Dude, that was going to be my surprise. Thanks for watching, guys. Be sure to subscribe. Share this video if you like it. And we'll see you next time. See ya!