“Let us drive our chariots through the Helan Pass;
My bold aim is to eat the flesh of the nomads.
Laughing while I thirst for the blood of the Xiongnu,
Wait until we can begin again,
Recovering our old rivers and mountains,
And paying homage again in the imperial court.”
General Yue, tell us how you really feel.
875 years ago today (January 27, 1142) the Song Dynasty general Yue Fei was executed in Hangzhou. In Chinese history and myth, Yue Fei is a great patriot, a paragon of loyalty to the state who was betrayed by traitors and collaborationists in the Song court.