Song Dynasty portrait of Gen. Yue Fei

[ghostexorcist]

Li Songnian (劉松年) (1174-1224) painted a picture called the "Four Generals of Zhongxing" (中兴四将) during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). General Yue Fei, the supposed progenitor of eagle claw, xingyi, and chuojiao, is among these four generals. History professor He Zongli of Zhejiang University says Yue was more of a scholarly general with a shorter stature and chubbier build than the statue of him currently displayed in his tomb in Hangzhou, which portrays him as tall and skinny.

Shen Lixin, an official with the Yue Fei Temple Administration, holds the portrait of Yue Fei from the “Four Generals of Zhongxing” to be the most accurate likeness of the general in existence.

Here is where I found the info:

http://zjxz.gov.cn/gb/node2/node138665/node139012/node139015/userobject15ai2978830.html

And here is a picture of the “Four Generals of Zhongxing”. Yue fei is the second person from the left (the chubby guy):

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ef/Four_Generals_of_Song.jpg

[lunghushan]

He Zongli[/i] of Zhejiang University says Yue was more of a scholarly general with a shorter stature and chubbier build than the statue of him currently displayed in his tomb in Hangzhou, which portrays him as tall and skinny.

...

And here is a picture of the “Four Generals of Zhongxing”. Yue fei is the second person from the left (the chubby guy):

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ef/Four_Generals_of_Song.jpg

Okay ... looks to be almost the same height as the taller generals and a little heavier. Your point is ... ???

[ghostexorcist]

Okay ... looks to be almost the same height as the taller generals and a little heavier. Your point is ... ???

What the hell is your problem? My point is that I wanted to share a portrait with those who might practice a style associated with him. The portrait of him is so unlike everything I’ve ever seen before. I think the romance of his legendary figure has definitely overshadowed what he was really like. The statue of him in his Tomb shows him as a tall, skinny man. I didn’t personally say he was short and fat; I just paraphrased what a Chinese historian said.

Apparently the paint on the statue in his Hangzhou tomb is starting to chip and peal. Some people are calling for a new statue to be made in his historical likeness. A lot more people are fighting this because they only care about the romance of his character. Still, others are calling for minor changes to his clothing, which are decorated with flowers, a trait of the Ming Dynasty. They believe he should be wearing Song style clothing.

[Shaolinlueb]

What the hell is your problem? My point is that I wanted to share a portrait with those who might practice a style associated with him. The portrait of him is so unlike everything I’ve ever seen before. I think the romance of his legendary figure has definitely overshadowed what he was really like. The statue of him in his Tomb shows him as a tall, skinny man. I didn’t personally say he was short and fat; I just paraphrased what a Chinese historian said.

Apparently the paint on the statue in his Hangzhou tomb is starting to chip and peal. Some people are calling for a new statue to be made in his historical likeness. A lot more people are fighting this because they only care about the romance of his character. Still, others are calling for minor changes to his clothing, which are decorated with flowers, a trait of the Ming Dynasty. They believe he should be wearing Song style clothing.

nice find ghost. im sure ngok fei would like this too. i drove by the tomb one day, i should have went in but i didnt have time while i was in hangzhou. :( hopefully if i go back this winter i will be able to go.

[lunghushan]

What the hell is your problem? My point is that I wanted to share a portrait with those who might practice a style associated with him.

Touchy ... just asking what you were getting at. Usually when people post stuff like this they have some agenda.

[syn]

I counted eight.

[ghostexorcist]

I counted eight.

Eight what?

[lunghushan]

I counted eight.

If a Chinese person of high repute says there are 4 Generals in that picture, obviously there are four.

You are obviously supposed to discount the fact that there appear to be 8 people in that painting because the Chinese person of high repute obviously knows more than you do.

[ghostexorcist]

I counted eight.

Oh, I know what you are talking about now. There are eight people in the painting, but there are only four generals. Notice that four of the figures are obviously larger than the other four. The smaller people are attendants and the larger are generals. If you look close, you will see that each of the large generals have their names printed next to them. The smaller attendants do not.

[K.Brazier]

And here is a picture of the “Four Generals of Zhongxing”. Yue fei is the second person from the left (the chubby guy):


Thanks for that.
I will add this to my collection.

The four people with bows and quivers are the assistants, I forget the proper name.
This is an excellent picture and tells us what they wore when out on excursions.
Radicaly different from the MA clothes we see people wear in Kung Fu schools and even MA movies of this time period.

Kevin

http://www.plumflowermantisboxing.com/

[K.Brazier]

BTW, for a romantic version of Yue Fei I recomend the Qing dynasty novel called GENERAL YUE FEI
translated by T.L. Yang

Kevin

http://www.plumflowermantisboxing.com/

[ghostexorcist]

BTW, for a romantic version of Yue Fei I recomend the Qing dynasty novel called GENERAL YUE FEI
translated by T.L. Yang

Kevin

http://www.plumflowermantisboxing.com/

Thanks. I've got my own copy of it. You should read the "Yue Fei Biography" which was compiled in 1345 during the Yuan Dynasty. CLICK HERE (http://www.yifan.net/yihe/novels/history/songshiytt/sshi365.html) to read it. (Chinese only)

I've chatted with T.L. Yang on the phone a couple of times. I contacted him via his publisher during my course of research on Zhou Tong (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jow_Tong), Yue Fei's archery teacher. Sir Yang is a very nice person.

Starting from the left, the person order in the "Four Generals of Zhongxing" painting goes: attendant, Yue Fei (岳飛), attendant, Zhang Jun (張浚), Han Shizhong (韓世忠), attendant, Liu Guangshi (劉光世), and attendant. Zhang Jun, Han Shizhong, and Liu Guangshi were three of the four generals who stopped the state officials Miao Fu (苗傅) and Liu Zhengyan (劉正彥) from usurping the throne from Song Emperor Gaozong in 1129 (if I remember correctly).

[mickey]

Greetings,

Their dress and arm positions suggest that it was winter when the painting was made.



mickey

[ghostexorcist]

Greetings,

Their dress and arm positions suggest that it was winter when the painting was made.



mickey

The painting was made at least 50 years after Yue Fei's death. Liu Songnian was born in 1174. But he could have created Yue Fei's portrait from prior works or possibly descriptions of the General from diaries or something like that.

[wind draft]

great find! I did not know he was falsely accused. That sucks.... Especially dying in vain...knowing you were innocent.

More stories?///...

[mantis108]

Nice post, Ghostexorcist. :)

Now, I don't know the specifics of the picture but the artistic concept of protrait in Chinese is rather different from other cultures.

First of all, the subject are the four Generals that all received a Noble title (Kingship) posthumously to honor their loyalty to the Zhao family imperial court. This is the reason why they are shown with attendants. Now each of them has only one attendant as oppose to General Guan who has 2 of his most trusted and famous entourage. Buth then General Guan was delcared as a Saint. So the presences and the number of attendants are meant to show how much respect the protrait subject receives IMHO.

Now the hand positions and attires don't indicate the weather/season per se. Three of the subjects actually holding the hands in the civil officiers common gesture of humility which indicates that they have some degree of academic achievement and that they are from civilian ranks. We know that Gen. Yue wrote a poem famous poem about his patriotism and vision of chasing the invader out of the country and regain the northern territories. The only one that's holding the belt could be of noble birth, having a close relationship with the imperial family (ie through marriage) or rise up from the military ranks.

Also the attendants carried different weapons indicates status of their military achievements IMHO. So it would be interested to look into each General's life time and achievements.

Just some thoughts

Regards


Mantis108

[ghostexorcist]

great find! I did not know he was falsely accused. That sucks.... Especially dying in vain...knowing you were innocent.

More stories?///...

You can read more about Yue Fei here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yue_Fei

I recently had to rewrite 98% of the page because it was full of folklore that was presented as fact. I don't claim to be an expert on the subject, but I did consult all of his major biographies and several other books for the info. However, some areas are just large book quotations clumped together. The page still needs some MAJOR work. I've expanded it at least 3 times bigger than what it was.

If you want to know more about his martial arts teacher, go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jow_Tong

[ghostexorcist]

I found it interesting that Generals Zhang Jun (#4 from the left) and Han Shizhong (5th) have weapons on their person and the aid (#8) of General Liu Guangshi seems to be carrying two separate bows (the larger one possibly belonging to Liu (#7)). Yue Fei’s aid (#1) has a sword and bow and arrows and unless he is holding them for the general, Yue Fei is the only person in the pic without a weapon. Did anyone else catch this? Also, he is the only person that has his hands inside of his sleeves down around his waist. The larger majority have their hands up, except for General Liu Guangshi who is holding his belt. Does anyone know about any secret cues in Chinese painting? I’m sure the hand position means something. Like the aids for example, their hands are held up in civility.

And again, I might be reading into a bit, but it seems Yue Fei and Liu Guangshi are looking at each other. I know during the Song’s war against the Jin, Liu Guangshi was dismissed from service because of his horrible leadership skills and his troops were assimilated into Yue Fei’s troops. It could be that the portraits painter, who is also surnamed “Liu”, knew about this and painted Liu Guangshi standing in defiance. I’m not saying artist Liu was related to general Liu, but it doesn’t hurt to speculate. Ok, I’m done with my rant now.