Yue Fei from frescoes of the Yue Fei massoleum in Hongzhou

Yue denounced the pirate chief Yang Yao and passed on a chance to become a general in his army.
Lady Yao then tells Yue, "I, your mother, saw that you did not accept recruitment of the rebellious
thief, and that you willingly endure poverty and are not tempted by wealth and status … But I fear that after my
death, there may be some unworthy creature who will enticed you … For these reason … I want to tattoo on your
back the four characters ‘Utmost’, ‘Loyalty’, ‘Serve’ and ‘Nation’ ... The Lady picked up the brush and wrote out on
his spine the four characters for 'serving the nation with the utmost loyalty' ... [So] she bit her teeth, and started
pricking. Having finished, she painted the characters with ink mixed with vinegar so that the colour would never fade."
The_Story_of_Yue_Fei

PREVIOUS  HOME  NEXT