Yue Fei (24 March 1103 – 27 January 1142),
courtesy name Pengju, was a
Han Chinese military general who lived during the
Southern Song dynasty. His
ancestral home was in Xiaoti, Yonghe Village, Tangyin, Xiangzhou, Henan (in present-day
Tangyin County,
Anyang,
Henan). He is best known for leading Southern Song forces in
the wars in the 12th century between Southern Song and the
Jurchen-ruled
Jin dynasty in northern China before being put to death by the Southern Song government in 1142. He was granted the
posthumous name Wumu by
Emperor Xiaozong in 1169, and later granted the posthumous title
King of È (鄂王) by
Emperor Ningzong in 1211. Widely seen as a patriot and national
folk hero in China, since after his death, Yue Fei has evolved into a standard epitome of loyalty in Chinese culture.