Is “Yue's mother tattooed characters on his back,精忠报国” true?

based on fact

The 'History of Song: Biography of Yue Fei' records that when Yue Fei was on trial, he 'tore his clothes to show his back to the examiner, where there were four large characters, '尽忠报国', deeply embedded in the skin.' The official history clearly records the back tattoo, but it does not specify that it was done by his mother, and the characters are '尽忠' rather than the later popular '精忠'. Based on this real historical detail, 'The Complete Story of Yue Fei' created the classic episode of 'Yue's mother tattooing' to strengthen the ethical conflict between filial piety and loyalty.

Yue Fei

Tragic famous generals who repeatedly achieved remarkable feats in official histories are highly deified in historical romances, with numerous fictional folk legends added.

Other claims about Yue Fei

Sources cited above. Compiled with AI assistance and checked against those sources; for cultural reference.Data & method →

This page was extracted from classical texts with AI assistance and revised; errors remain possible. Spotted a mistake? Tell us →