''Man Jiang Hong'' () is the title of a set of Chinese lyrical poems (''ci'') sharing the same pattern. If unspecified, it most often refers to the one attributed to the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

general

Yue Fei Yue Fei ( zh, t=岳飛; March 24, 1103 – January 28, 1142), courtesy name Pengju (), was a Chinese military general who lived during the Southern Song dynasty and a national hero of China, known for leading Southern Song forces in the wa ...

Poem and meaning

Authorship controversy

The common belief is that

wrote the poem in 1133 at the age of 30 during the

Jin–Song Wars The Jin–Song Wars were a series of conflicts between the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty (1115–1234) and the Han-led Song dynasty (960–1279). In 1115, Jurchen tribes rebelled against their overlords, the Khitan-led Liao dynasty (916–1125) ...

. In 1127, the Song emperors Qinzong and Huizong were captured by forces of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty (this incident is known as the " Humiliation of Jingkang", as mentioned in the poem). Emperor Gaozong retreated to present-day

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, wh ...

in 1127 and established the Southern Song dynasty. However,

James T. C. Liu Liu Zichen (December 19, 1919 – September 30, 1993), better known as James T. C. Liu, was a Chinese historian and a leading scholar on Song dynasty history. He held academic posts at Stanford University (1960-1965) and Princeton University (f ...

, a history professor from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

, states that Yue Fei's version was actually written by a different person in the early 16th century. The poem was not included in the collected works of Yue Fei compiled by Yue's grandson, Yue Ke (岳柯; 1183–post 1234), and neither was it mentioned in any major works written before the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. The section that states the author's wish "to stamp down Helan Pass" is what led scholars to this conclusion. Helan Pass was in

Western Xia The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...

, which was not one of Yue Fei's military targets. Liu suggests the "real author of the poem was probably Zhao Kuan who engraved it on a tablet at Yue Fei's tomb in 1502, in order to express the patriotic sentiments which were running high at that time, about four years after General Wang Yue scored a victory over the

Oirats Oirats ( mn, Ойрад, ''Oirad'', or , Oird; xal-RU, Өөрд; zh, 瓦剌; in the past, also Eleuths) are the westernmost group of the Mongols whose ancestral home is in the Altai Mountains, Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western M ...

near the Helan Pass in

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for ...

James T.C. Liu Liu Zichen (December 19, 1919 – September 30, 1993), better known as James T. C. Liu, was a Chinese historian and a leading scholar on Song dynasty history. He held academic posts at Stanford University (1960-1965) and Princeton University (fr ...

. "Yueh Fei (1103-41) and China's Heritage of Loyalty." ''The Journal of Asian Studies''. Vol. 31, No. 2 (Feb., 1972), pp. 291-297

Music

The poem has been set to music various times, including a Mandarin song from the 1930s performed by operatic baritone

Yi-Kwei Sze Yi-Kwei Sze (斯义桂 pinyin: Sī Yìguì, Shanghai, 1915- San Francisco, November 5, 1994) was a Chinese operatic bass-baritone and music educator. A graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Yi-Kwei began his career performing and teaching ...

in the 1950s. Other singers such as Shi Hong'e, Yang Hongji and Zhang Mingmin have also performed this rendition. Hong Kong singer

Roman Tam Roman Tam Pak-sin (; 12 February 1945– 18 October 2002), known professionally by his stage name Law Man (), was a Hong Kong singer. He is regarded as the "Grand Godfather of Cantopop". Career Born in Baise, Guangxi, China, with family root ...

sang a Cantonese song "Moon Kong Hung" ("Man Jiang Hong" in Mandarin), composed by

Joseph Koo Joseph Koo Kar-Fai, MBE, GBS (born 3 February 1933), is a Hong Kong composer, who is considered one of the most respected composers in Hong Kong. He used the pen name Moran (莫然) for Mandarin songs early in his career. Early life Koo ha ...

, for the 1983 television series ''The Legend of the Condor Heroes''. Another Cantonese song of the same title was composed by Kwan Shing-yau and performed by

Deric Wan Deric Wan Siu-lun (born 18 November 1964) is a Hong Kong actor, singer, and songwriter who has starred in numerous television series and released several studio albums. His representative works include a duet with Nadia Chan, a cover of the s ...

for the 1984 Hong Kong television series ''By Royal Decree''.

Notes

References

External links