How to evaluate Yue Fei, I think we should stand on the level of national interests and the entire Chinese nation, the history of our country for the national interests of the sacrifices made on behalf of the justice of the outstanding figures of all nationalities as the hero of the entire country and the Chinese nation, the despicable figures of the various nationalities who harmed the interests of their country for their own selfish interests resulting in the benefit of the enemy as the entire country and the Chinese nation as traitors. From this point of view, Yue Fei is one of the honorable heroes of the whole Chinese nation. In evaluating whether Yue Fei is a national hero, three questions should be clarified, one of which is whether the heroic spirit represented by Yue Fei is in conflict with the concept of the Chinese nation? The second is whether the denial of Yue Fei is conducive to the unity of the Chinese nation. The third is whether it is correct to evaluate historical figures through the classification of historical wars as "national wars".
One of the logics of denying Yue Fei as a national hero is based on the definition of national hero and the period of the formation of the Chinese nation. That is, a national hero is a heroic figure who arises in the course of a nation or nation-state's defense against foreign aggression or independent liberation, according to which, in order for Yue Fei to become a national hero of the entire Chinese nation, he must have appeared at a time when the Chinese nation-state was defending itself against foreign aggression or independent liberation; however, Yue Fei was a general of the Song Dynasty, and some believe that the important symbol of the formation of the Chinese nation, namely, the integration of the administration, economy, and culture, began in the Yuan Dynasty only began, therefore, Yue Fei is not a hero of the entire Chinese nation.
The error in that logic is to use an evolving concept of the nation to deny the spirit of national heroism carried by a specific figure. The Chinese nation is a national concept formed by the continuous integration of many ethnic groups in the land where we currently live. Therefore, whether in terms of geography or the number of ethnic groups, the Chinese nation is a forward-developing and backward-inclusive ethnic group. This development and inclusiveness of the Chinese nation is manifested in its national heroes: the existence of heroic figures as carriers of the national spirit and beliefs is affirmed throughout history. Ethnic groups and heroes are entities that will die out with history, while the positive, excellent and righteous spirit of heroes can be passed down through the ages and enjoyed by all peoples***. Why did Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty vindicate Yuan Chonghuan and Qianlong establish a shrine for Shi Kefa? Instead of honoring each other, it was out of the need to rule and to educate the people to follow the example of these heroes in the service of the nation. Therefore, whether in history or in reality, people's words and behavior of defending heroes and attacking traitors are essentially upholding the spiritual beliefs of the nation, which are crucial to maintaining the current reality of the nation's interests. From this perspective, an ever-advancing and excellent Chinese nation certainly needs the heroic spirit represented by Yue Fei.
Another reason for denying Yue Fei as a hero of the Chinese nation is based on the practical need to favor the unity of the current domestic ethnic groups. This point of view is very marketable in a part of the population, based on the following: the national wars in the history of our country are the wars between the nationalities at home, which are "sibling rivalry, family fights", therefore, Yue Fei is considered a national hero is a narrow national heroism, and the denial of "family fights" represented by Yue Fei is conducive to the maintenance of the unity of the Chinese nation.
There are three mistakes: one is to negate the historical figure of an ethnic group to replace the cornerstone of maintaining the unity of the Chinese nation - equality; the second is that Yue Fei is only a hero of the Han people, but for the entire Chinese nation is narrow and harmful to unity; the third is to put the needs of reality above historical facts. Insisting on equality of ethnic groups is the cornerstone of maintaining the unity of the Chinese nation, and it is also the duty of our government. The government should transcend ethnicity. From the Han, Tang, Song and Ming dynasties to the Qing Empire, all of them were multi-ethnic states and adhered to the policy of ethnic harmony. To insist on ethnic equality, government action should not jeopardize the heroic beliefs of all ethnic groups under its jurisdiction, including the Han Chinese, or else it will cause strife, which is detrimental to both the country and the unity of the Chinese nation. Harming the interests of minority communities is not conducive to the unity of the Chinese nation, and harming the interests of the Han Chinese is even less conducive to the unity of the Chinese nation, which is a judgment based on history and reality.
From the historical point of view, the dominant culture of the Chinese culture in the Central Plains as far back as the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period has been very mature, throughout the history of China, all minority communities to establish a regime, still in the slave society, while the Central Plains regime has long been a highly developed feudal regime, so the enlightened minority kings are learning and absorbing the culture of the Central Plains. In addition, through thousands of years of national division and unification, border policy and migration of ethnic groups, the Han people today are no longer the "Qin people" or "Han people" of history, but are the result of the integration of the bloodlines and cultures of multiple ethnic groups under the feudal regime's insistence on the policy of affinity and harmony, which is why the Han people and their culture have an open and inclusive nature. The dominance of Han Chinese in terms of numbers and culture is the result of historical evolution and cannot be forced by any one person. Moreover, the dominant position at the same time means more obligations. In the Ming Dynasty's fight against Japanese invaders, in the Qing Dynasty's counterattack against Russia and in the War of Resistance Against Japan and Defense of the Nation, the Han people made great contributions and sacrifices, and did not back down because of who held power. Therefore, the Han people are an open, tolerant and broad-minded community. To position the Han people's admiration for Yue Fei as narrow-minded heroism is really a denigration of this community. As mentioned earlier, Yue Fei represents positive, righteous spirit, Han people admire Yue Fei is not the same as accepting Yue Fei's foolhardiness, Han people admire Genghis Khan is not the same as agreeing with its siege of the city in the slaughter behavior. Today negated Yue Fei a person, tomorrow will negate like Yue Fei such as all the heroes of the community, Yue Fei and others represent the spirit of heroes will have nothing to rely on, the Chinese nation's view of the heroes will also be ashes, then once the enemy invasion, the country, the nation in peril, who go to fight against the enemy? Who is going to be a hero? How to maintain national unity? Therefore, the dialectical absorption of the heroes of the various ethnic groups of the valuable points, with the times, is the Chinese nation rely on the endless life, to realize the rejuvenation of the spiritual impetus. Therefore, learning from heroes like Yue Fei can only be strengthened, not weakened. If the textbook gives children the view that "the Jin people are all bad guys", it is the education method needs to be improved, rather than the fault of history, can not be denied our national heroes.
The categorization of wars as "national wars" is also puzzling. There are countless wars in the past and present, before the emergence of the state wars are tribal (ethnic) wars, most of which are aimed at obtaining food and women from other tribes; after the emergence of the state wars between all countries, most of which are aimed at taking possession of each other's people and resources. Therefore, all wars in ancient and modern times, whether they are on the offensive side or the defensive side, just or unjust, the purpose of war is to defend oneself or to expand one's real interests. In our country's history, all the feudal states are the emperor's private, its use of the jurisdiction of the ethnic groups and other countries for the purpose of war is very clear, if these wars with the "national war classification", then from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, and then to the Song, Liao and Xixia, all of these countries should be the king of the "national wars" of the leader of the national interest should be the first representative of the interests of the nation, then the king of the country on behalf of the specific nationalities are? So what specific nationalities did these rulers represent? Where are these peoples today? Why were most of the kings not national heroes? And why is it that there is the proclamation that "there is no place other than the king's land" and "the king's power is divinely authorized to subdue all the people"? Therefore, I personally think that the categorization of "national wars" has, firstly, reversed the purpose of wars and changed the nature of wars, and secondly, this categorization is not suitable for defining the concept of national heroes. From Yue Fei of China to Jeanne d'Arc of France, the hidden meaning of the concept of these heroes is very obvious, that is, they were all heroes of the country at that time, and "nation" at that time was in fact a synonym for the word "country", which is a geographical concept, and they were not exclusive to a certain ethnic group, but were admired by all the ethnic groups within the country at that time. Because of the inherited nature of the nation, regime change and dynastic change only allow us to think of heroes in the context of the nation, rather than dismissing them completely because of the ethnic group they belonged to.
History is a mirror, if the utilitarian vision to tamper with history, that mirror will be a ha-ha mirror; history is a country and a nation's past, is the fact of the activities of ancestors, only the first to respect the facts, we can draw from it the impetus to move forward. According to the information, Yue Fei is a famous general of the Southern Song Dynasty, the legend says that his mother stabbed the four words "loyalty to the country" on his back, and these four words became Yue Fei's lifelong creed. Yue Fei fought several northern expeditions against the Jin Dynasty, and was awarded the "Loyal Yue Fei" banner by Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty. 1142, Yue Fei was poisoned to death by Qin Hui on trumped-up charges, and became a victim of the Southern Song Dynasty's appeasement policy. Therefore, Yue Fei was first of all an anti-Jin general appointed by the state, and from the point of view of Yue Fei's purpose of fighting against the Jin and the biggest beneficiary, it was obviously for the national interest of the Southern Song. In addition, Yue Fei represents justice because the corruption of one country's regime is not an excuse for another country's aggression, and the fate of a country should be decided by its own people. What Yue Fei represents is the spirit and spirit of putting personal safety and security at the back of his mind, being indomitable and saving the country and the people from peril, and in this sense there is nothing wrong with making Yue Fei the hero of the whole Chinese nation.
So, no matter from which point of view, the practice of denying Yue Fei as the hero of the Chinese nation is not desirable. Then, how should we look at the historical figures like Yue Fei? The author believes that, first of all, we should respect the historical facts, and secondly, we should look at the historical figures from the perspective of national interests and whether they represent justice.