A short story about loyalty and filial piety.

Mother-in-law tattooed

When Yue Fei was fifteen or sixteen, the Jin people from the north invaded the south. The people in power in the Song Dynasty were corrupt and incompetent, and they were retreating steadily. The country was at a critical moment of life and death. Yue Fei joined the army to fight against Liao. Soon after his father died, he retired from the army and returned to his hometown to observe filial piety.

In 1126, the Jin soldiers invaded the Central Plains on a large scale, and Yue Fei surrendered to the army again. Before leaving, Mrs. Yao called Yue Fei and said, "Now that the country is in crisis, what are your plans?"

"Go to the front line to kill the enemy and serve the country with loyalty!"

Mrs. Yao was very satisfied after hearing her son's answer. "Serving the country with loyalty and loyalty" was exactly what her mother hoped for her son. She decided to tattoo these four words on her son's back so that he would remember them forever.

Yue Fei unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his thin back, and asked his mother to take the needle.

Mrs. Yao asked: "My child, acupuncture is very painful, are you afraid?"

Yue Fei said: "Mother, a small steel needle is nothing. If you are afraid of needles, how can you go to the front line to fight?"

Mrs. Yao first wrote on Yue Fei's back, and then pricked it with an embroidery needle. But there is no trace of the word "国", which symbolizes the lack of a leader in the country. After the tattoo was done, the mother-in-law applied vinegar ink. From then on, the four words "Serve the Country with Loyalty" have remained on Yue Fei's back forever. Yue Fei was inspired by his mother's encouragement.

Extended information:

Yue Fei’s mother, Mrs. Yao Tai, was one of the four virtuous mothers in ancient times. She taught her children to serve the country loyally. As a model of maternal education and a role model for women, when the country was in danger, she inspired her sons to serve in the army and served the country with loyalty. She was said to be a good mother in the world.

By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, Yue Fei's story began to be widely circulated. Under the influence of Confucianism in "Jing Zhong Ji" created during the Chenghua period, "Mother-in-law Tattoo" has been endowed with numerous metaphysical cultural connotations, which is an important reason for its long-lasting prosperity. Later generations of commentaries called "serving the country with loyalty" as "serving the country with loyalty". And it was compiled into a song and spread among the people.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Mother-in-law Tattoo