Yue Fei was a patriotic military commander of the Southern Song Dynasty and a national hero in resisting the invading Jin people.
岳飞是南宋时期著名军事家，也是一位抗金英雄。
As a young man, he was diligent and adept in wushu.
他年轻的时候勤奋好学，练就一身好武艺。
The story of character-tattooing of his mother is popular among the people.
《岳母刺字》的故事在民间广为流传。
It is said that，
据清代中叶钱彩、金丰所编的《说岳全传》第二十二回记载:
Wang Zuo, with the alias of Yu Gong,
王佐化名于工，
persuaded Yue Fei to surrender and pledge his allegiance to Yang Yao.
劝岳飞投顺杨幺，
Yue Fei rejected him in stern terms.
被岳飞严词拒绝。
Yue Fei’s mother was afraid that after her death some unworthy men would still come to tempt her son.
岳母怕自己死后再有不肖之徒前来勾引岳飞，
If he was lured due to momentary negligence and committed treason, his illustrious name would be destroyed overnight.
倘若岳飞一时失察被惑，做出不忠之事，英名就会毁于一旦。
Therefore, she lighted joss sticks and candles in front of the sacred ancestral temple,
于是，岳母在家庙前焚香点烛，
wishing to tattoo the characters “serving the motherland with selfless loyalty” on the back of his son.
要在岳飞背上刺下“精忠报国”四个字。
After Yue Fei had worshiped the heaven and earth and his ancestors,
岳飞拜过天地祖宗后，
his mother wrote the characters with a brush on his back.
岳母先用毛笔在岳飞背上写下“精忠报国”4个字，
Then she used an embroidery needle to stab in conformity to the strokes and smeared it with vinegar ink to avoid color fading.
然后用绣花针依笔画刺完，又用醋墨涂了一遍，以使字迹永不褪色。
This story has become a classic piece of teaching material for the later generations to eulogize patriotism.
岳母刺字的故事成为后世爱国主义的经典教材。
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