Wong Tai Sin Sign 61 · The General's Betrayal

This sign tells the tragic story of Yue Fei, one of China's most beloved military heroes from the Song Dynasty (12th century). He was a brilliant general who nearly drove out the Jin invaders from northern China, but just as victory seemed certain, Emperor Gaozong sent twelve urgent golden tablets ordering him to return to the capital immediately. Why? The prime minister Qin Hui, secretly collaborating with the enemy, had convinced the paranoid emperor that Yue Fei was becoming too powerful. Once back in the capital, the 39-year-old general was imprisoned and executed on trumped-up charges of treason. The Chinese saying 'twelve golden tablets' became synonymous with being recalled at the worst possible moment by those you trusted most.