Everyone knows that there are kneeling statues of Qin Hui and his wife in the Yuewang Temple in Hangzhou. Qin Hui killed Yue Fei, a famous anti-gold officer, for "unnecessary" charges, and he was forever nailed to the pillar of shame in history. According to the latest report, there are about seven other kneeling statues of Qin Ju in China, located in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Hubei and Henan.
The kneeling statue of Qin Hui first appeared in the eleventh year of Chenghua of Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty (1475), when Zhou Mu, the governor of Zhejiang, rebuilt the tomb of Yue Fei, during which the kneeling statue of Qin Hui and his wife was cast. From the Ming Dynasty to 1979, Qin Hui's kneeling statue was recast 12 times back and forth. From the moment Qin Hui's kneeling statue appeared in front of Yue Fei's tomb, the descendants of Qin Hui were dissatisfied with it. Today I will introduce two descendants of Qin Hui to see how they think about Qin Hui's kneeling statue.
Qin Shili, who claims to be the 30th grandson of Qin Hui, was a history teacher before retiring. Qin Shili has repeatedly stated that it is not that the descendants of Qin Hui are treacherous officials. For example, Qin Hui’s great-grandson Qin Ju died at the expense of his family in order to resist the Jinbing. Also, during the Qianlong period, Dashi Qin, a descendant of Qin juniper from Nanjing, got the champion. He once said in front of Yue Fei's tomb, "People are ashamed of juniper from Song Dynasty, and I am ashamed of Qin before my grave."
Qin Shili believes that these two examples show that the descendants of Qin Hui also have loyalty, and there have also been people who have contributed to the country. Qin Shili hopes that he will have a chance to invite Yue Fei to a meal and resolve the conflicts and misunderstandings that have existed for more than 800 years.
Also in Nanjing, there is also a descendant of Qin Hui named Qin Liang, who claims to be the 32nd generation grandson of Qin Hui. Qin Liang is a middle school teacher. Whenever he mentions the kneeling statue of his ancestor, he is always excited. Qin Liang said on many occasions, "Qin Hui has already kneeled Yue Fei in the West Lake, why should he kneel his mother-in-law?" The cemetery of Yue Fei's mother is at the foot of Mount Lu in Jiujiang County, Jiangxi Province.
Qin Liang said: "I am ashamed and surnamed Qin since the Song Dynasty. I never mention to strangers that I am a descendant of the Qin family. But it is like a problem. I have to say a few words for the ancestors. First of all, when Qin Hui killed Yue Fei, his mother-in-law had been dead for several years. I don’t think there is any relationship between Qin Hui and Yue Fei’s mother, so there is no need to kneel; second, Qin Hui has been kneeling for hundreds of years in front of Yue Fei’s tomb in West Lake. Why should I kneel down on my mother-in-law now?"
Qin Liang's statement immediately caused a great uproar. What was the final result? According to the staff of Yue Fei's mother's graveyard management office, as early as the Ming Dynasty, Yue Fei's mother had a kneeling statue of Qin Hui and other five people. This is also recorded in the local county chronicles, which was later destroyed by the war. In the 1990s, the Jiujiang government allocated funds to rebuild the mother-in-law cemetery, but did not restore the kneeling statue at first.
At the beginning of this century, the local government planned to declare the mother-in-law cemetery to the national cultural relics protection unit, so the kneeling statues of Qin Hui and others were recast. Regarding Qin Liang’s doubts, experts said that the restoration of the kneeling statue in front of the mother-in-law’s cemetery has a certain educational significance and can allow visitors to understand this period of history. At present, Qin Hui and other five kneeling statues still exist in the mother-in-law's mother.
