There are no records in the notes of Song Dynasty or unofficial history, including Jin Tuo Ge Bian written by Yue Fei's great-grandson York. Mother-in-law tattoo was first seen in the Biography of Song History compiled by Yuan people. The book says, "Why did you cast a bow, take off your skirt and cast it on your back?". The word' loyalty to the country' goes deep into the skin. " But the book didn't indicate that these four words were written by my mother-in-law.
By the middle of Ming Dynasty, Yue Fei's story began to spread widely. The Zhongjing Ji, written during Chenghua's reign, only mentioned the words "saving the country with pure heart" on Yue Fei's back. In the thirty-first year of Jiajing (1552), Xiong Daben's Biography of Wu Zhong recorded that Yue Fei saw that some people in Tang Yin's hometown were forced by life and gathered in the mountains to encourage themselves and others, so he went to ask craftsmen to deeply tattoo the word "loyalty to the country" on their backs. The Legend of Zhongjing Banner, written by Li Mei and revised by Feng Menglong in the late Ming Dynasty, said: "There are four words on Shi Yanfei's back, which were stabbed by Zhang Xian and by Ling Fei." If so, Zhang Xian stabbed Yue Fei after he became a general.
"Mother-in-law tattoo" was first seen in Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty. Hang Qiancai commented on Zhong Jing's Covenant, the 22nd time in the book, entitled "The pseudonym swore into Wang Zuo and stabbed Zhong Jing's mother-in-law to instruct her son". The content is that Yue Fei was not hired by Wang Zuozhi, the messenger of Yang Yao, and his mother was afraid that some lawless people would come to seduce Yue Fei in the future. If she is cheated and unfaithful, her reputation will be ruined. So he prayed to the gods and ancestors, and tattooed the words "faithfully serve the country" on Yue Fei's back. This book describes that when her mother-in-law tattooed, she first wrote it on Fergie's back with a brush, then needled it with embroidery, and then smeared it with vinegar ink to make it never fade. Describe it in detail. However, some scholars believe that tattooing is a stunt with strict operating procedures and skills, which is by no means something that ordinary people can do. Mother-in-law is a housewife and can't have this ability. Obviously, the author created the tattoo on Yue Fei's back through imagination and artistic processing according to some biographies of Yuan and Ming Dynasties. So, does Yue Fei have a tattoo on his back? What is a tattoo? Whose hand stabbed it? It is still a mystery.
Under the influence of Confucianism, "mother-in-law tattoo" has been endowed with numerous metaphysical cultural connotations, which is also an important reason for its long-term prosperity.
Later generations described "loyalty to the country" as "loyalty to the country".