Yue Fei has participated in various labors since he was a child, such as herding cattle and sheep, collecting firewood and cutting grass, and lighting fires and cooking. Due to factors such as rigorous labor training since childhood, Yue Fei developed amazing physical strength.
Yue Fei loves martial arts very much. Yue Fei was less than twenty years old and could already draw a bow of three hundred kilograms (one kilogram in the Song Dynasty was about 1.2 kilograms today) and use his waist to fire a crossbow with eight stones (one stone in the Song Dynasty was 92.5 kilograms, about 110 kilograms today). According to the military system of the Song Dynasty, "shooting one stone with a bow and five fights" was considered to be superior in martial arts. He could be selected as a "banzhi" and serve as the emperor's bodyguard. The highest record for a warrior in the Northern Song Dynasty to draw a bow was only three stones⑾. It can be seen that Yue Fei's bow-drawing ability has reached its peak.
When Yue Fei was a teenager, he learned archery from "township tycoon" Zhou Tong. Zhou Tong performed in front of the public and fired three arrows in succession, all of which hit the bull's-eye. Yue Fei took his bow and shot two arrows, which actually broke Zhou Tong's arrows. Zhou Tong was shocked and immediately gave Yue Fei his two beloved bows. In just a few days, Zhou Tong taught Yue Fei all the secrets of archery. After painstaking practice, Yue Fei was able to shoot from both sides with perfect accuracy.
Later Zhou Tong died of illness, and Yue Fei was deeply saddened. On the first and fifteenth day of every month, people go to Zhou Tong's grave to express their condolences. Due to financial constraints, Yue Fei even sold his clothes and drank wine and buried his meat in front of his grave. Yue He discovered that his son's clothes suddenly disappeared one by one, so he questioned Yue Fei and even beat him. However, Yue Fei neither complained about his father nor told the truth. After Yue He secretly followed him, he discovered his son's secret and praised Yue Fei.
The Yue Fei family has been holding plows and hoes for generations, so it is impossible for them to have much culture. In the countryside of the Song Dynasty, there was a so-called "winter study". From October to December, poor scholars took advantage of the slack farming to teach. Textbooks include "Hundred Family Surnames", "Qianziwen", "Miscellaneous Characters" and so on, which were called "Village Books" at that time. If children from peasant families know some words, they may be less likely to be deceived by officials, Baozheng, Baochang, Lanhu (people who are in the business of accepting tax payments from others) and landlords. Children from peasant families did not enroll in school to become officials.
Yue Fei may have also studied in the village school. Although he was hungry for cultural knowledge, under the social environment at that time, it was generally impossible for children from farm families to receive further cultural education. The poor Yue family could not afford candles. After working hard during the day, Yue Fei often relied on the firelight of burning dead branches and leaves to read and write, even staying up all night. He is talented, has a strong memory, and has persistent perseverance. Later, when he became a general, he finally had a considerable level of education, "a little knowledge of calligraphy", that is, he knew some Confucian classics, and was able to compose poems, lyrics, compositions, and running script. His calligraphy was based on that of Su Shi, and his "words were in Su style."