The Ballad of Mulan Report and Poem

Wolfe !1 Brady Wolfe Dr. Christensen CHIN 343 December 8, 2015 Mulan China to me for many years was defined by the classic story of Mulan. It was a foreign land as far away from me as anything I could fathom, yet it was so fascinating to me that I would of- ten even pretend I could speak Chinese, and I still remember the excitement I felt when as a young child I first watched Disney’s retelling of Mulan. I watched it over and over again, and when I went to China for the first time, I was honestly quite surprised to find that today’s China was quite different from my childhood imaginations inspired by that movie. For this reason, when I discovered that the legend of Mulan originates from an ancient Chinese poem, I decided it would be appropriate and enjoyable for me to choose this poem as the subject of my translation and research project. The core of this project is my own translation of the classic poem, and addi- tionally I will discuss a little bit about the history of the poem, and analyze its structure and format. The original source for the poem of Mulan has been lost, but it was transcribed into the Music Bureau Collections, an anthology by Guo Maoqing put together sometime during the Song dynasty around the 11th or 12th century A.D., and a note is given by Guo saying that the source from which it was taken and transcribed into the collection was a compilation made during the beginning of the Tang dynasty, more or less 6th century A.D., called the Musical Records of Old and New, (Project Gutenberg). Wolfe !2 There are many different opinions about the actual family name of Mulan. In the text as we have it from the Song dynasty version of the poem, no surname is given, and the heroine is represented simply as Mulan (⽊蘭). Some retellings and histories have attributed the surname Wei (魏), and others Zhu (朱). During the latter part of the Ming dynasty, playwright Xu Wei intro- duced his representation of Mulan’s character in his two act drama, "The Heroine Mulan Goes to War in Her Father's Place,” (雌⽊蘭替⽗從軍 ), as Hua Mulan (花⽊蘭), (Wikipedia). Mulan’s name in translation from Chinese means, “Lily Magnolia,” so the surname Hua, meaning “flower” definitely holds more poetic appeal in conjunction with her given name, and thus has come to be considered her name by most Chinese speakers. Disney also uses this more popularly accepted surname of Hua (花), but uses the Cantonese pronunciation which is Fa (花). There is some argument as to wether or not Mulan was indeed a real person, but after a brief study of the matter I stand on the side of saying that she did indeed exist as a real woman who went off to war in place of her father. Considering the limited number of sources currently avail- able, I base my assumption primarily upon the fact that there was a strong aversion to fiction in classic Chinese literature, except for the more mystical religious myths and symbols found in some poems, and the Ballad of Mulan is far from resembling any such mythological poem, and plays out much more like a realistic and relatable story. I imagine that the story itself has devel- oped into something separate in one degree or another from the exact truth of the real Mulan’s story, especially with each new retelling that fills in different details, but nonetheless I hold that Mulan was a real person to be remembered and honored for the legacy she has left the world. Wolfe !3 One obvious misrepresentation of the original in Disney’s rendition of Mulan is that the story didn’t likely take place in the Confucian Chinese society with emperor’s and courts and the For- bidden City of Beijing, for it was composed during the centuries following the end of the Han dynasty. These centuries were filled with many wars as foreign tribes repeatedly attacked China. A unified alliance of these foreign tribes was made, and an empire created in North China, and this period of their power is known as the Northern Wei period. It is during this period that Mu- lan would have lived, and for this reason “The Son of Heaven” in the poem is referred to as “The Khan,” and not as the emperor, as he would have been in the more traditional Confucian dynas- ties. Over time the invading tribes that created this Northern empire would adopt many of the customs and practices of the native Han people and there would be little difference between them, but at the time of Mulan it is still a very distinct culture, (Zhang). Some rumor that Mulan was actually executed when it was found out that she was a woman, which brings a very different ending to the story as it has been represented in the classic poem and more or less every retelling since. Wether that is true or not, though, Mulan has been a pow- erful influence over the centuries in inspiring the women of China and the world to know that they are not weak, incapable, and destined to be dominated by the rule of men. Mulan shows us that women can stand up to the face of immense challenge and danger that even many men could not pass through, and come out victorious. She also shows us that it can be done not for hopes of power and personal glory, but for the pure motive of love - a deep and selfless love for an aged and ailing father - and the desire to bring honor to her family. With such a motive I believe she faced such insurmountable challenges better than any that allows himself to be driven by more selfish and dishonorable motives that are so common among even many of the greatest of men. If Wolfe !4 she was in fact executed, she died a noble martyr in the cause of love, and teaches us that it is better to die courageously for love than to live in greed and fear. Wether you are a man or a woman, there is a great deal to be learned from the story of the great warrior Mulan. Structure The poem is in the Yueh-fu (樂府詩) style, and is similar in many ways to the later standard- ized Ancient Verse (古時) in structure, which had no set number of lines or tone patterns. The poem consists primarily of five character lines, but occasionally extends to seven character lines, and two lines of the poem even have nine characters. The rhyme pattern rests on the ending characters of even lines, but unlike the Ancient Verse regulations, the rhyme itself doesn’t remain the same throughout the poem, or even throughout most sections, rather it changes after every four lines. Some of the rhyme is lost in modern mandarin pronunciation, though, so only about half of the poem retains the element of rhyme that would surely have been present in its original read- ings in the ancient Chinese. The original poem was 62 lines in length, written in couplets, but to give the English reader a more authentic feeling of the antiquity of this poem, I decided to loosely format the poem in one of the most familiar of the older English poetic forms, namely the Shakespearean sonnet. My translation is presented in a series of five sonnets, and to fit this format without deleting any lines from the original text, I of necessity had to add eight lines that, though true to the original poem in communicating the story and based off words in the lines surrounding them, are not found in the original Chinese text. These are marked with an asterisk (*). I translated the poem from the Chinese text provided in the appendix of Zhang Songnan’s illustrated book titled The Ballad of Wolfe !5 Mulan. I strictly held to the rhyme pattern of the Shakespearean Sonnet, and also followed the regulation of classic pentameter, but my adherence to the iambic rhythm was less strict. Many lines do have the iambic rhythm, but many also break from that mold, giving the poem a more free feel while still maintaining the semblance of formal structure. I feel that such a format is fit- ting to represent the free spirit of Mulan who defied the system while at once adhering to it. There are many translations and retellings of Mulan, which always holds the risk of new translations and retellings seeming to be just more of the same. I hope you will enjoy my rendition of Mulan as a fresh and unique preservation of the original work. Wolfe !6 The Ballad of Mulan in Translation I. Chirping of cicadas heard all around Mulan is seated in her knitting room Yet hear, how strange, the loom maketh no sound Just the sighing Lily Magnolia bloom Pray thee daughter let thy pains now be told Mulan which mem’ries lay dark on thy mind? A mournful voice responds, My thoughts lay cold To memory, both bright and sad I’m blind Last night I saw they posted dreadful news The Khan calls all of China’s men to war Twelve royal scrolls confirm mine eyes see true My father’s name inscribed upon each door Father hath not a son to take his place Nor have I brother to save family face Wolfe !7 II. Mulan stole to town for saddle and steed And went to war not as daughter but son East Market she found a horse of fine breed West Market a saddle just newly done South Market is where the bridle was sold North Market gave the whip her horse would dread No word — she left father crippled and old Beside Huanghe River she makes her bed Distance mutes the cries of anguished mother Mulan hears naught but flowing water’s voice Dawn comes, Mulan journeys with no other Who at a black mount’s peak confirms her choice Miles muffle a weeping father’s sobs Yet midst soldiers’ screams Mulan’s heart still throbs Wolfe !8 III.

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