MULAN: A STORY IN CHINESE AND ENGLISH PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Li Jian,Yijin Wert | 42 pages | 19 May 2014 | BetterLink Press Incorporated | 9781602209862 | English, Chinese | New York, United States Chinese Tale: Mulan (Original) Chen also says that the title of the poem and the fact that it is named for the female character reflects the respected status that women held in these nomadic societies. One may say the true meaning of the name Mulan is a forgotten legacy of the Tuoba. For around a thousand years, the story more or less stayed the same, a simple, easy-to-understand folk poem popular with the Chinese people. The first known adaptation was in the 16th century, by playwright Xu Wei. It emphasized footbinding, which is not mentioned in the original, as the custom was not widely practiced during the Northern Wei dynasty. The character was later included in a popular 17th-century novel about the Sui and early Tang dynasties, which was a marked departure from the poem. Here, Mulan commits suicide rather than live under a foreign ruler, meeting a tragic end. This version played on gender as well as ideas of national identity against a complicated political backdrop, and some have argued that the renewed interest it sparked in the Mulan story was partly due to its nationalistic overtones and critique of the occupation. Looking back at the original Mulan legend helps explain the criticism over certain stylistic choices in the film, such as the costume and the architecture. For some, the questions over adaptation and historical accuracy are inextricable from the issue of representation, both onscreen and behind the camera. For others, the strength of the adaptation lies in how well the film conveys the message of the Mulan story. Contact us at letters time. By Suyin Haynes. A painting of Mulan on silk from the eighteenth century. A still from "Mulan Joins the Army," from Historians say this film highlighted the more nationalistic elements of the original story and helped renew interest in Mulan's tale. The architecture, costume and geographical setting of Disney's Mulan adaptation have faced criticism from observers. In the new film, as with the original ballad, Mulan enlists in the army, disguised as a man, in the place of her father. Get The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. Please enter a valid email address. After years of military campaign and service to her country, she returns with honour and gifts from the emperor. Her parents, sister, and younger brother hurry out and prepare a feast to welcome her home. Mulan changes her clothes, makes up her hair and face, and greets her fellow soldiers who are shocked. Fighting side- by-side for years, they were not aware that Mulan is actually a woman. Stories such as hers tend to be elastic, allowing for added details and varied adaptations. Thus, she is extraordinary yet non-threatening to the social structure. Numerous Chinese writers have praised Mulan and her extraordinary deeds, highlighting her filial piety, loyalty, virtue, martial skills, or military achievements while attaching new interpretations and colourful details. These retellings usually reflect the social and historical context at the time. In chapters from a 17th-century novel, Historical Romance of the Sui and Tan Dynasties , Mulan kills herself after returning home. She also reveals her gender identity so that she can preserve her purity without defying an imperial order summoning her to become a palace consort. New versions continue to develop in modern and contemporary time. Readers often wonder whether Mulan was a real person in Chinese history. The short answer is no. We do not have existent evidence to prove Mulan is a historical figure who lived during a particular time. However, things are complicated, especially when we consider the likely oral origin of the folk ballad the earliest written document about her , and how her story has evolved in China beginning in the fourth to the sixth centuries and still ongoing today. What do all the surviving documents tell us? It is certainly possible that real people and events provided inspiration for the ballad. We can, for example, look for evidence of where Mulan might have come from. Although earlier versions of her story came from poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and notes, her name made its way into local histories in the 19th century, such as Gazetteers of the Grand Qing these gazetteers usually collect events and people of note, anecdotes, local lore, and other documents — and are semi-historical at best. While the aforementioned Ballad of Mulan lacks specific information about where Mulan is from, it does mention locations such as the Yellow River and the Yan Mountain, which people later used to interpret or imagine her hometown. In fact, several places in China have claimed to be her hometown. In addition to entries in gazetteers, there are tablet inscriptions, tomb sites, memorial shrines, and statues dedicated to her. Later on, drawings of her begin to appear in collections of beauties or as accompanying illustrations in some of the retellings. Although these materials are not evidence to prove Mulan is a historical figure, they contribute additional layers to her story, making it a palimpsest over time. To put it in other words, long before Mulan became a well-known name to English speakers, her story had undergone much transformation and inspired numerous retellings in China. The real story of Mulan | SYFY WIRE Chen also says that the title of the poem and the fact that it is named for the female character reflects the respected status that women held in these nomadic societies. One may say the true meaning of the name Mulan is a forgotten legacy of the Tuoba. For around a thousand years, the story more or less stayed the same, a simple, easy-to-understand folk poem popular with the Chinese people. The first known adaptation was in the 16th century, by playwright Xu Wei. It emphasized footbinding, which is not mentioned in the original, as the custom was not widely practiced during the Northern Wei dynasty. The character was later included in a popular 17th-century novel about the Sui and early Tang dynasties, which was a marked departure from the poem. Here, Mulan commits suicide rather than live under a foreign ruler, meeting a tragic end. This version played on gender as well as ideas of national identity against a complicated political backdrop, and some have argued that the renewed interest it sparked in the Mulan story was partly due to its nationalistic overtones and critique of the occupation. Looking back at the original Mulan legend helps explain the criticism over certain stylistic choices in the film, such as the costume and the architecture. For some, the questions over adaptation and historical accuracy are inextricable from the issue of representation, both onscreen and behind the camera. For others, the strength of the adaptation lies in how well the film conveys the message of the Mulan story. Contact us at letters time. By Suyin Haynes. A painting of Mulan on silk from the eighteenth century. A still from "Mulan Joins the Army," from Historians say this film highlighted the more nationalistic elements of the original story and helped renew interest in Mulan's tale. The architecture, costume and geographical setting of Disney's Mulan adaptation have faced criticism from observers. In the new film, as with the original ballad, Mulan enlists in the army, disguised as a man, in the place of her father. Get The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. Please enter a valid email address. Now, Mulan was already a good fighter who had been trained in martial arts, sword fighting and archery. Mulan fought for 12 years and is offered an official post, but asks for only a camel to get her back to her family. When she puts on traditionally female clothing, her fellow soldiers realize that she had been a woman the entire time. She is thrilled to find out that Mulan is a woman who fights as well think about that scene in Game of Thrones when Arya meets Brienne , and they become laotong. Sadly, in this version of the story, the king is taken down and the sisters surrender and offer to be put to death instead of the condemned men. Her father has died in her absence, and her mother has remarried. Mulan is ordered to become a concubine, so she kills herself. There have been a number of onscreen versions of the story of Hua Mulan, with the first one happening in , as well as plays and operas. A Chinese animated film version was also released in , in which the characters are talking animals. There are a number of books, and she even appears in the comic "Deadpool Killustrated" in , where she, alongside others, sets out to stop Deadpool from killing literary characters. The film is set to be directed by Niki Caro. Real or not, the story of Hua Mulan is a powerful one about a woman who chooses to go against tradition and fight in place of her father. Update your browser for more security and the best experience on this site. Skip to main content. Credit: Disney. Tag: Fangrrls. Tag: Movies. Jenna Busch. Hua Mulan - Wikipedia Cai Lun was called into the Palace to serve the Emperor at the age of Cai Lun was called into the Palace to serve the Emperor at the age of He was smart and studied hard. Soon he was promoted to be an attending official in charge of documentation.