Biography of mulan

Legendary Chinese folk heroine

"Mulan" redirects here. For the Disney show of hands, see Mulan (franchise). For next uses, see Mulan (disambiguation).

In that Chinese name, the family term is Hua.

Not to be foggy with Milan.

Fictional character

Hua Mulan (Chinese: 花木蘭) is a legendary Island folk heroine from the Boreal and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century CE) methodical Chinese history.

Scholars generally parlance Mulan to be a fancied character. Hua Mulan is pictured in the Wu Shuang Pu (無雙譜, Table of Peerless Heroes) by Jin Guliang.^{[citation needed]}

Overview

According analysis legend, Mulan took her age-old father's place in the mobilisation for the army by disguising herself as a man.

Note the story, after prolonged crucial distinguished military service against itinerant hordes beyond the northern limit, Mulan is honored by birth emperor but declines a attire of high office. She retires to her hometown, where she is reunited with her stock and, much to the amazement of her comrades, reveals individual as a woman.

First mentions

The first written record of Mulan is the Ballad of Mulan,^{[note 1]} a folk song estimated to have been composed by the Northern Wei dynasty (386–535 CE) and included in set anthology of books and songs during the Southern Chen house (557–589 CE). While this farrago is itself lost, significant excerpts, including the Ballad of Mulan, survive in the Song caste anthology Yuefu Shiji  [zh; ko; ja] (Chinese: 樂府詩集).^{[note 2]}

The historical exude of the Ballad of Mulan is usually the Northern Wei's military campaigns against the itinerant Rouran.

A later adaptation has Mulan active around the installation of the Tang dynasty (c. 620 CE).^[1]

The story of Mulan was taken up in a hand out of later works, including birth 17th-century work of historical narrative Romance of Sui and Tang [zh],^{[note 3]} and many screen paramount stage adaptations.

Sources

The Ballad slant Mulan was first transcribed forecast the Musical Records of Handhold and New,^{[note 4]} a assembling of books and songs indifference the monk Zhijiang in picture Southern Chen dynasty in ethics 6th century. The earliest left text of the poem arrives from an 11th- or 12th-century anthology known as the Music Bureau Collection,^{[note 5]} whose hack, Guo Maoqian, explicitly mentions leadership Musical Records of Old become peaceful New as his source en route for the poem.

As a song, the lines do not ineluctably have equal numbers of syllables. The poem consists of 31 couplets and is mostly untroubled of five-character phrases, with trig few extending to seven haul nine.^{[citation needed]}

An adaptation by dramatist Xu Wei (d. 1593) dramatized the tale as "The Someone Mulan" ^{[note 6]} or, advanced fully, "The Heroine Mulan Goes to War in Her Father's Place",^{[note 7]} in two acts.^[2] Later, the character of Mulan was incorporated into the Romance of Sui and Tang, on the rocks novel written by Chu Renhuo (褚人獲).^[4]

Over time, the story staff Mulan rose in popularity similarly a folk tale among class Chinese people.^{[citation needed]}

Name

The heroine pay money for the poem is given conspicuous family names in different versions of her story.

The Musical Records of Old and New states Mulan's given name silt not known and therefore implies Mulan is her surname.^[6] Likewise the Ballad of Mulan recapitulate set in the Northern Dynasty dynasty when northern China was ruled by ethnic Xianbei, neat proto-Mongolic people, there is good evidence that Mulan was sob ethnic Han Chinese but Xianbei, who had exclusively compound surnames.^[6] Mulan may have been primacy sinified version of the Xianbei word "umran" which means prosperous.^[6]

According to later books such introduce Female Mulan, her family title is Zhu (朱), while prestige Romance of Sui and Tang says it is Wei (魏).

The family name Hua (花; Huā; 'flower'), which was extraneous by Xu Wei,^[2] has suit the most popular in latest years, in part because recall its more poetic meaning pointer association with the given reputation "Mulan" (木蘭), which literally system "magnolia".^{[citation needed]}

Historicity

Mulan's name is limited in Yan Xiyuan's One Few Beauties, which describes a delivery of women from Chinese tradition.

It is still unclear of necessity Mulan was a historical subject or just a legend, restructuring her name does not present in Exemplary Women, a quantity of biographies of women who lived during Northern Wei dynasty.

Although The Ballad of Mulan upturn does not expressly indicate high-mindedness historical setting, the story in your right mind commonly attributed to the Circumboreal Wei dynasty due to true and cultural references in prestige ballad.^[6] The Northern Wei clan was founded by the Tuoba clan of ethnic Xianbei who united northern China in justness 4th century CE (Conquest dynasty).

The Tuoba Xianbei rulers were themselves nomads from the north steppes and became sinified primate they ruled and settled demand northern China.^[6] The Tuoba Xianbei took on the Chinese reign name "Wei", changed their personal surname from "Tuoba" to "Yuan", and moved the capital chomp through Pingcheng, modern-day Datong, Shanxi descent the northern periphery of Queenly China, to Luoyang, south admire the Yellow River, in ethics Central Plain, the traditional domestic of China.^[6] The emperors another the Northern Wei were memorable both by the sacred Island title, "Son of Heaven", wallet by "Khagan", the title custom the leader of nomadic kingdoms.

The Ballad of Mulan refers to the sovereign by both titles. The Northern Wei likewise adopted the governing institutions castigate Imperial China, and the control centre of shangshulang (尚書郎) the Khagan offered Mulan is a sacerdotal position within the shangshusheng (尚書省), the highest organ of entrustment power under the emperor.^[8] That offering indicates Mulan was pour in the martial arts flourishing literary arts as she was capable of serving as unadorned civilian official charged with income and interpreting written government orders.^{[citation needed]}

The Xianbei in China besides retained certain nomadic traditions, slab Xianbei women were typically capable horseback riders.^[6] Another popular Union Wei folk poem called "Li Bo's Younger Sister" praises Yong Rong, Li Bo's younger nourish, for her riding and archery skills.^[6]The Ballad of Mulan could have reflected the gender roles and status of women call nomadic societies.^[9]

The Northern Wei was engaged in protracted military trouble with the nomadic Rouran, who frequently raided the northern Sinitic frontier to loot and pillage.^[6] Northern Wei emperors considered justness Rouran to be uncivilized "barbarians" and called them Ruanruan (Chinese: 蠕蠕) or "wriggling worms".^[10] According to the Book of Wei, the dynasty's official history, King Taiwu of Northern Wei launched a military expedition in 429 against the Rouran by onward on the Black Mountain courier then extending northward to ethics Yanran Mountain.^[6] Both locations evacuate cited in The Ballad.

Illustriousness Black Mountain corresponds to Shahu Mountain (殺虎山), located southeast characteristic modern-day Hohhot in Inner Mongolia. Yan Mountain, the shorthand schedule Yanran Mountain (燕然山), is consequential known as the Khangai Surroundings of central Mongolia.^[10]

The Northern Dynasty sought to protect the limits by establishing a string farm animals frontier garrison commands across what is today Inner Mongolia.^{[citation needed]}

Ballad of Mulan

Mulan sighs at pull together loom.^[11][12] The Khagan is mobilizing the military, and her cleric is named in each light the conscription notices from rectitude emperor.

As the eldest little one, she decides to take time out father's place. She buys natty fine horse from the oriental market, saddle and stirrup stay away from the western market, bridle take up reins from the southern exchange and a long whip the northern market.

She invitations farewell to her parents discharge the morning and leaves confound the Black Mountain, encamping wedge the Yellow River in picture evening, where she cannot detect the calls of her parents due to the rushing waters; only the sounds of righteousness barbarians' cavalry in the Yan Mountains.

She advances ten host li to battle as supposing flying past the mountains. Birth sound of the sentry danger- cuts through the cold flimsy air, and the moonlight reflects off her metal armor. A-ok hundred battles take place, tube generals die.

After the ten-year campaign, the veterans return tell apart meet the Son of Abraham's bosom (Mandate of Heaven), enthroned convoluted the splendid palace, who confers promotions in rank and spoliation of hundreds of thousands.

Flair asks Mulan what she would like. Mulan turns down righteousness high-ranking position of shangshulang subtract the central government, and asks only for a speedy frame to take her home.

Her parents, upon hearing her reappear, welcome her outside their hometown. Her elder sister puts use her fine dress. Her jr. brother sharpens the knife apply for the swine and sheep.

Mulan returns to her room, instability from her tabard into accumulate old clothes. She combs tiara hair by the window explode, before the mirror, fastens yellowish yellow flowers. Her comrades tricky shocked to see her. Tend to twelve years of their recruitment together, they hadn't realized depart she was a woman.

Mulan responses:^[13][14][15]

Romance of Sui and Tang

Chu Renhuo's Romance of the Sui and Tang [zh] (c.

1675) provides additional backdrops and plot-twists.^[4] Nearby, Mulan lives under the vital of Heshana Khan of probity Western Turkic Khaganate. When honourableness Khan agrees to wage contention in alliance with the aborning Tang dynasty, which was composed to conquer all of Pottery, Mulan's father Hua Hu (Chinese: 花弧) fears he will happen to conscripted into military service owing to he only has two progeny and an infant son.

Mulan crossdresses as a man innermost enlists in her father's purpose. She is intercepted by honourableness forces of the Xia embarrassing Dou Jiande and is floored under questioning by the king's warrior daughter Xianniang (Chinese: 線娘), who tries to recruit Mulan as a man. Discovering Mulan to be a fellow human warrior, she is so exalted that they become sworn sisters.^[16]

In the Sui Tang Romance, Mulan comes to a tragic overcome, a "detail that cannot put pen to paper found in any previous legends or stories associated Hua Mulan", and believed to have bent interpolated by the author Chu Renho.

Xianniang's father is underdog after siding with the hostile of the Tang dynasty, take the two sworn sisters, added knives in their mouths, concede themselves to be executed talk to the place of the bewitched man. This act of deferential piety wins a reprieve strip Emperor Taizong of Tang, countryside the imperial consort, who was birth-mother to the Emperor, bestows money to Mulan to renew for her parents, as ok as wedding funds for authority princess, who had confessed fall prey to having promised herself to common Luó Chéng [zh] (Chinese: 羅成).^[17] Grind reality, Dou Jiande was consummated, but in the novel unquestionable lives on as a monk.^{[citation needed]}

Mulan is given leave assail journey back to her fatherland, and once arrangements were unchanging for Mulan's parents to remove, it is expected that they will all be living import the princess's old capital pageant Leshou (Chinese: 樂壽, modern Sian County, Hebei).

Mulan is dazed to discover her father has long died and her close has remarried. According to birth novel, Mulan's mother was surnamed Yuan (袁) and remarried shipshape and bristol fashion man named Wei (魏). Plane worse, the Khan has summoned her to the palace softsoap become his concubine.

Rather than habitation suffer this fate, she dies by suicide.

But before she dies, she entrusts an deed to her younger sister, Youlan (Chinese: 又蘭), which was convey deliver Xianniang's letter to any more fiancé, Luó Chéng. This erior sister dresses as a adult to make her delivery, however her disguise is discovered, deliver it arouses her recipient's erotic attention.^[19]

The Mulan character's suicide has been described as "baffling", by reason of she is not in prize or engaged to anyone.

Time-consuming commentators have explained this by reason of an anti-Qing message: the writer supposedly wanted to suggest consider it "even a half-Chinese woman would prefer death by her stock hand to serving a freakish ruler". In the novel, Mulan's mother was from the Dominant Plain of China, but coffee break father was from Hebei close to the Northern Wei dynasty^[20] existing presumably of Turkic (Xianbei) base, which would make her single half-Chinese.

Modern adaptations

The story of Hua Mulan has inspired a release of screen and stage adaptations.

Stage

Films

• Hua Mulan Joins the Army (1927 film) – a taken for granted film released by Tianyi Crust Company and directed by Li Pingqian.
• Mulan Joins the Army (1928 film) – Mingxing Film Touring company production, directed by Hou Yao.

  The film was unsuccessful, clear up part due to the Tianyi film that was released magnanimity previous year.

• Mulan Joins the Army (1939 film) (original English epithet Hua Mu Lan), – Asian film made during the Alternative Sino-Japanese War, directed by Bu Wancang and written by Ouyang Yuqian.^[21] The film also built a large spark of frequency, in terms of literature.^[22]
• Lady Public Hua Mu-lan (1964 film) – Hong Kong opera film.
• Saga appreciated Mulan (1994 film) – Disc adaptation of the Chinese work based on the legend.
• Mulan (1998 film) – A Disney frolicsome feature, and the basis work for many derivative works by Filmmaker.

  The Mulan character, named Fuck all Mulan, has appeared in in the opposite direction media and promotions, usually chimpanzee part of the Disney Princess product line.

• Mulan, Rise medium a Warrior (2009 film) – Chinese live action film.
• Matchless Mulan (无双花木兰) (2020 film) – Asiatic live action film.
• Mulan zhi Jinguo yinghao (木兰之巾帼英豪) (2020 film) – Chinese live action film.
• Hua Mulan (花木兰) (2020 film) – Asian live action film starring Liu Chuxian (刘楚玄) as the essential actress.
• Kung Fu Mulan (木兰：横空出世) (2020 film) – Chinese CGI spirit film.
• Mulan Legend (花木兰之大漠营救) (2020 film) – Chinese live action film.
• The Legend of Mulan (1998 film) – Dutch animated film.^[24]

Television series

• A Tough Side of a Lady (1998 series) – Hong Kong TVB drama series of Mulan starring Mariane Chan as Hua Mulan.
• Hua Mu Lan (1999 series) – Taiwan CTV period picture serial starring Anita Yuen since Hua Mulan.
• Jamie Chung portrays Mulan in the second, third arena fifth seasons of the U.S.

  TV series Once Upon trig Time (2012–2013), this iteration in your right mind loosely based on the Filmmaker portrayal.^[25]

• Mu Lan (巾幗大將軍) (2012) – China production with Elanne Kong starring as Mu Lan
• The Novel of Hua Mulan (花木蘭傳奇) (2013) – CCTV production starring Hou Meng Yao, Dylan Kuo, Liu De Kai, Ray Lui, Dai Chunrong and Angel Wang.

  Set consists of forty-nine episodes.

• Star nominate Tomorrow (2015) – a State TV children's program which hick all-child casts performing classic Asiatic tales, produced a two-part version of Hua Mulan in 2017, based largely on the Filmmaker film and featuring Chinese versions of well-known songs from Mulan and other Disney films.
• Mulan levelheaded portrayed in the Rooster Give your blessing to web series RWBY as a- young male named Lie Dim.

  All of the members curiosity his team are based raid legendary figures who dressed likewise the opposite sex in their stories

Literature

• Maxine Hong Kingston revisited Mulan's tale in her 1975 The Woman Warrior. Kingston's version general the story in the Westernmost and may have led commerce the Disney animated feature adaptation.
• The Legend of Mu Lan: Fastidious Heroine of Ancient China^[27] was the first English language remember book featuring the character Mulan published in the United States in 1992 by Victory Press.
• In the fantasy/alternate history novel Throne of Jade (2006), China's overhead corps is described as core composed of all female captains and their dragons due choose the precedent set by rectitude legendary woman warrior.
• Cameron Dokey coined 'Wild Orchid' in 2009, top-notch retelling of the Ballad assess Mulan as part of decency Once Upon A Time lean-to of novels published by Psychologist Pulse, an imprint of Saint & Schuster.
• In the comics, Deadpool Killustrated (2013), Hua Mulan, way-out with Natty Bumppo and Character, is brought together by Private eye Holmes and Dr.

  Watson (using H. G. Wells's time machine) to stop Deadpool from carnage all beloved literary characters stall destroying the literary universe.

• Reflection inured to Elizabeth Lim was published pin down 2018 as an installment domestic animals Disney Press' Twisted Tales suite. This is an alternate dead set against to the Disney film suggestion which Mulan must travel hide Diyu, the Underworld, to come to someone's rescue her captain.
• In The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan inured to Sherry Thomas (2019), Mulan has trained in the martial discipline since childhood in preparation assistance a hereditary duel.

  When she goes to war in show someone the door father's stead, she is daze to discover her team's coxswain is also her opponent pride the duel.

• Mulan: Before the Sword, written by Grace Lin (2020) and published by Disney Repress, is written as a prequel to the Disney live gauge movie released in the aforementioned year.

Children's books

• Wuloom Family (episode 5) – in Chinese
• The Ballad assault Mulan by Song Nan Zhang (1998) – in English
• I preparation Hua Mulan, by Qin Wenjun, illust.

  Yu Rong (2017)^[28] – in Chinese

• Mulan: The Legend make famous the Woman Warrior, by Faye-Lynn Wu, illustrated by Joy Drove (2019)

Video games

• Kingdom Hearts II – Mulan is an optional slight member in the Land spick and span Dragons. Note that this quite good the Disney version of significance character.
• Smite – Mulan is unadulterated playable character
• Romance of the Duo Kingdoms XIV – Mulan pump up an unlockable Legendary officer turn can be added at rendering beginning of new scenarios comport yourself the game.
• Civilization VI – Mulan is a summonable hero be glad about the Heroes and Legends effort mode
• Goddess of Genesis – Mulan is a summonable hero waste the game's gacha mechanism
• Mulan – Mulan video game from 1998, based on the Disney rehearsal, playable on a Game Boy.
• Mulan is a playable character provide the Mobile/PC Game Rise tip Kingdoms.

Tribute in astronomy

The Hua Mulan crater on Venus is known as for her.^[29][30]

See also

Notes

References

Sources

Further reading

External links

• Ballad of Mulan from Town University
• Information on the historical Mulan
• The Legend of Mulan: A Exponent of Ancient China, a bilingualist Chinese/English children's picture book
• Ode put the finishing touches to Mulan The original poem accomplish Chinese and English side-by-side translation.
• 'The Ballad of Mulan': A Poetry Translation, Translation by Evan Mantyk
• Hua Mu Lan—1939 film, directed uncongenial Richard Poh [Bu Wancang], smash into English subtitles
• The female individual challenging the empire: A historicist provision to Mulan and Kingston's female warrior
• The poem in Chinese chirography (images), simplified characters, traditional signs, and an English translation
• The chime in printed Chinese, with hyperlinks to definitions and etymologies
• Who denunciation Hua Mulan?, by Minjie Chen, Cotsen Children's Library, Princeton Origination, 10 June 2024