Oil painting on silk, "Hua Mulan Goes to War"

Hua Mulan (Traditional Chinese: 花木蘭; Simplified Chinese: 花木兰; pinyin: Huā Mùlán) is the heroine who joined an all-male army described in a famous Chinese poem known as the Ballad of Mulan. The poem was first written in the Musical Records of Old and New from the 6th century, the century before the founding of the Tang Dynasty; the original work no longer exists, and the original text of this poem comes from another work known as the Music Bureau Collection, an anthology of lyrics, songs, and poems, compiled by Guo Maoqian during the 12th century. The author explicitly mentions the Musical Records of Old and New as his source for the poem. Whether she was a historical person or whether the poem was an allegory has been debated through centuries. It is unknown whether the story has any factual basis. This article is about the film Mulan. For the legendary person, see Hua Mulan. ... This article is about the Disney character. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Traditional Chinese characters refers to one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Pinyin, more formally called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... This article is about the type of character. ... Poetry (ancient Greek: poieo = create) is an art form in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. ... The 6th century is the period from 501 - 600 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... For the band, see Tang Dynasty (band). ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Allegory of Music by Filippino Lippi. ...

Overview

In the story, Mulan disguised herself as a man to take her elderly father's place in the army. She dressed as a man and disguised herself as a soldier. She was later offered a government post by the emperor himself after her service was up. However, unwilling to commit anymore to the forces, she turned down the position so she could return to her family immediately. When her former colleagues visited her at home, they were shocked to see her dressed as a woman. The poem ends with the image of a female hare (Mulan) and a male hare (her comrades) running side by side, and the narrator asking how anyone could tell them apart.

The time setting of the story is uncertain. The earliest accounts of the legend state that she lived during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534). However another version reports that Mulan was requested as a concubine by Emperor Yang of Sui China (reigned 604–617). Evidence from the existent poem suggests the earlier interpretation. Northern Wei Buddha Maitreya, 443 AD. A Buddhist stela from the Northern Wei period, build in the early 6th century. ... Emperor Yang of Sui China (560-618), or Yang-ti was the son and heir of Emperor Wen of Sui, and then the second emperor of Chinas Sui Dynasty. ...

The poem is a ballad, meaning that the lines do not necessarily have equal numbers of syllables. The poem is mostly composed of five-character phrases, with just a few extending to seven or nine.

There are three uses of onomatopoeia in the poem. The sound of Mulan's weaving (or her lamentations) is 唧唧 jǐ-jǐ (i.e., "click-clack"); the Yellow River babbles 濺濺 jiàn-jiàn (i.e., "splish-splash") to her as she departs from it; at the military encampment the horses cry 啾啾 jiū-jiū (i.e., they whinny).

The story was expanded into a novel during the late Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). On June 5, 1998, Disney released an animated movie entitled Mulan loosely based on the story. In 2005–2006, the movie was replicated as a playable world in the video game Kingdom Hearts II. For other uses, see Ming. ... This article is about the film Mulan. For the legendary person, see Hua Mulan. ... Kingdom Hearts II ) is an action role-playing game developed by Square Enix Co. ...

Name

The word "mulan" refers to the "Magnolia liliiflora". ("Mu" by itself means "wood" and "Lan" means "orchid".) The heroine of the poem is given many different family names in the various versions of her story. According to History of the Ming, her family name is Zhu, while the History of the Qing say it is Wei. The Ballad of Mulan doesn't give her family name. The Ming scholar Xu Wei offers yet another alternative when, in his play, he gives her the family name Hua (meaning "flower"). This latter name has become the most popular in recent years. Her complete name is then "花木蘭", transcribed as Huā Mùlán in Pinyin and Hua1 Mu4-lan2 in Wade-Giles. Binomial name Magnolia liliiflora Desrouss. ... For other uses, see Wood (disambiguation). ... Orchid re-directs here; for alternate uses see Orchid (disambiguation) Genera Over 800 See List of Orchidaceae genera. ... Xú Wèi (徐渭) (1521 - 1593) was a Ming Chinese painter famed for his rapid and expressive strokes. ... Pinyin, more formally called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... Wade-Giles, sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration) system for the Chinese language based on Mandarin. ...

The Disney cartoon film popularised the version "Fa Mulan". This "Fa" pronunciation of "花" is to be found in various Chinese dialects, including Cantonese, while "Mulan" is the transcription from Mandarin.

The Ballad of Mulan

Rough translation from Chinese:

The insects chirping happily outside, Mulan sat opposite the door weaving; No sound of the shuttle was heard, Only sighs of the girl. When asked what she was pondering over, When asked what she had called to mind, Nothing special the girl was pondering over, Nothing special had the girl called to mind. Last night she saw the military announcement, And Father's name was in every one of them. Father had no grown son, Nor Mulan an older brother; She wanted to buy a saddle and horse, And from now on fought in place of her Father. In the eastern market she bought a fine steed, In the western market a saddle and a pad, In the southern market a bridle, In the northern market a long whip. At daybreak she bid farewell to her parents, At sunset she bivouacked by the Yellow River; What met her ears was no longer her parents' call, But the gurgles and splashes of the rushing waters. At daybreak she left the Yellow River, At sunset she arrived at the top of the Black Hill; What met hers ears was no longer her parents' call, But the Hu horses neighing in the Yanshan Mountains. On the expedition of thousands of miles to the war, She dashed across mountains and passes as if in flight; In the chilly northern air night watches clanged, In the frosty moonlight armour and helmet glistened, Generals laid down their lives in a hundred battles, And valiant soldiers returned after ten years' service. When she returned to an audience with the Son of Heaven, The Son of Heaven sat in the Hall of Brightness. A promotion of many ranks was granted for her merits, With a reward than amounted to thousands of strings of cash. The Khan asked Mulan what she desired to do. 'I don't need any high official position, Please lend me a sturdy camel that is fleet of foot, And send me back to my hometown.' When her parents heard their daughter was coming, They walked out of the town, each helping the other; when the elder sister heard the younger sister was coming, she decked herself out in her best by the door; When the her younger brother heard his sister was coming, He whetted a knife and aimed it at a pig and a sheep. Opened the door of my east chamber, And then sat down on the bed in my west chamber; Taking of the armour worn in wartime, Attired myself in apparel of former times; By the window I combed and coiffed my cloudy hair, Before the mirror I adorned my forehead with a yellow pattern. When Mulan came out to meet her battle companions, They were all astounded and thrown into bewilderment. Together they had been in the army for a dozen years or so, Yet none had known that Mulan was actually a girl. The male rabbit kicks its fluffly feet as it scampers, The eyes of female rabbit are blurred by fluffy tufts of hair, But when they run side by side in the field, You can hardly tell the doe from the buck!

English language literature

• Maxine Hong Kingston re-visits Mulan's tale in her text, The Woman Warrior.

• Yao Mulan, Lin Yutang's main character in his English novel Moment in Peking, is named after the legendary warrior.

Maxine Hong Kingston Maxine Hong Kingston (湯婷婷; born October 27, 1940) is an American writer. ... The cover of the Vintage International hardcover edition of The Woman Warrior. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Lin Yutang Lin Yutang, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1939 This is a Chinese name; the family name is Lin (林) Lin Yutang (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: , October 10, 1895 – March 26, 1976) was a Chinese writer and inventor whose original works... A Moment in Peking (Traditional Chinese: 京華煙雲, Simplified Chinese: 京华烟云, Hanyu Pinyin: jīng huá yān yún) is a historical novel originally written in English by the Chinese American author Lin Yutang. ...

Hua Mulan in popular culture

Films

The story of Hua Mulan has inspired a number of film and stage adaptations. These include the following:

• Hua Mulan Joins the Army (1927 film) - a Chinese silent film released by the Tianyi Film Company and directed by Li Pingqian
• Mulan Joins the Army (1928 film) - Mingxin Film Company production, directed by Hou Yao. The film was a flop, in part due to the Tianyi film that was released the previous year
• Mulan Joins the Army (1939 film) - popular Chinese film made during the war, directed by Bu Wancang
• Lady General Hua Mulan (1964 film) - Hong Kong opera film
• Mulan (1998 film) - Disney animated feature based on the Mulan legend

Mulan Joins the Army (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) was a 1939 Chinese historical war film. ... Bu Wancang (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) (1903 — 1974) was a prolific Chinese film director and screenwriter active between the 1920s and the 1960s. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is about the film Mulan. For the legendary person, see Hua Mulan. ...

Miscellaneous

• Hua Mulan Crater on Venus is named after her.
• A character inspired by Hua Mulan is the mascot of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2007 in China.
• New Tang Dynasty TV's 2006 Chinese Spectacular featured a stage performance of the story of Mulan.
• Hua Mulan was included in as a card in the Anachronism card game by TriKings.[1]

(*min temperature refers to cloud tops only) Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 9. ... The FIFA Womens World Cup 2007 will be held in China from September 10-30 2007. ... New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) is an independent, nonprofit Chinese language Falun Gong-linked television broadcaster based in New York City. ... Anachronism is a tabletop game with aspects of both miniatures and collectible card genres. ...

See also

• List of woman warriors in legend and mythology

Image of Durga, shown riding her tiger and attacking the demon Mahishasura Oil painting on silk, Hua Mulan Goes to War The warrior goddess Sekhmet, shown with her sun disk and cobra crown Woman warriors in legend and mythology refer to mythological, historical, and legendary figures in the oral tradition...

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Ballad of Mulan

• Ode to Mulan The original poem in Chinese and English side-by-side translation.
• The poem in Chinese calligraphy (images), simplified characters, traditional characters, and an English translation
• The poem in printed Chinese, with hyperlinks to definitions and etymologies
• The female individual and the empire: A historicist approach to Mulan and Kingston's woman warrior.