The Mulan Syndrom

[Dan R]

The most important traditional female role model in China is Mulan. It is the story of a good daughter who risked her life in battle to save her aged father. She was from Wuhan, Hubei Sheng. A mountain and large park are dedicated to her.

 

This is the legend to blame if your wife is a workaholic that puts every need of her family above herself. This often today manifests as working hard to send money so the family is taken care of.

 

"Mulan was the daughter of a retired Imperial General. When their native land was threatened with war, the Emperor sent for all his trusted and decorated generals. The Imperial Court officials sent messagers to summon these generals. When they came to summon Mulan's father, she disguised herself as a young man and took his place. The messengers had never seen the retired general before and were easily fooled into believing she was the general they were seeking.

 

Mulan was very much a tomboy and being the only child, she got pretty much what she wanted. She insisted on learning the martial arts though it was improper for a lady to do so. No one knew she was a girl until after she lead her troops to a few victories in battle.

 

Her story did not have a happy ending, though (as do many stories of Chinese folk heroes). I think she died in a glorious battle...and maybe there was little betrayal by jealous Imperial Court officials."

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

Good story Dan.

 

I guess this means we will be perceived as being a little soft when our chinese partner starts wearing our clothes....

[hakkamike]

The twins have Mulan and Mulan II and I have had my fill of them both http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/5082/mulanfaq.html

[Randy W]

Yes, thanks Dan. I'll add the the original Mulan is one of very few movies made for the American market with Chinese sub-titles. That is, it's a good aid to someone learning English.

[skibum]

Well, my wife said that the Chinese think that tragic endings are beautiful!

[Mick]

The Disney version of the Mulan story came out in 1997 I think. I saw it not too long before I left for China in 1998. Yes, the issue of familial piety runs deep and goes back to the teachings of Confucius. One of the trends I noticed, however, when teaching in the university, was that this was gradually beginning to change as many of the younger generation students questioned these traditional values.

 

One thing that factored into this change was the new economic realities. In the old days (meaning 10-15 years ago), many children remained in their hometown for life. These days, this in increasingly rare. Most of my students did not return to their hometown, or even their home province after graduation. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out over the next 20 years or so.

[tonado]

http://english.epochtimes.com/tools/printer.asp?id=36644

 

The True Mulan Portrayed in Gala

By Zhusi

Epoch Times Staff

Jan 08, 2006

 

The 2006 New Tang Dynasty TV (NTDTV) 2006 Gala will feature a dance that gives a faithful account of the story of the legendary Hua Mulan.

 

Popular Versions Take Liberties

 

The Disney movie version of "Mulan" set the record for box office sales in 1998. But successful as the movie was, the history it told seemed to be completely altered. In the movie, there appeared a matchmaker, a grandmother, General Li, Mushu, a "squirrelly" dragon and Cri-Kee, a lucky pet cricket, etc. In the original story, Mulan returned in triumph and was summoned by the emperor. But in the movie, her triumph went a huge step further as she personally "rescued the emperor." And so on and so on. The Chinese audience was very surprised at the alterations of the story, but after all the Chinese Mulan had become widely known.

 

Recently, another western director, Graeme Murphy, artistic director of the Sydney Dance Company, choreographed a dance opera "Hua Mulan". In the Sydney version, the following plots were added to the original story. Mulan's little brother was held hostage because he showed off his cleverness; a female spy disclosed that Mulan was a girl; Mulan dated one of her comrades in the army. The western audience became even more confused about the story of "Mulan."

 

The Real Story

 

The audience may need to review "Ode of Mulan" from Yue-fu, an ancient collection of Chinese songs and ballads to understand the times and the inner world of Mulan. In this way they can better appreciate the popular legend that has lasted for more than 1000 years.

 

There are many contradictory views on Mulan's surname, where she lived, and her birth date. The more reliable version is in the book "Legend of the Very Sad Ape" by Xu Wei of the Ming Dynasty. The book says that Mulan's last name is Hua. Her father Hua Hu was an officer of the army reserve. She lived in a family of five: her elder sister Hua Mulian, little brother Hua Xiong and her Mom with a family name of Yuan. The book "On the Journey to Kangyou" says that she lived in about 1000 years ago. The Shangqiu County Records of Henan Province say that Mulan lived in the village Song.

 

The poem "Ode of Mulan" should be given credit for passing on the story of Mulan till today. The long narrative poem sang the praises of Mulan who joined the army disguised as a man in order to serve in her aged father's place. In the poem the emperor is referred to as Kahn and the battlefield is in the north of China. Among the places names, the Yellow River is well known and Black Mountain is called Mountain Sahu in the southeast of Huhhot of Inner Mongolia of China. Mountain Yan is Mountain Yanran, which is also referred to as Mountain Hang-Ai in Inner Mongolia.

 

The battle that Mulan was involved in occurred between the North Wei and Rou-ran. The North Wei was established by the Tuba Group of the Xianbei Tribe and was extinguished by Fujian of the West Jin. After Fujian lost the battle of Feishui, the Tuba people restored their nation and changed the name of the nation to Wei. Nation Wei ended the turmoil of the Ten Nations Period after sixty years of wars and united the area along the Yellow River. It had been eighty-six years with five emperors when it came to emperor Xiaowen of the North Wei. Emperor Xiaowen highly valued the Han culture in the center of China and he moved the capital to Luoyang and carried out the policy of promulgating Han culture. Most people with the last name Yuan were the descendants of Wei's royal court. Since the nation had enjoyed a long-lasting time of peace, social and economic development were achieved under the "Even Field Order" of emperor Xiaowen. At the time, Rou-rang, a strong country of northern nomads with a history of 158 years frequently invaded the Wei. The Wei regime sent an army to the far north to fight against Rourang.

 

"Ode of Mulan" describes the military emergency at the time at the beginning of the poem: "Emperor called on the army in an emergency" and "there were 12 scrolls of the enlistment booklets." Mulan's family only had a little brother of a young age. The father and mother were old. At this time of crisis, Mulan bravely joined army for her father. There are descriptions in the poem about how she was in a hurry to buy a horse and other equipment before leaving for the army. She left her parents in the morning, marched with great speed and camped at the shore of the Yellow River. She took part in frequent battles and endured army life for a long time while many of the solders and officers died in the battles. All along Mulan had successfully concealed that she was a girl.

 

After the army won the war, Mulan returned to her hometown to support her parents. Mulan, with the virtues of loyalty, filial piety, wisdom and bravery, deserved to be regarded as a remarkable girl who had a beautiful character and upheld excellent traditions.

 

Appendix: "Ode of Mulan"

Anonymous (500 A.D.)

 

Jie Jie, and more Jie Jie

Weaving, Mulan facing the front door.

Heard not the sound of shuttles,

Heard only her own sighs.

"Who you are missing?

Who you are recalling?"

"No one in my heart.

No one in my mind.

Last night I saw the army enlistment bulletin.

The emperor called for an army for a coming war.

Twelve scrolls of bulletins,

My father's name listed on every scroll.

Father has no grown up son;

Mulan has no elder brother.

I want to buy a saddle and horse,

And Join the army in the place of my father."

 

Bought a spirited horse from a market in the east,

Bought a saddle from a market in the west;

Bought a bridle from a market in the south;

Bought a long whip from a market in the north.

Said good-bye to Father and Mother at dawn,

Arrived on the shore of the Yellow River in the evening.

Heard not the calls from Father and Mother;

Heard only the crushing sound of water in the Yellow River.

Left the Yellow River at dawn for the north,

Camped atop the Black Mountain in the evening.

Heard not the calls from Father and Mother,

Heard only the crying sound of the nomad horses on Yan Mountain.

 

Travelled ten thousand li for the war.

Crossed the passes and mountains as swiftly as flying.

Sound of army watchman's knocker brought with cold winds.

Chilly moonlight reflected on iron armor.

Generals died in a hundred battles,

Great fighters returned in triumph after ten years.

 

Summoned to see the emperor,

The emperor sat in a splendid Hall.

Promotions granted in twelve ranks,

Gifts bestowed a thousand and more.

Emperor asked what else was desired,

Mulan not interested in a minister's post.

"Would like to have a swift horse

To take me to my hometown".

 

Father and Mother heard of the return of the Daughter,

Came all the way out of city to greet the Daughter, leaning on each other.

Elder sister heard of arrival of young Sister,

Took care of her make-up and dress, facing the door.

Young Brother heard of coming of elder Sister,

Whet the knife and went for a pig and a sheep—a feast for Sister.

Opened the door to the east chamber,

Sat on the bed in the west chamber.

Took off the army gown,

Put on the old dress.

Combed cloud-like hair, facing the window,

Rubbed cosmetic powder on forehead, facing the mirror.

Went out to visit her army comrades,

Comrades all surprised and perplexed.

For twelve years together in the army and fought

knew not Mulan was a girl.

 

He-hare walks with hops and skips

She-hare sees with muddled and fuddled eyes

If two hares run side by side

How can you tell which is the she and which is the he?

[Dan R]

Tony thanks for such a detailed account.

[mercator]

The Disney version of the Mulan story came out in 1997 I think. I saw it not too long before I left for China in 1998. Yes, the issue of familial piety runs deep and goes back to the teachings of Confucius. One of the trends I noticed, however, when teaching in the university, was that this was gradually beginning to change as many of the younger generation students questioned these traditional values.

 

One thing that factored into this change was the new economic realities. In the old days (meaning 10-15 years ago), many children remained in their hometown for life. These days, this in increasingly rare. Most of my students did not return to their hometown, or even their home province after graduation. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out over the next 20 years or so.

184351[/snapback]

My wife left her 'small' town for the big city (GUZ) about age 21. She attended some college and has worked steadily ever since.

 

She has not forgotten filial piety, nor will her family ever let her! hehe

 

One of the big things we had to discuss was children. I'm 'fixed' so its a big issue, since we're talking surgery or IVF. Her parents don't know, but she did 'fish' a little asking them what if we didn't have kids. Umm... yeah they said they would rather see her die than no kids. They also said if I couldnt have any they would rather see her find another husband as the shame of divorce would be less than that of being childless.

 

She is going to wait a while, however. I think she wants to acclimate here, and maybe see how the filial bonds are from 10,000km away. We'll try and have a child, but if we fail, she'll tell them she is the one who is unable to conceive and face that shame, rather than have them pressure her for divorce. A clever, loyal, and unselfish woman I have...

 

I presume we'll send money to the family, at least on holidays, if not all the time. I'm sure we'll get real familiar with Western Union. I've no problems with that, or with taking care of my own parents when they are old as well.