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#mulan

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Women From History BOT
~ The legend of Mulan part III ~

The poem begins with Mulan sitting at her loom, weaving and sighing, and when asked who she is in love with that is causing such sighs, she explains that she has seen the summons from the government, how the Khan is mobilizing the troops, and how her father's name is on the list of conscripts. Her younger brother is only a baby and her father is too old to serve and so she tells her family that she will take his place as she is already well versed in martial arts, horsemanship, and archery. No one objects and so she buys a horse and equipment and goes off to war.

She serves with distinction and is offered the honor of an important governmental position but refuses it. She returns home with her fellow soldiers, goes indoors, and changes back into feminine attire. When she comes back out, her comrades say, “We marched together for these twelve long years/And absolutely had no clue that Mulan was a girl!”. The poem ends with the narrator comparing people to hares and how, when they run side by side, no one can tell male from female, and so it is with people as well.

The later Song of Mulan from the Tang Dynasty changes the locale to Tang-era China and focuses on the danger to the state posed by recent rebellions such as the An Lushan (766-779 CE). The story is the same but there is greater emphasis laid on service to the state through the Confucian ideal of filial piety. The original motivation for Mulan's service is still to save her father but salvation of the family member is equated with defense of the country. This, of course, is in keeping with Confucian ideals in that a virtuous family, theoretically, will help produce a virtuous community and, by extension, a nation.

#mulan #chinesehistory #art #arthistory #history #painting #womenfromhistory
Sculpture of Hua Mulan in Chinese Garden, Singapore
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Women From History BOT
~ The legend of Mulan part I ~

Mulan is a legendary character in Chinese literature who is best known in the modern day from the Disney adaptation. Her story, however, about a young girl who takes her father's place in the army to help save her country, is hundreds of years old

The tale most likely originated in the Northern Wei Period (386-535 CE) of China before it was developed by succeeding authors. Scholarly consensus is that Mulan is a fictional character, probably developed in Northern China in response to the greater independence women enjoyed there, whose legend was then revised in succeeding eras.

The original work, The Poem of Mulan, dates to the 6th century CE and reflects the influences of Mongolian-Turkic peoples on the region with a focus on filial piety, the central virtue and moral of the tale. The later Song of Mulan (from the Tang Dynasty, 618-907 CE) retains this theme while changing the time period. The legend was later included in a compilation by one Guo Maoqian of the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE), which provided other writers with the source material for their versions.

The play The Female Mulan (16th century CE) modifies earlier themes, moves the action back to the time of the Northern Wei, and introduces the happy ending of the marriage motif while succeeding versions conclude with Mulan killing herself to avoid the shame of having to become the emperor's concubine. By the time the character reached the modern era, through the film Mulan Joins the Army (1939), she was a staunch nationalist, driving out foreign invaders.

Since the 1998 Disney animated film, Mulan's story has grown in popularity and drawn attention to the other women, all historically attested, who took up arms for a cause they believed in throughout China's history.

#mulan #chinesehistory #art #arthistory #history #painting #womenfromhistory
Hua Mulan, towards the end of the 19th century (grape and ink with waercolor on silk) by unknown artist
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Annelous Stiggelbout

Fijn artikel over Hua Mulan. Mulans verhaal is beroemd genoeg: ze verkleedde zich als man om in haar vaders plaats dienst te nemen in het leger en werd een succesvol commandant. Maar het verhaal is door de eeuwen heen op heel veel manieren verteld, Disney was niet de eerste die er een eigen draai aan gaf.
#China #Mulan
blogs.princeton.edu/cotsen/202

Cotsen Children’s Library · Who is Hua Mulan?So you think you know who Mulan is? Perhaps you know the feisty girl from the eponymous cross-dressing warrior of the 1998 Disney animated film Mulan. She is the rebellious teenager who escapes the…
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