06/09/2020
In this month, a movie called “Mulan” produced by Disney studio is going to say hi to everyone.
Do you know about the story of Mulan?
Hua Mulan’s story is told in the Ballad of Mulan, a story set in the North and South dynasties, which was between 420 and 589 CE.
At first, let’s look through the ballad.
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木兰辞
Mùlán Cí
The Ballad of Mùlán
唧唧复唧唧，
木兰当户织。
不闻机抒声，
唯闻女叹息。
(Click click click:
Mulan sat at home weaving,
but the loom’s resonant sound could not be heard
over the girl’s sighs.)
问女何所思，
问女何所忆?
「女亦无所思，
女亦无所忆。
(Asked what thoughts and memories
led to this, she said,
“A girl should have no thoughts
or memories.)
昨夜见军帖，
可汗大点兵，
军书十二卷，
卷卷有爷名。
(But last night I saw the call to arms;
the khan is calling up soldiers.
There were twelve scrolls of names,
and each included Father’s name.)
阿爷无大儿，
木兰无长兄，
愿为市鞍马，
从此替爷征。」
(But Father has no son,
and I have no big brother.
I want to go to buy a saddle and horse
and serve in Father’s place.”)
东市买骏马， 西市买鞍鞯， 南市买辔头， 北市买长鞭。
(In the east market she bought a steed,
and in the west market a saddle;
in the south market she bought a bridle,
and in the north market she bought a whip.)
朝辞爷娘去，
暮宿黄河边。
不闻爷娘唤女声，
但闻黄河流水鸣溅溅。
(In the morning she took leave of her parents
and went to camp beside the Yellow River.
She no longer heard parent’s calling to her;
by evening she heard only splashing of the river.)
旦辞黄河去，
暮至黑山头。
不闻爷娘唤女声，
但闻燕山胡骑鸣啾啾。
(The following morning she left the Yellow River
and by sunset had reached Black Mountain.
She no longer heard her parents calling to her;
by evening she heard only the neighing of the horses of the barbarians at “Yān” Mount.)
万里赴戎机，
关山度若飞，
朔气传金柝，
寒光照铁衣。
(She travelled ten thousand miles to do battle,
and traversed mountain passes as though flying;
the night air moved the watchman’s rattle;
the cold light glinted on her armour.)
将军百战死，
壮士十年归。
归来见天子，
天子坐明堂。
(A hundred generals died in battle;
in ten years she returned as a great warrior.
On returning she met the emperor
seated in his bright palace.)
策勋十二转，
赏赐百千强。
可汗问所欲，
「木兰不用尚书郎，
愿借明驼千里足，
送儿还故乡。」
(He praised her expansively
and gave her extravagant gifts.
The Khan asked what she wanted.
She replied, “I have no use for honours or servants;
I would only borrow a swift camel
to take me back home.”）
爷娘闻女来，
出郭相扶将。
阿姊闻妹来，
当户理红妆。
（When her parents heard that their daughter had returned,
they went out to the village gate to welcome her back.
When her younger sister heard that she had returned,
she stayed inside to put dress herself up.）
小弟闻姊来，
磨刀霍霍向猪羊。
开我东阁门，
坐我西阁床。
（When her little brother heard that his sister had returned,
he sharpened a cleaver to slaughter a pig and a goat for a feast.
She opened the door on the east side of her room,
and sat on her bed on the west side.）
脱我战时袍，
著我旧时裳。
当窗理云鬓，
对镜贴花黄。
（She removed her war clothing and
donned the dress she had worn of old.
Looking out her window she tied up her hair, and
looking in her mirror she placed a yellow flower in her hair.）
出门看伙伴，
伙伴皆惊惶。
同行十二年，
不知木兰是女郎
（She went out to see her companions;
the companions were astonished.
Comrades for twelve years, they
did not know Mùlán was a woman. ）
「雄兔脚扑朔，
雌兔眼迷离。
双兔傍地走，
安能辨我是雄雌? 」
Mùlán said, “The male rabbit normally hops and runs,
while the female sits and stares.
But both flee fast when danger threatens.
How can one tell whether they are male or female then?”
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While it’s possible the gutsy girl could be real, it’s largely thought the story is fictional mainly because ballads were meant to be inspiring tales rather than historical stories.
In the ballad, Hua Mulan, disguised as a man, takes her father’s place in the army to fight Genghis Khan. She sits worriedly at her loom as one member of each family is called to fight against the Rouran invaders. She fears her father is too old to fight and, her brother is just a child, so she dons her armour and heads to war in their place.
The 360-word poem by an anonymous poet differs from the Disney movie from this point onwards. In the film, Mulan sneaks off in an epic montage set to an intense soundtrack, but in the ballad, she heads off with her mother and father’s blessing.
The ballad itself is unusual when it comes to Chinese folklore in that it doesn’t contain any supernatural elements – it’s for this reason that people believed it was true and she was based on a real person. Scholars generally disagree. There is no historical evidence to prove her existence and the story was passed down orally.
Hua Mulan may not have been real, but that hasn’t stopped her tale inspiring people, whether that’s in the seventh century or today.
Do you like Mulan?
😸
