Mulan Legend in Art, Literature and Popular Culture
A famous woman warrior disturbs people’s minds for the centuries and gives precedents for new legends around her. Mulan Zhu, often called Hua Mulan, nowadays lives in the hearts of brave men and women, who love their motherland and take care of their families. Historically, there are two versions of the myth. The first one comes from the Ballad of Mulan, which tells about the invasion of the Mongolic army and a young girl who took her father’s place in the troops. For 12 years of her service, no one discovered that she was a woman. After ten years a brave woman turned into a great general, triumphant. The ballad also tells Mulan refused from the emperor’s gold and honors and returned back to her family. The second version bases on the previous one, but gives another course of events. Sui-Tang Romance, is a historical novel written by Chu Renhuo in the 17th century. In this version, Mulan comes to a tragic end. After the war ends, she comes back home, but her beloved father is no longer alive, the mother is re-married. And standing before the hard choice of becoming a concubine, she decides to commit suicide. We would never know the truth and may guess if the personality was a real one or just author’s fantasy fruit to describe a gender equality, faith in family ideals, independence and strength of will. Thereby, even nowadays, in the technologic era of fast changing ideas, she inspires personalities of art, literature and popular culture to create stories about this legendary woman.
A lot of fabulous plots and images people recognize owing to masterpieces of art. Paintings, sculptures preserve the atmosphere of previous ages. Dances let us dip into other epochs. And even today advertising campaigns sometimes address to the beautiful past tense events. Mulan is not an exception. The city Xinxiang in China welcomes tourists with an iron statue. Mulan meets her father after the years of separation. The aim of the statue is to show happy end after long sufferings and not to lose faith in a bright future. The paintings of the legendary person can give an imagination, how did she look like. There is a plenty of them, so that everyone may imagine his own good-looking and serious face of the woman warrior. But each portrait describes Mulan as a beautiful lady of Chinese nationality with gorgeous long hair (which she hides), magnificent eyes, a charming smile and a lit bit sad face expression. The most wonderful ones are obviously paintings in oil on the silk background. They pass all the tenderness and sensibility of the sight. Calligraphic art provides the other opportunity to feel the oriental moods and to watch significant moments of heroine life in this splendid interpretation. The pictures also occur where the young woman is practicing in the art of calligraphy outputting patterns on her own hands. Was it her true talent or not, remains a secret. The informational and television era introduced its own vision of art. Mulan appears in the advertising campaigns of a plenty of goods attracting thousands of people to buy them. These are mostly things for children which know the character from the analogous Disney movie, but that is going to be discussed in a text below.
Talking about literature masterpieces, they are the primary sources of any information about Mulan that reached our days. Of course, many of them have been lost, burnt, or some other disasters happened to them. For example, the original of the first poem about the brave woman no longer exists. The texts that are known by many people today come from the anthology of the 11th-12th century by Guo Maoqian. In the 16th century existed the dramatization about Mulan. The author of it was Xu Wei. Another work was “Sui Tang Yanui” by Chu Renhuo already mentioned above. The personage is remembered and loved by Chinese people through the years. Thereby, the story was retold not once. Some of the works are: “The Wild Orchid: a retelling of the ballad of Mulan” by Cameron Dokey, “The woman warrior” by Maxine Hong Kingston, “China’s bravest girl: the legend of Hua Mu Lan” (authors Charlie Chin and Tomie Arai), “Throne of Jade” (author Naomi Novik). The character of “China’s bravest girl: the legend of Hua Mu Lan” is a courageous woman who is ready to meet the danger with the same cold blood as men do. In “The Wild Orchid: a retelling of the ballad of Mulan” the young lady meets a friend and love in the personality of Prince Jian and goes through the dilemma of revealing her true identity. Kingston’s “The woman warrior” popularized Mulan in the western culture, and even a guess exists, it led to the Disney animated adoption. The first English language book published in the United States of America in 1992 became “The legend of Mu Lan: a heroine of ancient China”.
Returning to present days, the industry of advertising, movies and television series has reached its peak. The new information appear, new interpretations come into sight, every material is analyzed, discussed and commented. Even if something should be revealed it can hardly manage to be kept in secret. And talking about the great pages of history, literature masterpieces, gorgeous paintings – all these works may find their mirrors in popular culture. Without a doubt, the young generation is familiar with heroine due to Disney franchise. Called Fa Mulan, she is a joyful character and takes her deserved place among the other princesses. The animated movie “Mulan” produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation (Walt Disney Animation Studios, nowadays) got very positive critical reviews still feminist women found some inadequacy in the scenes and preserved different vision. An unusual personage appeared due to the franchise. It was a small dragon Mushu sent to protect Mulan during her travelling. In 2004 the next movie “Mulan 2” appeared. This story tells about the events which happened after the first film story and about Mulan’s marriage. Of course, both Disney stories have changed a lot if comparing to the original ballad, but have got a happy end. Still, it would be unfair to forget that during the 20th century a number of motion pictures about woman warrior were presented to public long before the Disney Studios. Some of them are “Hua Mulan joins the army”, “Mulan joins the army” (two movies with the same name in 1928 and 1939), “Lady General Hua Mu-lan” (1964), “Saga of Mulan” (1994) and others. The film “Mulan” (2009) with Chinese actress Zhao Wei starring, as almost any other story, has two plot lines. The first one tells us about brave people fighting for their motherland and difficulties they met on the way. The second line is about a beautiful lady and her personal feelings, about people she met on her way, and some of them became her friends, the others become enemies. What about the comic art, in the “Deadpool Killustarted” (2013), Hua Mulan, along with Natty Bumpoo, and Beowulf are brought together by Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson (using the time machine) to stop Deadpool from killing all beloved literary characters and destroying the literary universe.
We may guess about her beautiful sight and empathize her challenging destiny. The legend may experience a lot more versions, new personages may appear around her. Despite all the movies, stories, and pictures, the key thing in Mulan image is her inner world. She is brave, open-hearted, faithful. These character traits do not change from myth to myth. They are primarily for the woman warrior who will remain in the hearts of people for centuries ahead.
Mulan Legend katika Sanaa, Fasihi na Utamaduni maarufu Mwanamke mpiganaji disturbs watu akili kwa karne na anatoa precedents kwa ajili ya hadithi mpya kuzunguka yake. "Mulan Zhu, mara nyingi huitwa ""Hua Mulan,"" leo anaishi katika mioyo ya wanaume na wanawake wenye ujasiri, ambao wanapenda nchi yao na kutunza familia zao." Kihistoria, kuna matoleo mawili ya hadithi hiyo. "Hiyo ni hadithi ya ""Ballad of Mulan"" ambayo inaelezea jinsi jeshi la Mongol lilivyovamia nchi hiyo na jinsi msichana mmoja alivyomchukua baba yake katika jeshi." Kwa miaka 12 ya kazi yake, hakuna mtu aliyegundua kwamba alikuwa mwanamke. Baada ya miaka kumi mwanamke hodari akageuka kuwa jenerali mkuu, mshindi. Wimbo huo pia unasema kwamba Mulan alikataa dhahabu na heshima za maliki na akarudi kwa familia yake. Toleo la pili linategemea lile la awali, lakini linatoa mwelekeo mwingine wa matukio. Sui Tang Romance ni riwaya ya kihistoria iliyoandikwa na Chu Renhuo katika karne ya 17. Katika toleo hili, Mulan anafikia mwisho wenye kuhuzunisha. Baada ya vita kumalizika, alirudi nyumbani, lakini baba yake mpendwa haipo tena, mama yake ameolewa tena. Na akisimama mbele ya chaguo gumu la kuwa mjakazi, anaamua kujiua. "Hatuwezi kujua ukweli na tunaweza kudhani kama utu huo ulikuwa wa kweli au matunda ya mawazo ya mwandishi kuelezea usawa wa kijinsia, imani katika maadili ya familia, uhuru na nguvu ya mapenzi. """ Kwa hivyo, hata leo, katika enzi ya teknolojia ya mawazo yanayobadilika haraka, anawahamasisha watu wa sanaa, fasihi na utamaduni maarufu kuunda hadithi kuhusu mwanamke huyu wa hadithi. Sehemu nyingi za hadithi na picha za ajabu ambazo watu hutambua kwa sababu ya kazi bora za sanaa. Michoro, sanamu huhifadhi hali ya nyakati za zamani. Dansi huturuhusu kugeuka kwenye enzi nyingine. Na hata leo kampeni za matangazo nyakati nyingine huzungumzia matukio mazuri ya wakati uliopita. Mulan si mtu wa pekee. Jiji la Xinxiang nchini China linawakaribisha watalii kwa sanamu ya chuma. Mulan anakutana na baba yake baada ya miaka ya kutengana. Kusudi la sanamu hiyo ni kuonyesha mwisho wenye furaha baada ya mateso marefu na kutopoteza imani katika wakati ujao mzuri. Michoro ya mtu huyo mashuhuri yaweza kutoa wazo la jinsi alivyoonekana. Kuna mengi ya hayo, ili kila mtu aweze kuwazia uso wake mwenyewe mzuri na mzito wa mwanamke mpiganaji. Lakini kila picha inaelezea Mulan kama mwanamke mzuri wa kitaifa wa Kichina na nywele ndefu za ajabu (ambazo anaficha), macho mazuri, tabasamu ya kuvutia na usemi wa uso wenye huzuni kidogo. Ya ajabu zaidi ni wazi michoro katika mafuta juu ya nyuma hariri. Wao hupita uchangamfu wote na hisia ya macho. Sanaa ya calligraphic hutoa fursa nyingine ya kuhisi hali ya hewa ya mashariki na kutazama wakati muhimu wa maisha ya shujaa katika tafsiri hii ya ajabu. Picha hizo pia huonekana wakati mwanamke huyo mchanga anapofanya mazoezi ya sanaa ya kuandika maandishi kwa kutumia mikono yake mwenyewe. Je, hiyo ilikuwa kipawa chake cha kweli au la, inabaki kuwa siri. Enzi ya habari na televisheni ilianzisha maoni yake mwenyewe kuhusu sanaa. Mulan anaonekana katika kampeni za matangazo ya bidhaa nyingi zinazovutia maelfu ya watu kuzinunua. Kwa mfano, kuna hadithi za watoto ambao wanajua hadithi za Disney, lakini hawajui jinsi ya kuifanya. Kwa kuongea juu ya kazi bora za fasihi, wao ni vyanzo vya msingi vya habari yoyote kuhusu Mulan ambayo ilifikia siku zetu. Bila shaka, wengi wao wamepotea, wamechomwa moto, au wamepatwa na misiba mingine. Kwa mfano, shairi la kwanza kuhusu mwanamke mwenye ujasiri halipo tena. Maandishi ya kihistoria ya kihistoria ya China ya karne ya 11 na 12 na Guo Maozhian. Katika karne ya 16 ya Kihispania, hadithi ya Mulan ilitolewa. Mwandishi wake alikuwa Xu Wei. Kazi nyingine ilikuwa <unk>Sui Tang Yanui<unk> na Chu Renhuo tayari zilizotajwa hapo juu. Mtu huyo anakumbukwa na kupendwa na watu wa China kwa miaka mingi. Kwa hiyo, hadithi hiyo ilisimuliwa tena na tena. Baadhi ya kazi ni: <unk>The Wild Orchid: a retelling of the ballad of Mulan<unk> na Cameron Dokey, <unk>The woman warrior<unk> na Maxine Hong Kingston, <unk>China<unk>s bravest girl: the legend of Hua Mu Lan<unk> (waandishi Charlie Chin na Tomie Arai), <unk>Throne of Jade<unk> (waandishi Naomi Novik). Mhusika wa "msichana mwenye ujasiri zaidi wa China: hadithi ya Hua Mu Lan" ni mwanamke mwenye ujasiri ambaye yuko tayari kukabiliana na hatari kwa damu baridi kama wanaume wanavyofanya. Katika "The Wild Orchid: a retelling of the ballad of Mulan" mwanamke mchanga hukutana na rafiki na upendo katika utu wa Prince Jian na hupitia shida ya kufunua utambulisho wake wa kweli. Kingston's "The woman warrior" popularized Mulan katika utamaduni wa magharibi, na hata nadhani ipo, ilisababisha Disney animated kupitishwa. Kitabu cha kwanza cha Kiingereza kilichochapishwa nchini Marekani mwaka 1992 kilikuwa The Legend of Mu Lan: A Heroine of Ancient China. Kurudi siku za sasa, sekta ya matangazo, filamu na mfululizo wa televisheni imefikia kilele chake. Habari mpya huonekana, tafsiri mpya huonekana, kila nyenzo inachambuliwa, kujadiliwa na kuelezwa. Hata kama kitu kinapaswa kufunuliwa haiwezi kufanikiwa kuhifadhiwa kisiri. Na kuzungumza juu ya kurasa kubwa za historia, fasihi masterpieces, michoro gorgeous <unk> kazi hizi zote inaweza kupata vioo yao katika utamaduni maarufu. Bila shaka, kizazi cha vijana ni ukoo na heroine kutokana na Disney franchise. Anaitwa Fa Mulan, yeye ni tabia ya furaha na inachukua nafasi yake inayostahili kati ya malkia wengine. Filamu ya uhuishaji ya Mulan, iliyotengenezwa na Walt Disney Feature Animation (Walt Disney Animation Studios, siku hizi) ilipata maoni mazuri sana ya wakosoaji, bado wanawake wa kike walipata ukosefu fulani katika matukio na kuhifadhi maono tofauti. Tabia isiyo ya kawaida ilionekana kwa sababu ya franchise. Ilikuwa joka dogo ambalo Mushu alimtuma kumlinda Mulan wakati wa safari yake. Mwaka 2004 filamu ya pili ya Mulan ilitolewa. Hadithi hii inaelezea juu ya matukio ambayo yalitokea baada ya hadithi ya kwanza ya filamu na juu ya ndoa ya Mulan. Kwa kweli, hadithi zote mbili za Disney zimebadilika sana ikilinganishwa na wimbo wa awali, lakini zina mwisho mzuri. Hata hivyo, itakuwa si haki kusahau kwamba katika karne ya ishirini, filamu kadhaa kuhusu mwanamke mpiganaji zilitolewa kwa umma muda mrefu kabla ya Disney Studios. "Hua Mulan: Joins the Army (1928), ""Lady General Hua Mu Lan"" (1964), ""Saga of Mulan"" (1994) na mengineyo." Filamu ya <unk>Mulan<unk> (2009) na mwigizaji wa Kichina Zhao Wei akicheza, kama karibu hadithi nyingine yoyote, ina mistari miwili ya njama. Ya kwanza inatuambia juu ya watu wenye ujasiri wanaopigana kwa ajili ya nchi yao na magumu waliyokutana nayo njiani. Mstari wa pili unamtaja mwanamke mrembo na hisia zake za kibinafsi, watu aliowakutana njiani, na baadhi yao wakawa marafiki wake, wengine wakawa maadui. Katika Deadpool: Killers, Hua Mulan, Natty Bumppo na Beowulf wanakusanywa pamoja na Sherlock Holmes na Daktari Watson (kwa kutumia mashine ya wakati) ili kumzuia Deadpool kuua wahusika wote wa fasihi na kuharibu ulimwengu wa fasihi. Huenda tukatafakari juu ya sura yake maridadi na kuelewana na hatima yake yenye changamoto. Hadithi inaweza kupata matoleo mengi zaidi, wahusika wapya wanaweza kuonekana karibu naye. Licha ya sinema zote, hadithi, na picha, jambo muhimu katika picha ya Mulan ni ulimwengu wake wa ndani. Yeye ni jasiri, mwenye moyo wa wazi, mwaminifu. Sifa hizo hazibadiliki kutoka hadithi moja hadi nyingine. Ni kwa ajili ya mwanamke mpiganaji ambaye ataendelea kuwa katika mioyo ya watu kwa karne nyingi zijazo.