Mulan

Many of us know the Disney movie Mulan; a story of a girl who went to war in place of
her father. Though did you know that there is some history and legend incorporated into the
Disney movie? The main idea of the story was taken from the poem, The Ballad of Mulan. It is
a short poem that gives the idea of a daughter going to war in place of her father. The time it was
in was the Northern Wei dynasty (386-534). Though it was short, there were several books and
plays written with the idea including Disney. There are some differences and similarities from
the poem and history to the Disney movie.
In the Ballad of Mulan, the girls name is actually Hua Mulan. She was highly trained in:
martial arts, archery, and horseback riding. She was taught all of this because her father was a
retired general from the army. Her father was too ill and wounded to serve, but he still taught her
how to fight. The time had come to gather one man from each family, and Hua heard the calls
while she was washing clothes. Hua had a little brother that was too young to serve, and a
wounded father still willing to go. The poem doesnt specify what age she is, but only of her
skill. She wanted to go because of her father, and out of duty to her country. Her father approved
of her going in place of him because of how highly trained she was. The war in which she served
in wasnt specified in the poem. Though from the time it was placed in, I researched and found
out that northerners were attacking China. Right before she went to the camp to take her place in
the army, the poem mentions her being by the Yellow River. This is a symbol in ancient China.
Not only does it show geological location, but it represents the Chinese spirit, which is a great
symbol considering Hua is about to go to war out of duty to her country. She served for twelve
years, and was offered a high ranking military position from her efforts from the emperor.
Instead, she asked for a swift horse to go home. Throughout the years of her serving she was
never found out to be a woman.
In the Disney version there were some similarities and differences. In the film, she is named
Fa Mulan. She is a teenaged girl who is trying to prove herself, and find who she is inside since
she didnt know who she was after bringing dishonor to her family by messing up at the
matchmaker. She has no skill in the movie such as martial arts and learns how to do all of it at a
training camp for war, completely opposing the legend. The movie did have a character named
Little brother, which was Disneys way of symbolizing that she actually did have a young
brother, who would also be too young to serve in the war. Her father was a retired general and
wounded in the movie just as the legend describes. He did not though teach Mulan how to fight.
Fa Mulan wanted to go to war to prove herself and find who she was inside; also for her father
but mainly for herself; this contrasted the legend where she did it out of duty to her country. Her
father didnt know about her leaving until it was too late, and he couldnt reveal her identity.
However, Hua Mulans father approved of her going. Fa had a horse named Khan in the movie,
though in the history the title Khan was a title given to The Son of Heaven, which is a title
often given to rulers. Its like Disney foreshadowed that she would meet the emperor since she
had one of her own watching over her throughout training and battle. His black fur also
represented the yin of the yin and yang symbols used in culture.
In the movie the war was against the Huns. The Huns were a northern nomadic tribe who
lived in between the fourth and sixth century, which is about the same time frame the poem is set
in. Though they were in the same time period, I believe Hua Mulan was actually fighting the
Mongols. The Huns were similar who lived earlier than the Mongols, in which as time passed the
Mongols absorbed most of the Huns identity. This could be a reason why Disney would use
them as the antagonist because it fit the time frame. The Huns did attack the Great Wall of China
during its construction, but in the movie the wall was already built, and they were defending it.
This is where I came to my conclusion about the Mongols. There is only one person who ever
broke through the wall of China and that was Genghis Khan, who was leading the Mongols.
Genghis was the descent of the person who founded the Mongol nomadic tribe, which was
probably closely related to the Huns. This leader can be related to the movie character Shan Yu.
In the movie he led his army and broke through the Wall of China. Disney used lots of different
facts to construct their film I believe. They used the facts of the one person who broke through
the wall of China and their leader and based a character after him, and took the idea from the
poem about the girl who took her fathers place in war against northerners.
While trying to fight off the Huns, Fa Mulan was wounded in battle, and eventually
found out to be a woman because of her bandages. In the poem, she wasnt found out for twelve
years, and was only discovered when some of her old military friends came to visit her and found
her dressed in women's clothing. They still respected her and treated her like a friend in both the
film and the poem.
Fa Mulan saved all of China by defeating the leader of the Huns while trying to protect
the emperor. In the poem, Mulan served for many years and gained high merit, not necessarily
saving all of China, but carrying out her duty. She was well respected by all. When time came
for rewards, Fa Mulan was offered a seat on the emperors council, while in the poem she was
offered a high ranking officer position. Both turned down the positions and wanted to go home
on a swift horse. A substantial difference was time. In the poem it was twelve years and in the
film it was months before they went home.
There were many differences between the two, but the main idea of the story stayed the
same. Disney made the poem come to life and used lots of historical facts to maintain their
accuracy, and storylines from the poem. Since the poem was so short, that allowed much
creativity for Disney to use for this film and their version was amazing in my words.