The only Chinese Disney Princess - Mulan, is making her
return to the big screen. Disney is getting the live-action remake treatment of
this story of Mulan, the Chinese legend about a young woman who masquerades as
a man to go to war. The animation in 1998 gained worldwide popularity and has
made Mulan one of the most popular Disney princesses.
Mulan (1988)
The story of Mulan originally came from a legendary called
"Song of Mulan," which is written in the literature textbook of
Chinese schools. Almost every Chinese have had doubts since very young:
"How can Mulan not being discovered as a girl after
spending so many years in the army? Especially with such a feminine name!"
There could be many guesses for the first question. But her
name, according to nowadays perspective, is indeed strange if it led no doubts
among her friends in the army.
The full name of Mulan in China is HUA Mulan. Hua is her
family name, and Mulan is her first name. The family name in Chinese means
flower." Hua is not necessarily linked to feminine when it is used as
family name along, while putting it together with "Mulan" is a
different story because Mulan is the Chinese name of magnolia. Meaning,
Mulan was carrying a name as “Flower Flower” in that case.
One of the explanations is that the word "Mulan"
had a different meaning in ancient times.
"Mulan's name is not Chinese. Chen's linguistic
analysis shows that her name means 'deer or elk' in the ancient Altaic language
of the Turkic peoples of Central Asia. "
--The AMAZONS: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across the
Ancient World
Adrienne Mayor
Sounds fair!
The Mulan Legends date back to the Northern Wei dynasty of
China, as early as around 380AD, which is a dynasty founded by a northern
ethical group called Xianbei who had their own language called Xianbei (instead
of Han, the common language today), which is believed not that far from
Turkic.
Under such an explanation, Mulan sounds quite neutral. There
was a famous male general in the same historical period with his name as HAN
Mulan.
All these stories have lost in history. Nowadays, People
prefer the story version as a girl with a feminine name, hidden in the army,
never been discovered, and became a big hero in the end! What an exciting and
romantic story!
The story Mulan has also increased people's love for
magnolia flower. The flower language of magnolia is "respectful and noble
soul," while the heroine story has given the Mulan spirit to the flower
and has made magnolia a popular element in dressing and jewelry. Wearing Mulan
is carrying the power of being brave, being different, and being independent as
if Mulan is together with us!
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