Everything You Need to Know About Mulan Before Watching the Movie

双兔傍地走，安能辨我是雄雌？

Two rabbits walk next to each other, HOW CAN I BE distinguishED as a male and female?

Mulan: A Legend in Her Own Time

The story of Mulan is an ancient tale that has been an ongoing development throughout China’s history. Mulan was a warrior and a fierce individual that fought against the oppression of men while claiming herself to be a man in the Chinese imperial forces to fight the northern enemies of the Mongol tribes. Her full identity was Hua Mulan (Chinese: 花木兰), which translates to “Flower Magnolia”, a sign of ancient times. During the years 386-557 AD, Mulan’s true origin derived from a song known as “The Ballads of Mulan” during the Northern Wei Dynasty (北魏). 

Mulan Has Many Tales

Hua Mulan

But her story was revamped and rewritten much differently as its origin of “The Ballads of Mulan”. Thousands of years later, we fast forward to the Ming dynasty, where a playwright rewrites her story known as, “The Heroine Mulan Goes To War In Her Father’s Place” written by playwright Xu Wei in 1893, devised into two acts.

As China and its people grow as a nation, expanding its land mass and becoming the world’s superpower, there was fear of foreign invaders from north of the Great Wall (Chinese: 长城). You’ll see throughout China’s history, northern invaders have always been an ongoing issue for the Chinese people, which threatens the very core and intuition China has built. Peace and prosperity have blanketed the land until Mongol invaders rode in on Chinese soil. 

Why Peking Is The Capital of China

Why do you think the Great Wall of China was built? Yes, it one of the worlds more valuable and oldest treasures. But it was a necessity to keep foreign invaders out.

China had many capital cities as well, depending on the Emperor on the throne, the capital city of China has moved around numerous times. Only recently during the Ming dynasty (Chinese: 明朝), the Yongle Emperor (Chinese: 永乐大帝) had established Peking (known as Beijing today) as China’s national capital, mainly to watch over the northern region.

What’s The Difference Between Disney Mulan And Live Action Mulan?

It has historical content mixed with a conglomeration of music and romance. But to my understanding, the live version of Mulan has many differences compared with Disney’s adaption. I don’t know if the audience members are aware, but the live action version does NOT have any musical numbers whatsoever!

If you were expecting to hear songs such as “I’ll Make A Man Out of you” or “A Girl Worth Fighting For” get it out of your head now! This movie is solely based on action, adventure, and what it means to be a strong independent woman. 

Asian History Is A Part Of Me

Since I was little, I’ve always had a love for East Asian history and culture. I used to play a computer game known as “Age of Empires”, where I would select well known civilizations, build a massive army, and fight the enemy selected on the map.

Can you guess what civilization I use to play as? I was either China or Japan and unbeknownst to me, I would build my civilizations on Asian land masses such as; Honshu of Japan or the Yangtze river (Chinese: 长江) in south China. I was infatuated with the history and had never stopped learning about it. Out of all the Disney movies, I would say Mulan is a favorite of mine. 

Mulan: Live Action Phenomenon

I would love to sing the songs, especially as a grown man, I still listen to the music and sing along. From what I gather from previews of the live action version of Mulan, it has a lot of action-packed scenes. Just enough to keep the audience members hanging at the edge of their seats. I can see this movie is going to have a lot of differences, with some comparisons to the Disney version. I can’t wait to watch the premiere Friday September 4th. The character of Mulan is going to be even more thrilling than the Disney version.

Mulan: Inner Warrior In All Of Us

Liu Yifei

I don’t know if the actress Liu Yifei (Chinese: 刘亦菲) does her own stunts, but she looks amazing. I wouldn’t have picked a more suitable actress than her. I wish the movie a ton of success and pray it breaks down any barrier that stands in their way. This is the second movie in the last three years to have an ALL Asian cast! Good luck to the staff and crew, especially Liu Yifei! Show the world who you are INSIDE and bring HONOR to us all.

“The Flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all” – Pat Morita

Review for Mulan: Live Action Film!

I’ve finally watched Mulan on Disney+ and I have to say, it’s not what I expected! First and foremost, I thought the actors did well. Seeing Jet Li perform his acrobatic Kung Fu style on screen was just a powerhouse in itself. This man is 53 years old and his exuberance on screen is the definition of powerful Chi. An actress by the name of Gong Li, of whom plays a supernatural figure, looks even more beautiful now then she did in her role as a Geisha, in the movie; “Memoirs of a Geisha”. I’ve watched these two actors in film for many years and nothing has changed. They both look great and their acting is always a pleasure to watch. There were some similarities in comparison to the Disney version of Mulan and some differences. To be honest, my guard was up when I started watching this movie the other night. I didn’t know what to expect! No music or love story!? What else is going to be different? This movie was designed to feature Mulan in a different light; a warrior by blood. Unlike the original, she was a strong willed, hopeless romantic, and a clumsy girl. Liu Yifei was the total opposite. I would pacify her as a fighter, intelligent and brave character. Only the love she had for her family was the root message of the movie and to never give up. All in all, it was a good movie, but different. I enjoyed it and glad I finally got to see it. I would recommend everyone to watch it. I can’t say I loved it but I liked it. If I were an associate working for, ‘Rotten Tomatoes’, I would rate this movie 7.5. I especially enjoyed the song for the movie called, “Loyal, Brave and True”, sung by superstar Christina Aguilera. It was a great song to listen to EVERYONE should download it. The lyrics were great and not only that, the message was powerful. I guess we all have a little fire in us, just like Mulan.

Where to Watch Mulan

Click here to watch the movie. Subtitled in Chinese and English.

The Poem of Mulan (木兰诗)

The Poem of Mulan, or Mulan Poem, is a folk song of the Northern Dynasties (Chinese: 北朝). This is a long narrative poem. It tells the story of a girl named Mulan, who disguised herself as a man, joined the army for her father, and established meritorious service on the battlefield. She did not want to be an official after returning to the court, but only asked to go home and reunite. Mulan is warmly praised as being this women who is brave and kind, passionate and brave and fearless.

The following is the Chinese version of the Mulan Poem.

木兰诗

唧唧复唧唧，木兰当户织。不闻机杼声，惟闻女叹息。问女何所思，问女何所忆。女亦无所思，女亦无所忆。昨夜见军帖，可汗大点兵。军书十二卷，卷卷有爷名。阿爷无大儿，木兰无长兄。愿为市鞍马，从此替爷征。

东市买骏马，西市买鞍鞯，南市买辔头，北市买长鞭。旦辞爷娘去，暮宿黄河边。不闻爷娘唤女声，但闻黄河流水鸣溅溅。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。

万里赴戎机，关山度若飞。朔气传金柝，寒光照铁衣。将军百战死，壮士十年归。

归来见天子，天子坐明堂。策勋十二转，赏赐百千强。可汗问所欲，木兰不用尚书郎，愿驰千里足，送儿还故乡。

爷娘闻女来，出郭相扶将；阿姊闻妹来，当户理红妆；小弟闻姊来，磨刀霍霍向猪羊。开我东阁门，坐我西阁床。脱我战时袍，著我旧时裳。当窗理云鬓，对镜帖花黄。出门看火伴，火伴皆惊忙：同行十二年，不知木兰是女郎。

雄兔脚扑朔，雌兔眼迷离；双兔傍地走，安能辨我是雄雌？