Hua Mulan
who fights to defend her father.
Ode to MULAN
"
Tsiek tsiek and again tsiek tsiek,
Mulan weaves, facing ti the door.
You don't hear the shuttle's sound,
You only hear Daughter's sighs.
They ask Daughter who's in her heart,
They ask Daughter who's on her mind.
"No one is from Daughter's heart,
No one is from Daughter's mind."
Last night I saw the draft poster,
The Khan is calling many troops,
The army list in the twelve scrolls,
On every scroll there's Father's name.
Father has no grown-up son.
Mulan has no elder brother,
I want to buy a saddle and horse,
And serve in the army in Father's place.
In the East Market she buys a spirited horse,
In the West Market she buy a saddle,
In the South Market she buy a bridle,
In North Market she buy a long whip.
At dawn she takes leave of Father and Mother,
In the evening camps on the Yellow River's bank.
She doesn't hear the sound of Father and Mother calling,
She only hears the Yellow River's flowing water cry tsien tsien...
At dawn she takes leave of the Yellow River,
In the evening she arrives at Black Mountain.
She doesn't hear the sound of Father and Mother calling,
She only hears Mount Yen's nomad horses cry tsiu tsiu...
She goes ten thousand miles on the business of war,
She crosses passes and mountains like flying.
Northern gusts carry the rattle of army pots,
Chilly light shines on iron mirror.
General die in a hundred battles,
Stout soldiers return after ten years.
On her return she sees the Son of Heaven,
The Son of Heaven sits in the Splendid Hall.
He gives out promotions in twelve ranks,
And prizes of a hundred thousand ans more.
The Khan asks her what she desires
"Mulan has no use for a minister's post.
I wish to ride a swift mount,
To take me back to my home."
When Father and Mother hear Daughter is coming,
They go outside the wall to meet her, learning on each other.
When Elder Sister hears Younger Sister is coming.
She fixes her rouge, facing to the door.
When Little Brother hears Elder Sister is coming,
He whets the knife, quick quick, for a pig and sheep.
"I open the door to my east chamber,
I sit on my couch in the west room,
I take off my wartime gown,
And put on my old-time clothes."
Facing the window she fixes cloudlike hair,
Hanging up a mirror she dabs on yellow flower powder.
She goes out the door and see her comrades.
Traveling together for twelve years..
They didn't know Mulan is a girl.
"The he-hare's feet go hop and skip,
The she-hare's eyes are muddled and fuddled.
Two hares running side by side close to the ground,
How can they tell if I am He or She?"
"
Disney's 1998 animated movie Mulan popularized
the legend of the girl that took her father's place
in the army. The legend stems from a Chinese poem,
written during the Northern
Wei dynasty (386-534), a time where northern china
was ruled by nomadic invaders. This is reflected
in the fact that the poem refers to
the ruler as the Khan rather than as the Emperor. As
is common with Chinese stories, it was further elaborated
on as a novel during
the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and as a play during the
Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Her surname has been variously
given as Zhu, Wei,
or Hua in various sources but in fact no independent
contemporary records exist to confirm her existence.
