Women's Movement Around the World: China
By: Yucheng Guo
Preface:
As an international student who came straight from China three months ago, it is naturally for me to know a lot more about Chinese Culture. As far as I know, comparing with Western Countries, China has no particular time mark for women’s movement in the history. Luckily, through the centuries-old Chinese history, there are plenty of examples in Chinese culture that propagate the women’s equal rights and equal position in society. Among those examples, I would like to focus on Hua Mulan, a well-known figure in the Chinese history (also well-known in America) and several art products of her story.
Basically, Mulan's story is well known because lots of literature, art, movies and operas depict it. Even Disney made a cartoon which is derived from Mulan's story.
Here is the background of Mulan and her story:
“The Ballad of Mulan is of anonymous ancient origin. It is believed to have
“The Ballad of Mulan is of anonymous ancient origin. It is believed to have
originated as a folksong during a period of foreign
domination that is marked by
historians as one of notable cultural plurality.”
“The less than delicate character of Mulan herself is also dramatic in a northern way. The ballad was undoubtedly changed as it passed from singer to singer in the local dialects of
“The less than delicate character of Mulan herself is also dramatic in a northern way. The ballad was undoubtedly changed as it passed from singer to singer in the local dialects of
the Turkish-like oral language used by the Northern Wei, a
language not directly
linked to modern-day Mandarin.”
The next reference indicates the relationship between the original story and The Song of Mulan and he Ballad of Mulan ( i.e. two art products derived from Mulan’s legend)
The next reference indicates the relationship between the original story and The Song of Mulan and he Ballad of Mulan ( i.e. two art products derived from Mulan’s legend)
Jeanne M. Lee’s The
Song of Mulan and Song Nan Zhang’s The Ballad of Mulan:
Both Jeanne M. Lee’s The Song of Mulan and Song Nan Zhang’s The Ballad of Mulan present the “Ballad” in Chinese alongside an English Translation while supplying visual narratives to envision Mulan’s story and to convey the cultural environment of traditional China, The editor’s note on the dust jacket of lee’s book states:” The Song of Mulan is closely translated from an ancient text an echoes the rhythms of Chinese, which is here faithfully reproduced in original calligraphy by Chan Bo Wan, the artist’s father.” The placement of this statement before the title page of this pictorial adaptation for children stresses its close connection to its traditional Chinese source. Moreover, the author’s note at the end further explicates the origin of this picture book and claries the cultural climate that artist strives to convey in the drawings:” It is believed that this Chinese folk poem originated during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, A.D. 420-A.D. 589. It was recorded in court anthologies as early as the Tang Dynasty…. The verses of the Poem are still taught to children in China today and are sung in Chinese opera in different dialects” (Lee). As Maria Nikolajeva and Carole Scott have pointed out, endpapers of a picture book can convey essential information an contribute to a word-image tension” (241). Insofar as she is aware of the historical source for her literary and artistic creation, Lee self-consciously positions her work as a means of introducing a Chinese cultural legacy to English as well as bilingual readers.
Both Jeanne M. Lee’s The Song of Mulan and Song Nan Zhang’s The Ballad of Mulan present the “Ballad” in Chinese alongside an English Translation while supplying visual narratives to envision Mulan’s story and to convey the cultural environment of traditional China, The editor’s note on the dust jacket of lee’s book states:” The Song of Mulan is closely translated from an ancient text an echoes the rhythms of Chinese, which is here faithfully reproduced in original calligraphy by Chan Bo Wan, the artist’s father.” The placement of this statement before the title page of this pictorial adaptation for children stresses its close connection to its traditional Chinese source. Moreover, the author’s note at the end further explicates the origin of this picture book and claries the cultural climate that artist strives to convey in the drawings:” It is believed that this Chinese folk poem originated during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, A.D. 420-A.D. 589. It was recorded in court anthologies as early as the Tang Dynasty…. The verses of the Poem are still taught to children in China today and are sung in Chinese opera in different dialects” (Lee). As Maria Nikolajeva and Carole Scott have pointed out, endpapers of a picture book can convey essential information an contribute to a word-image tension” (241). Insofar as she is aware of the historical source for her literary and artistic creation, Lee self-consciously positions her work as a means of introducing a Chinese cultural legacy to English as well as bilingual readers.
Personal viewpoints:
In general, Mulan is a brave woman, who voluntarily served for her father to go for war and became a heroine eventually. No one knows her true gender identity until she came back home. It is a legend story.
In general, Mulan is a brave woman, who voluntarily served for her father to go for war and became a heroine eventually. No one knows her true gender identity until she came back home. It is a legend story.
The song of Mulan demonstrates
Mulan’s braveness and self-sacrifices in a vivid opera form. Lots of elements
are made up for fun.The ballad of Mulan is more original and full version of
story compared with the other two. The third one is selected from the Disney film made in 1998, which is more funny to watch, but less realistic to the original story. More information about this film: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulan
The last one, the selection from opera, describes a conversation during the war, where one of the solider ignores the importance of women during the war and Mulan disproves his idea.
It is focused on the women’s social position and their treatment. It demonstrates the idea of equality of men and women and different society roles played by men and women.
Media Sources:
http://www.serflo1.com/Mulan.html -The Ballad of Mulan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdG7zsRlBSQ -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSS5dEeMX64 -Mulan - I'll make a man out of you
http://www.lyricstime.com/mulan-i-ll-make-a-man-out-of-you-lyrics.html -Lyrics
http://www.lyricstime.com/mulan-i-ll-make-a-man-out-of-you-lyrics.html -Lyrics
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTI4MzMxNDg=.html -
The lyrics that translated by myself for the last media
resource:
The words you said is very unreasonable.
Who told you that women are enjoying the leisure?
Men fight the war at the frontier.
(While) Women weave at home.
Doing farm work during the day.
Spinning cotton during the night
Engaging in hard work day and night
So that soldiers have food and clothes.
If you do not believe, please look at the body.
Our Shoes and socks
plus clothes and shirts
All the strings and threads are connected by women
There are lots of heroines
who also make great contribution.
They kill enemies for the country.
Talent women emerge from generation
to generation.
So, how could the women not as good as men?
Primary Sources
Dong,
Lan. Mulan’s Legend and Legacy in China
and the United States. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 2011. Print.
Hsieh,
Ivy Haoyin, and Marylou M. Matoush. “Filial Daughter, Woman Warrior, or
Identity-Seeking Fairytale Princess: Fostering Critical Awareness Through
Mulan.” Children’s Literature in
Education 43(2012): 213-222. Web.
