Disney’s movie ‘Mulan’ has its roots in
history
(This article was written for the Dunn County News when I was a LifeStyle Columnist several years ago).
By Crystal Li-chin Huang
A while ago I went to the State Theater to watch the Disney
production- ‘Mulan (木蘭) ’- an actual historical
figure named Mu-lan Hwa (Hwa-花
is her last name), who lived between the Sui (隋) and Tang (唐) dynasties, 581-618 A.D.
It was an interesting movie with high quality of special
effects in portraying her images. After the delightful entertainment I found out
that there were more messages beyond the screen that I learned from my history
classes, and stories read in Taipei when I was a school kid, which might interest
you as well. So, here they go:
Like her western counterpart Xena Warrior Princess, the
well-known Mu-lan Hwa has long been identified as a heroine in the Far Eastern
Asia.
In the screen, through wonderful entertaining effects, Mu-lan
Hwa, the historical heroine known for
her military acumen, bravery, filial piety (孝- familial
loyalty) and patriotism was slightly modified.
The Disney’s version of Mu-lan becomes a very simple, feminine, and cunning
cutie. The subtle touch, however, of family honor, social responsibility makes
the originally pontificating theme in history acceptable and enjoyable.
But, unlike the traditional Disney’s portraying of female
cartoon images, such as Snow White, Cinderella, Little Mermaid, Beauty and Beast etc., the
Mulan’s legend seems having a tinge of
feminism through the celebration of her heroic deeds.
The underlying point is that, contrary to conventional
feminist ideology, Mu-lan’s disguising herself as a male warrior did not say
much about her gender awakening in the historical and social context of the
time. Patriarchy and male supremacy had been taken for granted for centuries.
Rather, the young woman’s motivations for becoming a warrior lay more in the
sense of filial piety (or the conventional repressive familism) that she had to
help her father who was too old to serve in the military during the turbulent
time. In the traditional version of the
tale (not mentioned in the movie), she also had a brother who was too young to
go to the battlefield.
In short, from the known historical documents, Mu-lan was
recorded as an excellent warrior, gone through numerous bloody campaigns, and
proved the remarkable martial skills and strong determination in a male gender
preferential society. The family love,
courage, duty, honor and commitment which are held in high regard in the
society, through her, reveal the Confucian ethical humanism.
Furthermore, a significant point of view associated with
Mu-lan’s legendary deed well known in Far Eastern Asia is the military thought
and practice associating with the philosophy and art of war.
Historically speaking, the thousand years of constant
“barbarian threats” and unremitting incursions of volatile nomadic peoples' invasions fostered generations of professional military figures to develop sophisticated
battlefield strategies. During the
fifth and sixth centuries B.C, the most significant war theorists are Sun-tsu (孫子), Wu-tsu (吳子), and Han Fei-tsu (
韓非子).
Among classic military treatises, the one perhaps known best
in the West is “The Art of War ( 孫子兵法)”, -a holistic warfare classic consisting of inter-disciplines
of tactics, psychology, geography,
management, espionage (and perhaps, with a little bit flavor of Machiavellianism), and so on, by Sun-tsu. A compendium was compiled in Song
(宋) Dynasty-the Seven Military
Classics, (1078 A.D. circa). This dynasty was also famous for its eminent
female generals/warriors, such as Lang Hong-yu (梁紅玉), Chin Lang-yu (秦良玉), Mu Guai-in (穆桂英) and her female in-law warriors in the respectable family of Young
Gia Ginag (楊家將).
In stark contrast to the militarists were the dominant
philosophy of Confucius (551-479 B.C.) and Mencius, (371-289 B.C. - another
important ethical philosopher, second to Confucius), who insisted in cultivating the ruler’s
virtue and implementing benevolent policies. Their humanistic philosophies were
a major factor in the conduct of military affairs that were more or less
disdained by hegemonically oriented government officials for many centuries.
Yet that suppression of military thought did not smother the
seed of its wisdom. The most profound treatises developed by Sun-tsu - “The Art
of War” was first translated by a French missionary about two hundred years ago.
The book was reportedly employed by Napoleon and some Nazi High Commands.
Over last decades, due to globalization fostering business expansion
and competition, a growth of the Western
society interest in the Far East has
been noticeable. In particular one sees the phenomenon of “corporate warfare” in its incarnation,
these traditional philosophies and strategies for battle are now employed in
the business arena.
In some part of the Far East, the continuously reinterpreting the ancient wisdom has been lingering on, again, in the
business world. For example, a
commercially revised Sun-tsu’s warfare theory has once become the bestseller for
quite a while. Not to mention people in
China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, the Japanese, Koreans, and Singaporeans have held
the intensive study to seek out the insight from the Art of War not only in the
entrepreneurial sphere, but also pursing the wisdom applied to the personal life.
As to a final note- in my native country, Taiwan, Mu-lan is
a synonym for a female officer or cadet.
Being a veteran- Mu-lan myself, Disney’s production of Mu-lan more or
less provides me with an emotional tie. Now, pick up the book, reread the Art of War,
I do enjoy messages between the lines, more than ever.
!
!, since I have never gotten a paper trail.
