I'm family line will bring honor to us
all with Disney's live-action remake of
Mulan released in March 2020 we're
delving into the true story of the
famous Chinese warrior we also reveal
how this latest a movie version brings
back an intriguing female character from
earlier versions of the tale
keep watching to the end to discover
Mulan's real love interest spoiler alert
it's not li Shang would you like to stay
for dinner most of us know Mulan from
the 1998 Disney animated feature but was
the character based on a historical
figure or was she totally made up the
woman called Hua Mulan became famous
through a tale called The Ballad of
Mulan she was a Chinese warrior during
the northern and southern dynasties that
dates way back to the 5th and 6th
centuries sometime between the years 420
+ 589 since the tale of Mulan is so
ancient we can't be certain about her
origins it is possible that she really
did exist in real life but it's mainly
thought that Mulan story is fictional
either way her tale became an important
part of Chinese folklore and there are
some important differences between that
original tale and the Disney movie we
all know my father cannot fight so I
will take his place in the 1998
animation Mulan is an only child she
talks about having a little brother but
that turns out to be her dog in the
original poem Hua Mulan has an actual
human brother he can't serve in the army
in place of their father however because
he is too young the stories do have the
important plot line in common that the
men are being asked to defend China and
Mullins dad is too old and sickly to
serve in the Chinese army but there's an
important difference between the Disney
version and the original in the cartoon
Mulan's family members do not want her
to take her father's place however in
the Ballad Mulan takes her father's
place in the army with her parents
blessing she even leaves for the
battlefield carrying a sword that she
inherited from her ancestors that's a
major difference between the two
renditions the Disney movie plays a lot
on what Mullins father thinks the
daughter should do and how a young woman
can bring honor or dishonor to her
family
it's not the only major difference
either I know my place it is time you
learned yours in the Disney Animation
Mulan has no idea what she's doing when
she joins the army sure she's a fast
learner and soon becomes the best
recruit in the training camp she
impresses li Shang by reaching the top
of the pole and learning combat skills
but she certainly starts off green
that's what we would expect of the
character given that she's been trained
to be a good wife and nothing else
however in the original tale Mulan was
already a good fighter when she joined
the army in fact she'd been trained in
various combat skills
these include archery martial arts and
sword fighting she was such a successful
fighter in fact that Mulan was promoted
to general after 10 years on the
battlefield she was offered an official
post but wanted to go back to her family
instead first up there's Mullins family
in this 1695 version Mulan has sisters
and no brother in fact she has a baby
son that's a pretty big plot change she
still takes her father's place in the
army but she's not the only woman who
was fighting in the war the king has
another daughter called Chang Niang and
she is also a warrior Chang Niang is
very pleased to have another female
warrior alongside her the pair become
laotong this is a relationship in
Chinese culture where two women are
bonded together for eternity as kindred
sisters interestingly in Disney's 2020
live-action remake of Mulan she has a
sister and there is also another female
warrior called Xi'an yang or Chang Lang
but these two women are laotong quite
the opposite really I knew there was
something wrong with you
what money in the 1998 animation Shan Yu
is mulan's enemy he's the leader of the
Huns who are invading China but in the
2020 live-action remake bori Khan is the
invader and he's the main villain
alongside Xi'an yang who is described as
a sorceress or a witch she can transform
herself into an eagle
That Bird connection gives her something
in common with Shan Yu but Qiang Niang
most certainly isn't a kindred sister of
Mulan's like she is in the 1695 version
of the tale rather than refer to the
Huns the trailer for this new movie
refers to northern invaders this is much
more in keeping with the original Mulan
legend in this ancient tale the Chinese
army is sent to protect the country
against invaders from the nomadic rule
Ron cagin II it's thought that bori Kahn
could belong to this cagin II and that
would mean the 2020 version of the story
is a closer retelling of the actual
legend than the 1998 animation every
family must contribute one not to fight
in the 1998 animated movie Mulan has
three animal sidekicks
there's Mu Shu the dragon and there's
Creeky the cricket and there's Khan the
horse unsurprisingly in the original
tale about Mulan there are no talking
dragon friends and in the 2020 remake
there is no Mu Shu that's another reason
why film critics are claiming that this
new version is aiming to be more
authentic to the original Chinese poem
The Ballad of Mulan and also more
authentic to Chinese culture in general
but in the original tale there was a
horse and that animal played a rather
symbolic part when the Emperor wants to
reward Mulan after another heroic
triumph all she asks for is a horse and
that's because she wants to ride home to
her family her identity as a woman has
been revealed and she's ready to be with
her father again this masquerading as a
man is a key plot point that appears in
all versions of Mulan's tale yes my name
is ping let me see your conscription
notice
all the tales of Mulan agree that she
goes undercover as a man to serve in the
army
she takes the place of her father who is
too old and frail to fight for China the
names that she takes on ferry though
she's ping in Disney's 1998 version and
hua Jun in the 2020 remake in addition
how her true identity is revealed plus
her fellow soldiers reaction to the
revelation that she's really a woman
also vary in the different tellings in
the original tales Mulan chooses a
traditionally female clothing as she
goes onto the battlefield
she wants her fellow soldiers to realize
her true identity as a woman and the
soldiers react with respect and
admiration they're impressed by her
bravery grace and wisdom and she
inspires them to win the difficult
battle in the 1998 animation however
it's when Mulan is injured that her true
identity is accidentally uncovered li
Shang is disgusted and Mulan has to work
hard to regain the respect of her fellow
soldiers to go back to our original
questions could Mulan really have
existed
it might sound far-fetched for there to
have been a woman undercover and the
Chinese army thousands of years ago
however we can't dismiss the possibility
that she did exist historically after
all elite women and female Warriors did
indeed play a role in ancient Chinese
military history during China's warring
States Period which took place a few
hundred years before Christ the chief
military commander trained 180 court
women to assert military and political
influence in the surrounding states and
Princess pingyang raised troops to help
her father seize the throne he became
the Emperor Gao su and he established to
the tang dynasty with his daughter
support she became the only woman of
that period to receive the honor of a
military funeral
in the 1998 Disney version of the story
Mulan returns home victorious she's
brought honor to her family her father
welcomes her with open arms and li Shang
follows her back we see in the sequel
that the couple get their happily ever
after but what about the original tale
and the variations that follow well it's
not quite such a happy ending many
versions end with Mulan returning home
to discover that her father has passed
away instead of feeling like a hero she
feels like she lost the person she loved
most in the world the folktale versions
of Mulan's history also depict her as
being haunted by her experiences on the
battlefield in the most a- of all the
tellings Mulan feels so lonely and
misunderstood she takes her own life in
the 1695 sui tang romance version Mulan
isn't a victorious army general being
rewarded by the Emperor the king is
actually taken down and Mulan along with
the king's daughter Chang Liang's
surrender they offer up their lives in
place of the condemned men they are
spared however and the Emperor's mother
gives Mulan money for her parents again
though her father has passed away in her
absence in this version
her mother has remarried Mulan is
ordered to become a concubine so she
takes her own life we want to finish on
a positive note and that means zooming
in on Mulan's love life in Disney's 1998
animation captain Li Shang and Mulan
fall in love they form a close bond when
she's posing as the male soldier ping
and it turns into romance at the end in
the original tale however Mulan falls in
love with an officer called Jin Yong the
legend says that when Jin Yong learns
that Mulan's a woman he becomes more
attached to her in many versions of the
tale they both dream about getting
married what about the 2020 remake
there's no li Shang we're sorry to say
the matchmakers found you an auspicious
match it is to sign it Mulan does have a
love interest however but this time
around he's called chen hong wheat
rather than falling for her captain
mulan develops a relationship with a
fellow recruit shen hong who has been
described as ambitious and competitive
with
and he falls in love with Mulan after he
discovers she's a woman and that's a
wrap on the true story behind Mulan
do you think this a fierce warrior
existed for real tell us your theories
in the comments section give this video
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