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Yeah spoiler alert it’s China, Aladdin is Chinese.
Move over Film theory, WooKong got here first!
Let’s explore the origins of the Disney classic, Aladdin!
The original tale of Aladdin first was first published in 1710
in a compilation of stories called 1001 Arabian nights,
a series of folk tales translated into French
by notable “orientalist” Antoine Galland.
While a many of the works were quite famous Arabic stories,
a few of the tales such as Sinbad the sailor and Aladdin
were curiously never heard of
until 1001 Arabian Nights was published.
The fact that these stories were unknown
even in their supposed home countries
coupled with the fact that they follow
a western styled fairy tale formula,
has led many historians to believe
it was invented by either an Arabic Christian storyteller
named Youhenna Diab or by Galland himself.
But before we get our Nerd on and analyse the history too deeply
let’s check out the plot of the original.
The story goes that in China there was a young Muslim named Aladdin
who was the son of a tailor called Mustafa
that died after failing to teach him a trade.
Sometime later, a North African magician convinced Aladdin
that he was his Uncle
(because you know,
the genetic similarities between North Africans
and Chinese people are indistinguishable right?).
The magician takes Aladdin to a cave
and gets him to steal the magic lamp
but leaves Aladdin trapped in the cave as he refuses
to give him the lamp before helping him escape.
Interestingly, before entering the cave,
Aladdin is given a magic ring that also has a genie inside,
which is honestly the biggest plot hole in the entire story.
So Aladdin use the ring genie to escape
and then later discovers that the lamp also has a genie inside.
From here, the Disney movie follows the original pretty closely.
Aladdin sees the princess,
known in this version as princess Badroulbadour.
Does the whole parade thing to impress her,
and then the sultan agrees to marry them.
The Vizier was in this version, but wasn’t the main villain,
he just disliked Aladdin because princess’s hand
was original promised to his son.
After the wedding, the magician returns,
tricks the princess into swapping the magic lamp
for a regular one and then transports Aladdin’s palace to Africa.
Aladdin remembers that he has another Genie
goes to Africa, and then with the help of the princess
poisons and kills the magician.
After committing murder teleport back to China and live happily ever after.
So the story says it’s set in the capital of China,
but it features Muslims, Africans, Jewish people and a Sultan as their ruler.
But is there any historical evidence to say that this story could be set in China
or was it just the work of someone who had no real knowledge of China?
To answer that,
let’s take a look at the Sultan and religious aspect of the main characters.
The Islamic religion has been quite prominent
during many periods of Chinese history,
particularly during the Tang and Ming Dynasties.
The first ruler of the Ming Dynasty emperor Hongwu,
ordered a number of Mosques to be built throughout China
and Ming Dynasty’s Emperor Zhengde
was famously said to be fascinated with the religion
leading many to speculate that he himself had become a Muslim convert.
In the northwest of China, in the Xinjiang Province
the vast majority of its modern population are Islamic in religion,
and also, they are a comparably extremely genetically diverse ethnic group.
While Xinjiang has never held the position of capital of China,
there is recorded evidence
of Emperors having an affinity for Muslim practises,
so it is not a stretch to believe that the capital could be Beijing.
In terms of an African in China,
the Silk Road was reopened during the Tang Dynasty
and after Mongolian occupation
the Emperor Zhangde strengthened international sea trade
to the point where it wasn’t that rare to see foreigners in China
so again, it is entirely possible that story could be set in China
and the term Sultan was just a bad translation Emperor.
So then the question is,
why didn’t Disney follow the original and set it in China too?
Obviously the answer is that it’s too damn confusing.
The mixture of themes, ethnicities and settings
makes it hard for the average movie goer to wrap their head around.
Coupled with the fact
that it was published in a book called 1001 Arabian nights,
based on a non-existent Persian manuscript
translated by a Frenchman
means that it’s easier for Disney to just create
a fictional place called Agrabah and call it a day.
Personally I think the biggest takeaway from all of this
is the fact that the first Disney Princess to not be European
wasn’t Middle Eastern, she was Chinese!
Sorry Mulan, you didn't come first, and you know technically weren’t a princess either.
So thank you for watching another one of my videos,
don’t forget to like, comment and definitely subscribe,
If you liked this one, why not check out my video
on Disney’s Mulan and how it compared to original.
Once again thank you so much for watching.
I’m WooKong and good bye.