There are a couple of sites on the Web about "Mulan" (Hua Mu-Lan, Fa Mu Lan,
etc.), the Chinese woman warrior from Maxine Hong Kingston's book and subject
of Disney's upcoming animated film.
An English translation of a poem about her is at
http://www.tcp.com/~miyazaki/nausicaa/hairston/mulan.html
more information on the story and the film arranged as FAQ is at
http://www.chinapage.com/mulan.html
The Mu Lan (Kingston) and Mulan (Disney) difference is due to Kingston's use
of the older Wade-Giles system of transliteration vs the pinyin system
insisted on by the People's Republic of China and adopted here by newspapers
and, less rapidly, by scholars, following Nixon's visit to China.
The second site gives different versions of the stories and mentions other
women fighters. The author also gives some details of how Disney has changed
the story; for one thing, instead of revealing herself after a 10 to 12 year
career as a general, Mu Lan is unmasked during or right before the main
battle. Sounds like the traditional songs of women disguising themselves as
sailors in the British Navy ("and breasts revealed all snowy white" etc.).
At least this Disney heroine isn't built like the Barbie Pocahontis.
Hope this is of some interest,
Kathleen
Kfriello@aol.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu May 25 2000 - 19:07:44 PDT