The Original Story of Mulan | Read the Ballad of Mulan in Chinese & English

Amidst the plethora of legendary figures in Chinese folklore and history, Mulan stands out. How does the original Ballad of Mulan compare to other famous adaptations, like Disney’s Mulan? In this video, we read through the rendition of The Ballad of Mulan from the 6th century.

0:00 Introduction
0:25 The setting of Mulan and historical evidence
1:18 Disney's “Fa Mulan” and the meaning of her name
2:05 Reading the Ballad of Mulan in Chinese
2:50 Continuing the Ballad of Mulan in English
5:23 Last lines of the Ballad in Cantonese
5:36 Concluding thoughts

References/sources:
A more in-depth translation with the full Chinese poem and other references
http://www.tsoidug.org/Literary/Mulan...

English translation from The Flowering Plum and the Palace Lady: Interpretations of Chinese Poetry by Hans Fränkel
http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/chin...

Chinese languages
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chin...

Researchers Uncover New Evidence That Warrior Women Inspired Legend of Mulan
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-...

Period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties (386–581)
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/nsd...

Some clips from Disney's Mulan (1998) and Mulan (2020).

Music:
Track: Yuhui (Xun) NCM version
Music provided by Youtube Free Music Library (NCM)
Watch:    • No Copyright Music,Chinese classical ...  

Track: Midsummer fruit (Guzheng) NCM version
Music provided by Youtube Free Music Library (NCM)
Watch:    • No Copyright Music,Chinese Musical In...  

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