5 Interesting Facts About Mulan That You May Not Know

Hey guys, welcome to Off The Grid. What is Mike? It's Dan. We've talked a lot before about how much we love traditional Chinese culture, and obviously our favorite show is coming back to town, Shen Yun Performing Arts. That's right. If you want the information, click the link at the bottom of our screen or in the description box below. Right. And every year they have a brand new show, so we're excited to go see it again. And I know for you, you saw the story of Mulan first at this show. That's right. And you really enjoyed it. Yeah, I always knew there was a cartoon. Yes. I never watched it, because after The Lion King, let's be serious here, there were no more good Disney movies. Until now. Now? Yeah. What's good? Tangled? I stand by my statement. Anyway, so I saw Mulan first in Shen Yun, and I was like, wait a minute, isn't this the Disney story? After watching Mulan on stage, then I went to watch the movie, I'm like, this is not an accurate portrayal. Right. So there's a lot of things that's in the movie that actually did not happen. Who has a little red dragon as your sidekick? This aren't on you, this aren't on your cow, this aren't on you, this aren't on your cow. Yeah. So today we're going to show you guys, let you in on some other facts about Mulan that you've never heard of before. Exactly. First of all, we're going to give you a little background information about Mulan. Now most people know the story of Mulan, Hua Mulan, which is her full name. The exact period when Hua Mulan lived is unclear, but it was widely believed that the story takes place during the Northern and Song dynasties, which is from 386 to 589. So concerned for his health, Mulan disguised herself as a man and took her father's place in the war. After the war ended, the emperor bestowed honors on her and wished to make Mulan a high ranking official. At this point, they still thought Mulan was a man. So naturally, Mulan declined and preferred to return to home to take care of her Asian parents. And it was only then when her fellow soldiers came to visit Mulan's village that they discovered the girl. So here's some facts that you might not know about Mulan. First of all, the war that Mulan fought in lasted 12 years. Did you know that? That's a long time. That's a really long time. You know what's so amazing about that? For 12 years, no one knew that she was not a man. That is incredible. Think about that for a second. She had to hide her identity as a woman for 12 years. I mean, that's like, she has to do her daily routine, whatever it was, to keep her identity secret for 12 years. And then go fight in battle and become a celebrated general, leading her troops to victory. She might have been one of the toughest women who has ever lived. Unbelievable. And also, I think people were more gullible back then. Like, are you a girl? No, I'm a guy. Okay. Yep. Number two, the story of Mulan was originally a poem. The Ballad of Mulan, which is what it was called, was first transcribed in the musical records of old and new. The original work no longer exists. And the original text of this poem comes from another work known as the Music Bureau Collection, compiled by Guo Maoqian during the 11th or 12th century. The author explicitly mentions the musical records of old and new as a source for the poem. Number three, Mulan's name may be different. In Chinese, Mulan means wood orchid, and it refers to the magnolia. The heroine of the poem is given different family names and different versions of her story. According to History of the Ming, her family name is Zhu, while the History of the Qing says it's Wei. The family name Hua, which was introduced by poet Xu Wei, has become the most popular in recent years, in part because of its more poetic meaning. Yeah, definitely Hua Mulan sounds better than Wei Mulan or Zhu Mulan. Zhu Mulan? That just sounds weird. Yeah. Pig Mulan. What? Moving on to the next one. There's something named after Mulan in space. Really? If you look up at night, besides the moon, you will most likely see Venus glowing brightly. One of the craters on Venus was named after Mulan. Is that a compliment though, getting a crater named after you? Isn't that like saying we would like to name a massive scar after you? Yeah, I would rather have a star named after me than a crater. Next up, Mulan was an expert fighter. In a Disney movie, Mulan was depicted as an untrained soldier who did not know how to fight. But in reality, Mulan was an expert in combat and was a master in mini-weaponry. I mean, this is so different from the Disney movie, right? Right. This is probably the biggest surprise to me, that she already knew martial arts. Right. And women back then, it wasn't common for them to all know martial arts, but she came from a family that really values martial arts, so she practiced it. That's incredible. It was almost like she was destined. Yeah, it wasn't like she was good, she was great at it. And she also knew the art of war, so she became a great general. I could shoot a bow and arrow. You can't hit anything, except for the things that you're not aiming for. I'm a really good swordsman. What's the sword? Yeah. Really? You know the swordsman in the movie? Yeah. Yeah, that was me. Actually, that was Jet Li. Your drunken master? No. Once upon a time in China. I look kind of like Jet Li. You do not look anything like Jet Li. Yeah, I do. If you look like... Yeah, I do. Jackie Chan looks like me. If I shave my head... You don't look like Jet Li. The only people... Put a picture side by side. Oh, do it. Yeah, you don't look like Jet Li. Okay, anyways, guys. All right. The story of Mulan is one that embodies the principles of filial piety, which means to love and respect one's parents and elders, and it's a principle that has been passed down through Chinese history for thousands of years. All right, guys. Hope you found those facts interesting about Mulan, and once again, Xinyue Performing Arts, which is our favorite show, is coming to New York and around the world, so we have their websites if you want to check it out. Again, we don't work for them. They don't sponsor us. We really just like the show, and we figure you would like it as well. That's right. So that's why we're telling you about it. That's right. As we end this video, we wanted to give you a special treat. Me and Dan will now recite the Ballad of Mulan. Sigh after sigh, Mulan is weaving in front of her door. One cannot hear the sound of the loom, but only the poor girl's sighs. Ask her who is in her heart, or who is on her mind. No one is in her heart, and no one is on her mind. She saw the military drafts last night. Khan is conscripting many soldiers. A dozen draft lists, every one with her father's name. Father has no grown son, Mulan has no elder brother. She decided to acquire a horse and saddle, and enlist in father's place. In the east market she bought a horse, in the west market a saddle. In the north market she bought a bridle, and in the south market a long whip. At dawn she bid farewell to her father and mother. At dusk, camped by the Yellow River's bank. She cannot hear her parents calling for their daughter, only the waters of the river flowing. At dawn she left the Yellow River, at dusk she arrived at the Black Mountain. She could not hear her parents calling for their daughter, only the wild horses of Mount Yannei.