Scholars generally consider Mulan to be a fictional character. Hua Mulan is depicted in the Wu Shuang Pu (無雙譜, Table of Peerless Heroes) by Jin Guliang.
Scholarly consensus is that Mulan is a fictional character, probably developed in Northern China in response to the greater independence women enjoyed there, whose legend was then revised in succeeding eras to reflect the values and challenges of the times.
Disney's classic 'Mulan' flopped in China because audiences didn't think the heroine looked Chinese enough. Although Mulan is the only Disney Princess of East Asian descent, the original Mulan cartoon was a massive flop in China.
The matchmaker depicted in Disney's Mulan is not historically accurate. The role of the matchmaker was actually to broker marriages between families, not to find partners for individuals.
Scholars generally consider Mulan to be a fictional character. Hua Mulan is depicted in the Wu Shuang Pu (無雙譜, Table of Peerless Heroes) by Jin Guliang. Mulan as depicted in the album Gathering Gems of Beauty (畫麗珠萃秀) (Qing dynasty; ca 18th century).
French scholar Joseph de Guignes proposed that the Huns were descended from the Xiongnu, but this theory remains under intense debate. This is further supported by Shan Yu's name, as a "Shanyu" or "Chanyu" was what the Xiongnu leaders were called, much like a Mongol leader would be "Khan."
The film also drew ire for filming in Xinjiang, a region of China where Uighur Muslims have been detained in mass internment camps. The film has also been accused of being too white behind the camera.
Shan Yu was inspired by the real-life Attila the Hun. Though while Shan Yu died by the hands of fireworks, Attila died by choking on his own blood the night he was to be wed to his future wife, Ildico. Coincidently the name of the computer system that was used to animate the Hun army charge was called Attila.
While the social and cultural milieu of the Northern Wei dynasty provided the context for the tale's origins, there's no corroborative evidence to confirm that Mulan was ever a real person. Over time, the story and character's nomadic and tribal origins have significantly changed from the original.
The play The Female Mulan (16th century CE) modifies earlier themes, moves the action back to the time of the Northern Wei, and introduces the happy ending of the marriage motif while succeeding versions conclude with Mulan killing herself to avoid the shame of having to become the emperor's concubine until the story ...
Why is the live-action Mulan so different from the original?
Unlike the animated film, the live-action story opens with Mulan's father, Hua Zhou, narrating the story of his legendary daughter. The animated film opens from the villain's perspective as he invades China through the Great Wall. The landmark isn't featured in the new Disney film.
Joan of Arc seems outwardly similar to Fa Mulan, as they both donned male guise to assist them in joining/serving in their respective royal armies at times when their homelands were threatened, however, the latter preceded the former by nearly a thousand years (albeit only as an epic poem) and thus shares no direct ...
Mulan's surname is tweaked from Fa, the Cantonese pronunciation of her name, to Hua, which makes it truer to the name of the original ballad. However, both names have the same basic meaning.
Mulan is a feminine name of Chinese origin. While this name refers to flowers, meaning “magnolia blossom” or “wood orchid,” it also brings feelings of strength and victory. Mulan was also the name of a legendary Chinese warrior who disguised herself as a man to take her sick father's place in the army.
Scholars are fairly certain Mulan was never a real person and the first written record we have of it comes from the Tang Dynasty, though the story itself is much older. This is as close to the 'real' story as you'll get. The poem itself is pretty short.
Starting with the positives, Disney's attempt at portraying Chinese culture greatly improved from the original 1998 film. While the basic premise of the animated version is the same, Disney updated many important details that make the live-action more historically accurate and true to the original Ballad of Mulan.
Historians do believe that the Huns were responsible for invading the region of China where the film takes place during the time this story was set, according to China Highlights. The Huns lived to the north, in the Rouran State, although their leader in the film, Shan Yu, was not a real historical figure.
China blocked the release of Disney's animated “Mulan” for eight months in the late 1990s after the company backed Martin Scorsese's “Kundun,” a film seen as sympathetic to the Dalai Lama. The animated “Mulan” bombed in China as a result.
The cinematography is great and the colors are often vibrant, but the story is pretty dull. The lead actress is awfully bland as well. The action and music are standouts, but get bogged down by some pacing issues. My biggest issue with this film though is Mulan herself.
Mulan (disguised as Ping) was injured while in a battle in the mountains from when she got slashed with a sword by Shan Yu (the villain) and then while she was recovering from her injuries, her bandages on her chest showed who she really was.
After Mulan sets off an avalanche with a rocket, only six of those Huns survived. Shan Yu is later killed, but by Mushu rather than Mulan (although she did play an instrumental role in Shan Yu's defeat, of course). In total, Mulan's final kill count is 3,994.
Most modern historians believe that Mulan's story is fictitious, but insist that it is set during the era of Northern Wei, most likely under the reign of Emperor Taiwu because Taiwu engaged in a twelve-year war against the Rouran khan between 429 and 441 AD (the Ballad of Mulan states that Mulan served for twelve years ...
