Mulan: Five Versions of a Classic Chinese Legend with Related Texts Paperback – 10 Nov. 2010

Bought as present.

I love this series of books. Idema is taking different versions of classic Chinese tales and showing different ways they've evolved through time. This version takes 5 different versions of Mulan, the first two early ballards, and the last two twentieth century interpretations. What I liked best about these was that in all these versions no one guessed that Mulan was a woman and she was always highly skilled. There were interesting emphasis between the stories on gender roles.

Thank to Disney, Mulan is a household name in the west these days, but the Chinese legend has been around for many hundreds of years and has a great many iterations. Regardless, they all share the same plotline - a young girl who disguises herself as a man and goes to war in place of her ailing father.This book has five full versions of the legend of Mulan:1) Poem of Mulan (the first recorded version by anonymous, possibly written between 386 and 533 A.D.)2) Song of Mulan (an imitation written in the 8th Century by Wei Yanfu, a Tang Dynasty official)3) The Female Mulan Joins the Army in Place of Her Father (a play by Xu Wei, written in the 16th Century)4) Mu Lan Joins the Army (a Peking opera script from 1903)5) Mulan Joins the Army (the script from the 1939 film)The introduction analyses each version and gives some background to each, and they are surprisingly different despite the similar story at their heart. Some versions are more about patriotism and duty to your family, and others have a more comedic tone that have fun with the idea of cross-dressing.However, sometimes the arguments given in the analysis aren't all that clear, and there is no mention of whether Mulan herself was a real person or not, but this is an invaluable book for people wanting to learn more about the original tale of Mulan.As well as the five complete versions, the appendix gives summaries of the following pre-1949 plays about Mulan:1) A Couple of Hares by Yong'en (Qianlong period, 1736-1795)2) Hua Mulan by Chen Xu (1897-1940)3) Mulan Joins the Army by Mei Lanfang and Qi Rushan (1917)4) On Campaign in Place of her Father by Daifu Zheng (no date)5) Mulan Joins the Army by Ma Shaobo (revised version of the play from 1917)6) Joining the Army: On the Road by Pifu (1932)7) Mulan Joins the Army by Ouyang Yuqian (a Guiji from 1942)and three novels of the Qing Dynasty:1) Historical Romance of the Sui and the Tang by Chu Renhuo2) The Story of the Loyal, Filial, and Heroic Mulan/the Wondrous Maiden Mulan/Complete Story of the Wondrous Maiden Mulan by anonymous3) An Extraordinary History of the Northern Wei: The Story of a Filial and Heroic Girl by Zhang ShaoxianIf you have even a passing interest in the Disney film I would recommend this book, as it uncovers a rich tapestry of ideas and gives an insight into ancient Chinese folklore.

Better than any version of Disney could ever produce and make. Disney is never abiding by the original text much akin to the Original Aladin vs. their Aladin and the same here. Mulan real or not as her existence is questioned via only males allowed to serve in the military, but a legendary female archer (Princess Pingyang) who's father became the new Emperor. But either way, she stood up and did her, in a time where it wasn't ideal for her to do so, that is brave fictional or not.

È stato un regalo molto apprezzato

女性でありながら男装して戦った伝説上の女性「ムーラン」のテクスト5バージョンを収録したもの。詩やセリフが中心となって構成されています。購入の際はそのことを念頭においてください。

Il libro è ciò che cercavo, ma il sevizio è pessimo: arrivato dopo 20 giorni quando in pratica non mi serviva più!

If you are looking for a insightful analysis of the Fa Mulan Shi that tackles the development of the poem from a cultural and political standpoint then look no further! This is one of the best written compilations of the classic poem in each of it's forms with detailed descriptions of how the people and times impacted the overall message being portrayed, and why that changed from context to context.