A popular folk song from the Northern Dynasties, "Poetry of Mulan", has also been praised by later generations as a concise epic describing a heroine. But not strictly epic. Many people have tried to find out who Mulan is, but this is a bit eventful and I'm afraid there will never be any conclusion. Who is Mulan's last name, and where does she live? It was said in "Collection of Yuefu Poems": "Mulan is unknown." In fact, this is the best explanation. Surname Mu? The last name is Hua? Your surname is Wei? Your surname is Zhu? Or Mulan? These seem to be redundant and have not been clarified more than a thousand years ago. Since Mulan comes from folk legends, she may actually refer to something, but she may not actually exist. She is the "incarnation" of a heroine who is a mixture of legends and history, raised by the people. Didn't Gorky say: "The most profound, obvious, and artistically perfect heroic model is the ballad, created by the oral creation of the working people." (Gorky's "Literature of the Soviet Union")
Cheng Dachang's "Yan Fanlu" suspects Mulan as a "fable", or this is the reason. Since people can't be tested, why bother asking about her hometown? From north to south, there are Mulan temples everywhere. For example, "Duyi Zhi" states that Mulanhua's surname was from Shangqiu. "Shangqiu County Chronicle" adds more details: "Mulan, Wei family, the renovation was exposed, and the emperor wanted to accept her into the palace, Mulan committed suicide. The emperor was shocked and pity him, and he posthumously awarded the general the posthumous title of Xiaolie. Today there is a temple in Yingguo Town, Shangqiu, which was built Gu Jia Yun. "The so-called "cloud" is just an attachment.
To sum up the various theories, there are three theories: Han and Wei, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and Sui and Tang Dynasties. Recently, many people's opinions are certain that "Mulan Poetry" was produced in the Northern Wei Dynasty (that is, the Later Wei Dynasty). The reasons are roughly as follows:
1. The Northern Wei Dynasty was a nomadic tribe, and the social atmosphere was strong and martial. Not only men, but also women were also knowledgeable in riding and shooting. Only in this way, as a woman, Mulan can join the army on her father's behalf, achieving the goal of "a general who dies in a hundred battles, and a strong man who returns in ten years." The Northern Dynasties Yuefu "Song of Little Sister Li Bo" praised Little Sister Li Bo and said: "Little sister Li Bo is graceful. Her clothes chase horses like a rolled tent. If she shoots from the left to the right, she will be doubled. If women are like this, men can be safe." "From here, it can be seen that women at that time were as strong as men in riding and shooting.
2. The Northern Wei Dynasty implemented the "military household" system. Military households were the main targets for conscription. As "registered soldiers", even the old and weak were not exempted. (Page 1302 of "History of the Two Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties" written by Lu Simian) Although the Western Wei Dynasty also implemented a military conscription system (manfu military system), it required applicants to meet certain conditions. It was not like the Northern Wei Dynasty, but "selected the most capable and capable people" "I think so." (Ma Duanlin's "Wenwen Tongkao" Volume 151 Military Examination) Judging from the content of "Mulan Poetry", it can be confirmed that the Mulan family is a registered soldier and a "military household", and the father, brother and children also have to apply for the military service. Therefore, the theory that "Mulan Poems" was produced in the Northern Wei Dynasty is more consistent with historical reality.
3. The Heishan (now the Shahu Mountain in the southeast of Hohhot, Inner Mongolia) and the Yanshan (now the Hangai Mountain in the Mongolian People's Republic of China) mentioned in "Mulan Poems" are both Rouran (also known as Xingwei). Or Ruru) residence, there is no record of the war between the Western Wei Dynasty and Rouran in history. Rouran was a strong enemy of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Historical records indicate that from AD 407 to AD 493, there were as many as fifteen major battles between the two sides, with an average of one war occurring every five years. This is the third reason why "Mulan Poetry" was produced in the Northern Wei Dynasty.
──Dou Zhongwen, "Several Issues in the Teaching of "Mulan Poetry"", published in "Chinese Teaching Newsletter" of Shanxi Normal University, Issues 4 and 5, 1978
"Mulan Poetry" The theme of the poem is actually directly stated in the poem. It uses the technique of "the first sentence marks its purpose, and the last chapter reveals its ambition" to vividly express the main theme of the whole poem at the end of the poem: "The male rabbit's feet are twitching, and the female rabbit's eyes are blurred; the two rabbits are walking beside the ground, An Neng "I am a male or a female." This metaphor uses a rabbit as a metaphor for a human being: although both male and female are mentioned together, the focus is still on highlighting the "female". Its metaphorical meaning, when viewed in conjunction with the whole poem, is that women are no less than men. Their talents, wisdom, courage and insight are by no means inferior to men. This is the theme of this poem. To sum it up in one sentence, it would be: praising the female heroes who came from working people.
──Liu Binrong and Hua Xue, "Notes that Mulan is a Girl", published in "Journal of Henan Normal University", Issue 6, 1979
The theme of "Mulan Poetry" is actually in the poem It’s directly stated in it. It uses the technique of "the first sentence marks its purpose, and the last chapter reveals its ambition" to vividly express the main theme of the whole poem at the end of the poem: "The male rabbit's feet are twitching, and the female rabbit's eyes are blurred; the two rabbits are walking beside the ground, An Neng "I am a male or a female." This metaphor uses a rabbit as a metaphor for a human being: although both male and female are mentioned together, the focus is still on highlighting the "female". Its metaphorical meaning, when viewed in conjunction with the whole poem, is that women are no less than men. Their talents, wisdom, courage and insight are by no means inferior to men. This is the theme of this poem. To sum it up in one sentence, it would be: praising the female heroes who came from working people.
──Liu Binrong and Hua Xue, "Be aware that Mulan is a girl", published in "Journal of Henan Normal University", Issue 6, 1979
"Mulan Poetry" is based on folk legends or folk songs. A narrative poem written by a poet, narrating the story of a woman joining the army on behalf of her father in ancient Chinese feudal society. In the process of spreading, although the text has been processed by intellectuals or folk artists, it still maintains the characteristics of folk songs. There are two main points:
1. From the perspective of sentence structure, the sentence structure commonly used in general folk songs is in "Mulan". It still exists in "Poetry".
The chain sentence pattern commonly used in folk songs appears in many places in "Mulan Poetry".
For example, "Twelve volumes of military books, each with the name of the grandfather", "The strong man returned after ten years and saw the emperor when he returned, and the emperor sat in the bright hall", "Going out to see his companions, all the companions were frightened and busy", etc., the last word of the previous sentence is the same as the next sentence The first word is linked up and down, making it easy to pronounce.
The question-and-answer format is a commonly used form of duet singing between two people in folk music. For example, in "Mulan Poetry", "Ask the girl what she is thinking about, and ask the girl what she is remembering. The girl has nothing to think about, and the girl has nothing to remember."
The overlapping patterns commonly used in folk songs are found in "Mulan" It also appears in "Poetry". For example, in the form of sentences to express Mulan's thoughts and feelings during the march, there is "I bid farewell to my mother-in-law in the morning and stayed by the Yellow River in the evening. I did not hear my mother-in-law calling for a girl, but I heard the sound of the water splashing in the Yellow River. I bid farewell to the Yellow River in the evening and stayed in the Black Mountains in the evening. "Head, I don't hear my mother's voice calling me, but I hear Yanshan Hu Qiming tweeting." Another example is that three refrains express the same joyful emotions of three people with different identities after learning about Mulan's triumphant return home. When the mother-in-law hears that her daughter is coming, she goes out to help the general. When the elder sister hears that her sister is coming, she goes to the house to do the makeup. Commonly used sentence patterns also appear many times in "Mulan Poetry". For example, the poetic language is composed according to the order of directions, such as "Buy a horse in the east market, buy a saddle in the west market, buy a bridle in the south market, and buy a long whip in the north market." In addition, there are also poems that are composed in chronological order and in the order of generations. , not listed here.
2. From the perspective of musicality, "Mulan Poems" also has folk song characteristics. Folk songs are oral literature. Longer folk songs often have several lines that change into one rhyme, but rarely have one rhyme to the end. In this way, the change of rhyme can avoid monotony and make it harmonious and pleasing to the ear. Based on the analysis of "Pingshui Rhyme" commonly used in ancient poetry, "Mulan Poetry" changes rhyme seven times, which reflects the musical requirements of folk songs.
From "chirp again chirp" to "women have no memory". At the end of the sentence, the four characters "chi", "zhi", "xi" and "yi" are in the rhyming tone, rhyming with the official rhyme.
From "The Khan sent more troops" to "From now on, I will fight for my father." The four characters "bing", "name", "brother" and "zheng" at the end of the sentence are in Ping tone and rhyme with Geng tribe.
From "Buying saddles in the West Market" to "But hearing the sound of water splashing in the Yellow River". At the end of the sentence, the four characters "chel", "whip", "bian" and "splash" are in flat tone and rhyme with the first part.
From "staying at the top of the Black Mountain at dusk" to "hearing the chirping and chirping of wild horses in Yanshan Mountain". The two characters "Tou" and "啾" at the end of the sentence are in flat tone and rhyme with Youbu rhyme.
From "traveling thousands of miles to join the army" to "a strong man returning home after ten years". The four characters "ji", "fei", "yi" and "gui" at the end of the sentence are in flat tone and rhyme with micro-part.
From "The Emperor sits in the bright hall" to "I didn't know Mulan was a girl". At the end of the sentence, "tang", "qiang", "lang", "xiang", "general", "zhuang", "sheep", "bed", "shang", "huang", "busy", "lang" ten The two characters are in flat tone and rhyme with Yang part.
From "the female rabbit's eyes are blurred" to "I can tell whether I am male or female." The two characters "li" and "female" at the end of the sentence are in flat tone and rhyme with branch.