The Background of Mulan Poetry —— Where did Mulan Legend come from? Is it really true? Is it recorded in the history of China? In fact, the story of Mulan is only a story widely circulated among the people, and it is not recorded in the official historical records. There is only one poem "Mulan Poetry" (or "Mulan Ci") that has been circulated among the people for a long time, and the author of this poem cannot be verified. However, is this the fact that actually happened in the poem? Many historians in the past dynasties have also done some research, and it is still inconclusive. Even this poem Mulan was written in which dynasty? General historians believe that it was written by people in the Tang Dynasty imitating the folk songs of the Northern Dynasties. This is judged according to the Chinese words in the poem, but no definite evidence has been found, not to mention that the authenticity, dynasty, native place and even surname of the legendary woman, Mulan, are still controversial.
First of all, as far as the times are concerned, many historians in the past dynasties have different opinions. In Yao Ying's Kang Youwei, Mulan is regarded as a figure in Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Xuan Wudi era. On the other hand, Cheng Dachang's Fan Yanlu thinks that Mulan's dynasty was either Sui or Tang, because the word "Khan" only appeared after the Tang Dynasty. Yan Ruoyan also changed from an official of the Tang Dynasty with twelve items to an official with twelve items, which is similar to the current staff officer. The explanation of the "twelve-turn policy" shows that this is the reward and punishment system in Tang Dynasty. In addition, the officers and men of the Northern Wei Dynasty were different from those of the Tang Dynasty. The Northern Wei Dynasty was divided into military and civilian. The Tang Dynasty was a unity of soldiers and civilians. Only government soldiers in the Tang Dynasty needed to bring their own food and clothing, but not in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Therefore, in Mulan's poems, you need to buy a lot of things in the southeast and northwest markets, which should be what happens to soldiers of the Tang government.
Let's talk about that place again. The Monument to Mulan written by Liu Tingzhi in Yuan Dynasty holds that Mulan is from Wanxian, which is now Hebei. However, the records of Shangqiu County in Henan Province recorded that Mulan was a local. Yao Ying thought Mulan was Wu Lingren, which is Wuwei County, Gansu Province. The Annals of the Unification of the Qing Dynasty also holds that Mulan is from Dongwei Village, Qiaoxian County, Yingzhou, and is also in Henan Province.
As far as surnames are concerned, Mulan Poetry does not mention Mulan's surname Hua. In fact, there is a record of Mulan's surname Zhu in Ming History. Mulan's surname Wei was mentioned in the Annals of the Unification of the Qing Dynasty, and Mulan was not named Hua until Xu Wei's Legend of Four Sounds Apes. Since then, because the popularity of drama in the Qing Dynasty has been widely circulated among the people, Mulan joined the army instead of her father, which is a legendary story, so it was adapted into a drama performance. The statement that Mulan's surname was Hua was recognized by most people, and there was no evidence at all.
In a word, Mulan should not be a fictional character in legend or myth, because there are different opinions about her surname, hometown and time. At least these statements were put forward by historians of past dynasties, and the evidence is at least well-founded, even if it is weak.
Mulan Poetry is a folk song of Yuefu in the Northern Dynasties, which is selected from Yuefu Poetry edited by Guo Maoqian in the Song Dynasty. There are different opinions on the time of its emergence, but from the historical and geographical conditions, it can be judged that things and poems may have originated in the post-Wei period. This poem originated from the folk, and in the long-term spread process, it has traces of being polished by later literati, but it basically retains the characteristics that folk songs are easy to remember and recite.
Yuefu Poetry Collection is the most complete collection of Yuefu songs, in which the folk songs vividly reflect the social life and local people at that time, and are divided into two parts: southern songs and northern songs. Beiqu, that is, northern folk songs, has a wide range of themes, strong style, enthusiasm and simplicity.
In the first two paragraphs, Mulan decided to join the army instead of her father. The poem begins with the sound of a loom chirping, showing the scene of Mulan knitting at home. Then she wrote a sigh that Mulan didn't intend to weave, which made people wonder, led to a question and answer, and revealed Mulan's thoughts. Mulan sighed, because the son of heaven enlisted the army and his father was among the conscripts. As his father was old and had no eldest son at home, he decided to join the army instead of his father.
In the third paragraph, Mulan is ready to go out and go to war. "Buy a fine horse in the Oriental market ..." Four sentences are used to describe Mulan's nervous purchase of war horses and riding equipment. "Say goodbye to my parents ..." Eight sentences are repeated, writing that Mulan has been on the journey nonstop, running around day and night, and the farther away from home, the more she misses her loved ones. What is written here is that Mulan set out from home and arrived at the battlefield through the Yellow River for only two days, exaggerating the rapid progress of Mulan, the urgency of the military situation and the eagerness of her mood, which made people feel nervous about the war atmosphere. Among them, the sound of "Yellow River splashing" and "Yanshan riding and chirping" also set off Mulan's homesickness.
The fourth paragraph summarizes Hua Mulan's ten-year campaign life. "When Wan Li goes to Rongji, if he flies over the mountains", it summarizes the contents of the above eight sentences, and exaggerates the description of Mulan riding a horse and Wan Li all the way, rushing to the battlefield, flying over the pass and over the mountains and mountains. "New Moon Breaths with Golden Bells and Cold Light with Iron Clothes" describes Mulan's hard fighting life in the frontier fortress barracks: at night, Diao Dou's knocking came from the cold north wind, and her cold armor was reflected in the cold light. "A hundred battles lead to the death of a general, and ten years lead to the return of a strong man", which outlines this protracted war and bitter battle. The soldiers fought for ten years, and after cruel battles again and again, some died and some returned. Hua Mulan, who is brave and good at fighting, is one of the soldiers who survived and returned successfully.
In the fifth paragraph, Mulan also resigned. First, Mulan appeared before the emperor. Then, Mulan made great contributions and was rewarded by the emperor. Besides, Mulan resigned and was willing to go back to her hometown. "Mulan doesn't need to go to school" but "go back to her hometown". Of course, it is her nostalgia for home life, but she also has her own secret, that is, she is a daughter. The son of heaven didn't know the truth, and Mulan couldn't explain it clearly, which was quite dramatic.
The sixth paragraph is about Mulan's return to her hometown to reunite with her relatives. First of all, describe the happy atmosphere at home with the actions of parents, brothers and sisters that conform to their identity, gender and age; Then, through a series of actions, Mulan wrote her affection for her former residence and her love for her daughter's makeup, showing her natural daughter's mood and her uncontrollable joy after her return. Finally, as the end of the story and the climax of the whole poem, it is a comedy scene in which Mulan, who restores her daughter's costume, meets her partner.
The seventh paragraph ends with metaphor. Using the metaphor of two rabbits running together, it is difficult to tell the difference between male and female, and skillfully solves the mystery that Mulan disguised as a man instead of her father to join the army 12 years, which is interesting and memorable.
This poem creates an immortal image of Mulan, which is both legendary and touching. Mulan is a strange girl and an ordinary person, a heroine and an ordinary girl, a vigorous warrior and a beautiful daughter. She is hard-working, kind-hearted, determined, brave, honest and simple, alert and lively, loves loving the country and loving the quiet life of not admiring high officials and rich people. For more than a thousand years, the story of Mulan joining the army instead of her father has become a household name in China, and the image of Mulan is also deeply loved by people.
This poem is full of folk songs. The whole poem conceives the legendary story of Mulan with "Mulan is a girl", which is full of romance. The complex and simple arrangement is very clever. Although it is about war, it is more about life scenes and children's modality, full of life breath. In the poem, the psychology of the characters is portrayed in the way of question and answer, which is vivid and meticulous; I am very proud to describe the behavior modality with many careful comparisons; It is unforgettable to summarize the whole poem with humorous metaphors. This makes the work have a strong artistic appeal.