Ye Weizhen: Why does Hua Mulan's story spread and affect overseas?|

Some people think that Disney's "Mulan" is accidental

actually not. The spread of Mulan culture in the United States

At least traced back to the Qing Dynasty

China News Agency reporter: Zhang Qin Liang Ting

Number of full text: 2623

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

"木 木, Mulan is a household weaving ..." A "Mulan Poem", let the story of "Mulan follow the army". There are many heroines in Chinese history. Why is Mulan's story widened? What role does Mulan culture play in promoting East and West Cultural Exchange? Recently, the national intangible cultural heritage Magnolia legend Ye Weizheng was interviewed by the China News Agency's "East and West Questions".

Abstracts are currently recorded as follows:

China News Agency reporter: The story of "Hua Mulan follows the army" is famous at home and abroad. Where does the heroine image come from? Does "Mulan" really exist?

Ye Weizhang: Hua Mulan is one of the heroes of ancient Chinese legend. His surname, his own, his life, life, and deeds have no precise record in historical books. The Magnolia Legend has no verification from which era has been confusing for thousands of years.

According to the existing ancient Chinese literary works and local county history, it is currently recognized and accepted that the image of Mulan originated from a narrative poem "Magnolia Poems" (also known as "Magnolia Ci" in the Northern and Northern Dynasties. The poem was first recorded in the "Ancient and Modern Le Lu" written by Chen Shizhi in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and was later included in the "Lefu Poetry Collection" compiled by Guo Maoqian in the Song Dynasty. Guo Maoqian quoted the records in "Ancient and Modern Music Records": "Mulan, unknown." It can be seen that the editor was unclear at that time. The "Magnolia Army" written by the Tang Dynasty was called Magnolia "the ancients", which shows that she has been in a long year.

"Magnolia Poetry" was included in the "Element Poetry Collection" compiled by Guo Maoqian in the Song Dynasty. Photo by Zhang Qin

I personally agree with the point of view of Mr. Fan Wenlan, a famous historian. "Maybe a daughter may have worked as a military daughter from once, and the folk praised the hero's daughter and gradually expanded into a big chapter and modified it into a boutique. People, really have something to do. "

Reporter of China News Agency: What historical evolution has the image of Mulan for thousands of years? As a cultural phenomenon, what kind of cultural connotation and national spirit do it contain?

Ye Weizhen: "Mulan Poem" is less than 400 words. It tells the legendary story of Mulan women dressed as men's clothing and the father's army. In fact, since the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the adaptation and reshaping of the image of Hua Mulan has never stopped. Scholars of previous ages processing, extending, and filling have enriched the artistic image of this hero.

As the source, "Magnolia Poetry" has shaped the image of a hero and a heroic hero and a heroic hero and a good fortune. Among them, the move of the "Father's Army" made "filial piety" the core value of Mulan's image spread at that time. Du Mu, Bai Juyi, and Wei Yuanfu in the Tang Dynasty all wrote poems about Mulan. Wei Yuanfu's "Magnolia Song" increased the elements of the edge poetry in the Tang Dynasty, and emphasized the "moral benchmark" image of "loyalty and filial piety, and the name of the ages".

The full text of "Magnolia Poetry" did not mention Mulan's last name. The miscellaneous drama "Four Sound Apes · Female Mulan for the Father" written by the Ming Dynasty writer and theater Xu Wei gave Mulan crown "flower" surname, and also added Mulan to martial arts since childhood, the army captured the thief, and returned to the countryside. Marriage and other plots.

The "Biography of Filial Filial Piety" and "Loyal Filial Filial Pillinage" in the Qing Dynasty all adopted the basic plot structure of "Female Magnolia" to enrich, laying the foundation for the creation of Mulan opera works in later generations.

From the Peking Opera "Magnolia" to the Henan drama "Mulan", to now the film and television drama with Magnolia's story background, in the core plot of "women dressing men's clothing, fighting for the father, fighting for years, and resignation of officials", " Hua Mulan was given different times of the characteristics and cultural connotations in different periods, or the national hero who inspired a large number of young people to participate in the revolution, or the representative of outstanding women, but the core spirit of loyalty to patriotism and honoring parents has not changed. The little actor performed the Henan drama "Mulan". Photo by Qiu Yong

The "filial piety, loyalty, courage, and festivals" advocated by Confucianism can be fully reflected in Mulan.

Let's talk about "filial piety" first. China has attached great importance to filial piety since ancient times. There is only one reason that promotes Magnolia's army in "Magnolia Poetry". "Loyalty", Confucianism advocates loyalty to patriotism. Mulan struggles and defended the frontiers in the sand field. Wanli went to Rongji, and Guan Shanruo "" set off Mulan's brave and determined character; "Festival" reflected in Mulan's refusal to seal the reward and go home to serve his parents.

What's even more rare is the awakening of women's consciousness in Mulan's story. Regardless of "Magnolia Poetry", "Walking on the ground, Anneng discern me is a male female", or the phrase "Who says women are not as men" in the Henan drama "Mulan", inspiring and inspiring every one Women of the times.

Mulan riding porcelain works. Photo by Zhang Qin

China News Agency reporter: From the American Disney animation version to the live version of "Mulan", "Mulan", a symbolic character of Chinese traditional culture, harvested a large number of overseas "fans". In the process of Mulan culture research and collection, which stories or collections have witnessed the overseas communication of Mulan culture?

Ye Weizhang: Some people think that Disney's "Mulan" is accidental, but it is not. According to my research, the spread of Mulan culture in the United States can be traced back to the Qing Dynasty. In 1881, W.A.P. Martin, the American missionary, translated "Mulan Poems" into English rhyme poems, published in the United States, who translated "Magnolia Poetry" into English rhyme poetry in the United States. The spread of Mulan culture in the United States plays an important role. In 1921, when Hongshen, Zhang Pengchun and other Chinese drama pioneers were studying in Harvard University in the United States, they edited the English stage drama "Magnolia Consumers". This is the first time that the image of Hua Mulan has appeared on the American stage.

Mulan's story spreads earlier in Japan. According to the relevant collections that I have collected and organized for more than 30 years, it can be seen that Mulan culture has spread and influence in Japan. Among them, Magnolia Poetry was spread to Japan earlier, which was included in the "Ancient Poetry View" engraved. The book not only records the full text of "Magnolia Poems", but also comments one by one.

"Magnolia Poems" included in "Ancient Poems" published in Japan in 1829. Photo by Zhang Qin

In 1918, the famous Japanese famous painter Hashimoto Paradise painted the "Magnolia" picture, depicting the scene of Hua Mulan's rest in the forest when he returned to his hometown. In 2012, the music dance drama "Magnolia" was staged in Japan and China, respectively.

"Magnolia" drawn by Modern famous painter Hashimoto. Interviewee confidence

Mulan culture has also spread to France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and other countries. In 1892, the diplomat Chen Jitong published the French version of "My Kingdom" in the end of the Qing Dynasty. The translation of "Chinese Drama" included in "Magnolia Poems"; the Dutch version of "Mulan" was published in 1939.

"Our Kingdom" written by diplomat Chen Jitong in the late Qing Dynasty tells the story of Mulan. Photo by Zhang Qin

China News Agency reporter: What role does Mulan Culture play in promoting the exchange of west? What is the significance of the Chinese culture "going global"?

Ye Weizhen: Mulan's story spreads outward. While retaining the traditional Chinese cultural heritage, it is also integrated into the people's understanding of Mulan's spirit. The theme of the world has attracted the attention and love of the world.

Mulan's story has gone abroad, promoting the collision and integration of east -west cultural ideas and values. Although there are differences in the shaping of the character image of "Mulan" and the excavation of the value of value, the spread of Mulan's story overseas has given the outside world a window to explore Chinese culture.

During the Russian "Chinese Year" event, students took pictures with "Mulan". Song Fu Lai

In June 2008, the legend of Mulan was included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists. As a cultural heritage shared by mankind, we are responsible for promoting and spread with various cultural and artistic images and works on the basis of protecting the core cultural elements.

I have been paying attention to Mulan culture since the 1980s. At present, more than 5,000 Mulan related collections have been collected. As a national intangible cultural heritage Mulan legend, the use of Magnolia's legend "story and spiritual connotation well is my primary task. To this end, I founded the Mulan Culture Museum and Mulan Legend Museum to let more people know and understand Mulan culture.

Magnolia image woodcarving. Photo by Zhang Qin

In my opinion, the more the excellent traditional culture with a clear theme and strong ethnic integration, the more it can resonate with the people of the world.At present, Hua Mulan is not only a collective memory of the country and the nation, but also becoming a typical Chinese cultural symbol.The value connotation of the digging Mulan culture in the new era and continuing its innovation inheritance should be the direction of our future efforts.EssenceIntroduction to the interviewee:

Ye Weizhen, the representative inheritor of the representative project of the fifth batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects, is committed to Mulan cultural heritage, research and theme collection, and collects and organizes ancient books, paintings, sculptures, porcelain, woodcarving, singing books, sings, sings, singsThere are more than 20 categories such as scripts and arts, which are greatly rich, enriched and expanded the connotation of the legend of Mulan.The Mulan Culture Museum founded an important contribution to promoting the spirit of Mulan and inheriting and carrying forward the traditional Chinese cultural heritage.

Text Editing: Wen Longjie

Image editor: Xu Xizhen

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