MULAN: More than a Movie | 5 Facts About the Real Mulan Story

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Throughout history and across cultures there have been tales of legendary warrior women who accomplished spectacular feats of arms on the battlefield, and inspired gallantry in those around them. One such woman hails from the far East, and is still said to protect her nation to this day. Known throughout the world, in many ways this legendary warrior has come to symbolise China itself.

This Post Has 32 Comments

  1. Mario Maldonado

    Thanks for posting this, I learned something today.

  2. Jacob

    Bump for algorithm

  3. Ancient Origins

    Thanks for watching!

  4. Ancient Origins

    Fantastic! Glad you liked it. Thanks for watching.

  5. Mario Maldonado

    @Ancient Origins I work with a woman from China she was surprised I knew about this, Thanks to you guys and gals

  6. Ancient Origins

    That’s great to hear!

  7. Kevin Jones

    Such an amazing and interesting story.

  8. Yan Min

    Wait, she killed herself? Do you have any references for this? Want to read a bit more.

  9. Divine

    This is one of the many versions

  10. Giles Barnes

    In some versions Mulan kills herself although this is not in the original. Which is ironically about Mulan fighting not for the Emperor of China but a Khan as the original poem was written during the Northern Wei Dynasty in China under a Xianbei Khan (note Khan not Emperor; this also suggests it was written in the early part of that Dynasty) the Xianbei being a nomadic people from the steppe that actually invaded China along with other nomadic “barbarian” peoples. And in fact considering the fact that Wei’s main enemy at this time was the Southern Song dynasty which was Han Chinese it is very likely that the enemy Mulan was fighting in the original poem were actually Chinese folk fighting and dying for their Han Emperor.

    Sources:
    Original Poem: https://people.wku.edu/haiwang.yuan/China/tales/mulan.htm
    Sui Tang Romance: https://mulanbook.com/pages/qing/romance_of_sui_and_tang

  11. Numbered Heartbeats

    Can I just say: you have a very soothing voice. I was supposed to save this video so I can watch it later, but hearing the video made me tune in. Thanks for making this video! This just makes me anticipate the Mulan movie even more.

  12. James Chiam

    @Giles Barnes Thanks you!!!

  13. Linda Martin

    I find the sexualized depictions of this warrior in especially bad taste. Redo those in a manera that honor her memory please.

  14. GALAXY CF

    “Mulan’s father died and then Mulan took his own life”
    Me: They ruined my childhood for life

  15. Joe ZHANG

    Full of BS… All we have is the Ballad of Mulan. Read it to get the original story.

  16. YL W

    not true. its just fictional adaptation.

  17. Hm Jeong

    Reminded me the story of Romeo and Juliet and Anthony & Cleopatra she thought Anthony died so she committed suicide by snake!

  18. KLRJUNE

    I’d bet the farm that 4th century Chinese women did not look like Disney characters.

  19. Juiwei Yang

    There are some inaccuracy, Mulan did took her own life, but it was much later. Mulan originally fought the Hun around 5th century. Originally the Chinese drove the Hun west, to where they met the Romans. Bullying the Romans and Persians, the Persians and the East Roman Empire both send envoy to China, asking the Chinese to again send troops. The Emperor recalled Mulan back into service, this time leading the campaign to defeat the Huns once and for all and gave her the title of WuZhu General (Whatever that is suppose to mean) She commanded an army of fifty thousand troops. Mulan doesn’t want to directly engaged the Hun, in fact she order for the Persian and Romans to join the Chinese to hold defense and had the Huns’ under quarantine and hold the defense line, afterwards, she order for the poison of Hun water supply to allow plague to spread throughout the Hung drinking water. (an ancient biological warfare) It is not recorded whether the Chinese or the Persians actually engaged the Huns in battle, although from western record, we know the Romans did engaged the Huns once, due to out of the 3 major Empire, Rome was the weakest, during that time and we all know from history the Romans won that battle successfully pushed the Huns back. After the Huns was defeated Mulan’s army return home. However, in China there was an astrology prediction saying a woman with the word “Wu” in her name would become Emperor. With Mulan’s rank as “WuZhu General” rumor spread of Mulan’s plan for a military coup, considering she commanded an army of fifty thousand soldiers. To prove her loyalty, Mulan committed suicide and told her officers to present her heart to the Emperor, to prove her loyalty.

  20. Ben No

    There’s no real Mulan… She is as real as Cinderella

  21. Derek Feng

    A beautiful ancient Chinese story now is told beautifully by Americans! Apparently, the modern China could not tell the story without any communist propaganda.

  22. k kahuna

    Next don’t mix Japanese pictures with Chinese pictures they’re not the same

  23. Norin Ali

    Mulan did not kill herself. She later met with Black Widow and she ask Mulan to join the Avenger and save the world. ????

  24. 福圆

    In original story, she returned home and reunion with her family. To be specific, her dad, mom, elder sister and younger brother.

  25. 福圆

    @Giles Barnes Dude, Southern Song Dynasty was 593 years after Northern Wei Dynasty vanished…Mulan was most likely serving in the war against Rouran Khaganate, a nomadic people.

  26. Giles Barnes

    @福圆 Ahh my midstake I do not mean Southern Song I mean Liu Song Dynasty. I was somewhat confused as it was during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period thus I naturally assumed the common name for the dynasty was Southern. Additionally a war against the Rouran Khaganate is possible although that is an embellishment that came in later versions not anything the original poem actually supports.

  27. Yanni Li

    In the ancient Chinese poem, she returned home and reunion with her family. And her comrades then realized she was a woman.

  28. vincent ang

    There is no real Mulan as person, but there is a real fact of Mulan.
    Fact is: Mulan tell us that women are always the flag-bearer of morality of humankind when it come to a time that we are sinking into deeper morality bankcruptcy.
    A hand that had once time swayed the cradle still is a hand of destiny of mankind.
    We should bring honor to our women, dougthers, mothers whose hold the half world beside us.

  29. Oh Wow

    There was only one single short ballad with few historical facts and clues, most other were literary and theatrical creations. The ballad is beautifully written and records the triumphant return with a happy ending. 🙂

  30. Darwin Magana

    I love your story…

  31. Cyril Chui

    Mulan returned to court, refused a general post, and returned to her family instead.

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