Historical and Cultural Background
In the chapter “White Tigers”, Kingston tells the story of her childhood fantasy Fa Mu Lan, a Chinese legend, from the first person point of view. According to the legend, the female warrior Fa (or Hua) Mu Lan disguised herself as a man to take the place of her father to fight in the army. The traditional story of Mulan was first recorded in a poem titled “The Battle of Mulan” which was written around 500-600 AD before the Tang dynasty. There is no certain evidence to prove Mulan actually existed but her story has been passed down through the centuries to teach obedience, honor, bravery, and modesty. This ancient parable has adapted over the centuries and it has been told in uniquely different ways. The version Kingston tells in “White Tigers” is directly related to the role of women in the 1970’s during which this novel was written. The ancient legend has also inspired the Disney movie “Mulan”. Fa Mu Lan has become an iconic heroine in not only China, but throughout the world today.
Coolio with the background information with Fa Mu Lan, and all its ramifications; funny how history repeats itself and rears its ancient head throughout time.
ReplyDeleteThis background information really helped me out because the chapter portrays the story of Mulan but with more elder teachers and no huns. This version was pretty much the same as the ancient legend with Mulan taking her fathers place in the war, and her deafeat of the Chinese dictator.
ReplyDeleteI forgot the complete details but I read somewhere that this was actually a true story, it just has been modified in the past. For example, the revenge tattoo was supposed to be on a major-role male in the army instead of the women warrior herself. There were a couple of other modifications to the story, but otherwise it is supposivedly real. It's kinda like an "inspired by a true event" movie.
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