History Literature / TheBalladOfMulan

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: There is no explicit mention of the time period or what war Mulan is fighting in. Due to the geographic and cultural references, it's traditionally assumed that the poem is set during the Northern Wei dynasty, in which case the war would be fought against the Rouran tribes, whom the Wei regarded as barbarians. By extension, Mulan's ethnicity is very likely to be Xianbei as in Northern Wei, only the Xianbei people can become soldiers. The location reference also tells us that the campaign was the same one Tuoba Buri led against the Rouran Khaganate in 429.

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: There is no explicit mention of the time period or what war Mulan is fighting in. Due to the geographic and cultural references, it's traditionally assumed that the poem is set during the Northern Wei dynasty, in which case the war would be fought against the Rouran tribes, whom the Wei regarded as barbarians. By extension, Mulan's ethnicity is very likely to be Xianbei as in Northern Wei, only the Xianbei people can become soldiers. Location reference also tells us that the campaign was the same one Tuoba Buri led against the Rouran Khaganate in 429.

The story opens with Mulan at her loom. She is sad that her father has been drafted and has no grown son to serve in his place. She leaves home to take his place in the army herself. After fighting for ten years, Mulan is honored by the Khan[[note]]No, not the Emperor. In any case, during the era which the ballad could have originated, there was no one Emperor of all China; between the fall of the Han Dynasty and the unification of China by Sui in 589, China was either splintered among various regimes (apart from the last decade of Sima Yan's rule after unifying the Three Kingdoms), or fighting civil wars.[[/note]] and offered a high position, but she turns it down. She then returns home and resumes living the life of an ordinary woman. Seeing this, her old wartime comrades are shocked to discover that she was female all along. The poem ends by asking how you would be able to distinguish between two running rabbits which was male and which was female. [[note]]This is likely a reference to Mulan's role in the army as a cavalry(wo)man.[[/note]]

* OnlyOneName: Mulan has no specified surname in the original poem. It was centuries later, during the Ming dynasty, that her family name was first given as "Hua" (or "Fa", in Cantonese pronunciation) by the playwright Xu Wei. Other sources have given her surname as "Zhu" or "Wei."

* OnlyOneName: Mulan has no specified surname in the original poem. It was centuries later, during the Ming dynasty, that her family name was first given as "Hua" (or "Fa," in Cantonese pronunciation) by the playwright Xu Wei. Other sources have given her surname as "Zhu" or "Wei."

''The Ballad of Mulan'' (木蘭辭, Mùlán cí) is a Chinese poem written in (probably) the fifth or sixth century AD. It is the origin of the Mulan character, later known as Hua Mulan.[[note]]Her family name is not mentioned in the original poem.[[/note]]

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: There is no explicit mention of the time period or what war Mulan is fighting in. Due to the geographic and cultural references, it's traditionally assumed that the poem is set during the Northern Wei dynasty, in which case the war would be fought against the Rouran tribes, whom the Wei regarded as barbarians. By extension, Mulan's ethnicity is very likely to be Xianbei as in Northern Wei, only the Xianbei people can become soldiers.

''The Ballad of Mulan'' (木蘭辭, Mùlán cí) is a Chinese poem written in, probably, the fifth or sixth century AD. It is the origin of the Mulan character, later known as Hua Mulan.[[note]]Her family name is not mentioned in the original poem.[[/note]]

The story opens with Mulan at her loom. She is sad that her father has been drafted and has no grown son to serve in his place. She leaves home to take his place in the army herself. After fighting for ten years, Mulan is honored by the Khan[[note]]No, not the Emperor. In any case, during the era which the ballad could have originated, there was no one Emperor of all China; between the fall of the Han Dynasty and the unification of China by Sui in 589, China was splintered among various regimes (apart from the last decade of Sima Yan's rule after unifying the Three Kingdoms).[[/note]] and offered a high position, but she turns it down. She then returns home and resumes living the life of an ordinary woman. Seeing this, her old wartime comrades are shocked to discover that she was female all along. The poem ends by asking how you would be able to distinguish between two running rabbits which was male and which was female. [[note]]This is likely a reference to Mulan's role in the army as a cavalry(wo)man.[[/note]]

The story opens with Mulan at her loom. She is sad that her father has been drafted and has no grown son to serve in his place. She leaves home to take his place in the army herself. After fighting for ten years, Mulan is honored by the Khan[[note]]No, not the Emperor. In any case, during the era which the ballad could have originated, there was no one Emperor of all China; between the fall of the Han Dynasty and the unification of China by Sui in 589, China was splintered among various regimes.[[/note]] and offered a high position, but she turns it down. She then returns home and resumes living the life of an ordinary woman. Seeing this, her old wartime comrades are shocked to discover that she was female all along. The poem ends by asking how you would be able to distinguish between two running rabbits which was male and which was female. [[note]]This is likely a reference to Mulan's role in the army as a cavalry(wo)man.[[/note]]

* HorsebackHeroism: Mulan was very likely a cavalry(wo)man, given that the items she bought in preparation were either the horse itself, or various ancillaries such as a bridle and a whip.

* NamelessNarrative: Aside from Mulan herself, no characters are named.
* NoWomansLand: Implied. When the army draft is given to her family, Mulan laments that neither her elder father nor younger brother is eligible for war. Then, when she returns back home from the war and resumes her civilian life, her comrades express shock that Mulan is really a woman despite fighting with her for over 12 years.

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: There is no explicit mention of the time period or what war Mulan is fighting in. Due to the geographic and cultural references, it's traditionally assumed that the poem is set during the Northern Wei dynasty, in which case the war would be fought against the Rouran tribes, whom the Wei regarded as barbarians. By extension, Mulan's ethnicity is very likely to be Xianbei as in Northern Wei, only the Xianbei people can become solders.

The story opens with Mulan at her loom. She is sad that her father has been drafted and has no grown son to serve in his place. She leaves home to take his place in the army herself. After fighting for ten years, Mulan is honored by the Khan[[note]]No, not the Emperor. In any case, during the era which the ballad could have originated, there was no one Emperor of all China; between the fall of the Han Dynasty and the unification of China by Sui in 589, China was splintered among various regimes.[[/note]] and offered a high position, but she turns it down. She then returns home and resumes living the life of an ordinary woman. Seeing this, her old wartime comrades are shocked to discover that she was female all along. The poem ends by asking how you would be able to distinguish between two running rabbits which was male and which was female. [[note]]This refers to Mulan's role in the army as a cavalry(wo)man.[[/note]]

The story opens with Mulan at her loom. She is sad that her father has been drafted and has no grown son to serve in his place. She leaves home to take his place in the army herself. After fighting for ten years, Mulan is honored by the Khan[[note]]No, not the Emperor. In any case, during the era which the ballad could have originated, there was no one Emperor of all China; between the fall of the Han Dynasty and the unification of China by Sui in 589, China was splintered among various regimes.[[/note]] and offered a high position, but she turns it down. She then returns home and resumes living the life of an ordinary woman. Seeing this, her old wartime comrades are shocked to discover that she was female all along. The poem ends by asking how you would be able to distinguish between two running rabbits which was male and which was female. [[note]]This refers to Mulan's role in the army as a cavalry(wo)man.[[note]]

The story opens with Mulan at her loom. She is sad that her father has been drafted and has no grown son to serve in his place. She leaves home to take his place in the army herself. After fighting for ten years, Mulan is honored by the Khan[[note]]No, not the Emperor[[/note]] and offered a high position, but she turns it down. She then returns home and resumes living the life of an ordinary woman. Seeing this, her old wartime comrades are shocked to discover that she was female all along. The poem ends by asking how you would be able to distinguish between two running rabbits which was male and which was female.

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: There is no explicit mention of the time period or what war Mulan is fighting in. Due to the geographic and cultural references, it's traditionally assumed that the poem is set during the Northern Wei dynasty, in which case the war would be fought against the Rouran tribes, whom the Wei regarded as barbarians.

* NoWomansLand: Implied. When the army draft is given to her family, Mulan laments that neither her elder father nor younger brother are eligible for war. Then, when she returns back home from the war and resumes her civilian life, her comrades express shock that Mulan is really a woman despite fighting with her for over 12 years.

* NoWomansLand: Implied by the draft, given that Mulan laments that neither her elder father nor younger brother are eligible for war, as well as the fact her comrades have no idea that Mulan is a woman.

!!Contains examples of:

''The Ballad of Mulan'' (木蘭辭, Mùlán cí) is a Chinese poem written in, probably, the fifth or sixth century AD. It is the origin of the Mulan character, best known to Western audiences from [[{{WesternAnimation/Mulan}} the 1998 animated Disney film]].

* SweetPollyOliver: Possibly, a DownplayedTrope or even an UnbuiltTrope. While her comrades are surprised to discover that she's female at the end, there is no explicit mention that Mulan tried to disguise her gender. For all we know, they were just really unobservant.

''The Ballad of Mulan'' is a Chinese poem written in, probably, the fifth or sixth century AD. It is the origin of the Mulan character, best known to Western audiences from [[{{WesternAnimation/Mulan}} the 1998 animated Disney film]].

''The Ballad of Mulan'' is a Chinese poem written in, probably, the fourth century AD. It is the origin of the Mulan character, best known to Western audiences from [[{{WesternAnimation/Mulan}} the 1998 animated Disney film]].

* SweetPollyOliver: Possibly, a DownplayedTrope or even an UnbuiltTrope. While her comrades are surprised to discover that she's female at the end, there is no explicit mention that Mulan tried to disguise her gender. For all we know, they were just really unobservant.