The Ballad of Mulan SCARABS

Baylor Abbott
1. What is the proper role of the daughter as indicated in this part of the poem? What
philosophical tradition is the expected role drawn from?
She is expected to do household chores and weave like a traditional woman, this is
drawn from traditional values of Confucianism.
2. Can Mulans concern and her desire to take her fathers place be justied by
reference to Confucian philosophy? If so, how? If not, why not?
Yes because it promotes the value of family, and Mulan did by wanting to help her
father.
S - # The subject of this document is Mulan, the Chinese girl who wishes to
# take her fathers place as a soldier in the upcoming war since she has no older #
# brothers or other men to take his place.

C -# This poem was written by a Chinese man, probably of nobility, around the time #
# of the fth or sixth century when China was divided between the north and the #
# south, since it is a folktale, its author is unknown and was probably created for #
# entertainment.

A - # Although this poem was written around the early fth of sixth century, it was #
# translated by a man named Song Nan Zhang in the late twentieth century, he #
# often writes his own books or translates/updates ancient folklore, much like the #
# story of Mulan.

R - # This story was conceived as a folktale so it was originally passed down vocally, #
# but this story may have been created during the time of the war that is # #
# mentioned as a way to provide a source of entertainment to soldiers, or it ##
# couldve been created as a way to attempt a rise in the feminist powers in #
# ancient China.

A - # The audience intended was probably anyone who would listen or who was #
# trying to break away from traditional societal roles it may have been there to #
# help guide and lead people during their time in need.

B -# The author more than likely wrote this story so that this oral fable would not be #
# forgotten. There may have been many other fables from ancient China that we #
# will never know about because there is no (written) record of them, so obviously #
# the author found this signicant to put in writing, this may be because they felt #
# like women deserved a di$erent role in society in China at the time or because #
# they felt like it needed to be preserved to ensure that it would be passed down #
# even further so that future generations could learn and grow from it.

S - # This story is signicance is nding your courage in a time when it seems # #
# impossible to, much like Mulan did, it is also signicant because it is one of the #
# earliest pieces of feminism on record which obviously implies that there was an #
# early idea that women should be equal to men and have the same opportunities.