从动画片《花木兰》看中美文化的差异

论文总字数：27836字

摘 要

电影作为一种艺术形式包含了丰富的文化内容，而一个民族的文化可以在其中得到极致的体现。花木兰作为一个故事传说，在中国已经流传了数百年，1998年美国迪士尼公司从中国古老的乐府诗《木兰辞》改编成动画电影《花木兰》，并赋予了花木兰新的面貌，并在全球获得极大成功。花木兰在中国传说故事中是一个传统女性人物，而电影中的花木兰却贴上了美国现代女性文化的标记。本文以动画片《花木兰》为研究对象，拟从三个角度，首先是传统美德在中国和个性自由在美国的体现，其次是爱国主义在中国和个人主义在美国的体现，最后是男权主义在中国和女权主义思想在美国的体现等，对比分析电影中体现出来的中美文化的差异。与此同时，希望人们在欣赏电影的同时能了解不同民族所显示出的不同的文化内涵。

关键词：《木兰辞》；迪斯尼动画片《木兰》；中美文化的差异

Contents

1. Introduction……………………………………………………………….1
2. Literature Review…………………………………………………………2

3. Traditional Virtue in China and Individual Freedom in America…….. 3

3.1 Traditional Virtue in China………………………………………………...3

3.2 Individual Freedom in America……………………………………….…...4

4. Patriotism in China and Individualism in America……………………...5

4.1 Patriotism in China…………………………………………………………5

4.2 Individualism in America…………………………………………………..6

5. Male Chauvinism in China and Feminism in America…………………..7

5.1 Male Chauvinism in China………………………………………………....7

5.2 Feminism in America………………………………………………….…....8

6. Conclusion……………………………………………………………….......9

Works Cited…………………………………………………………………...11

1. Introduction

Mulan was a famous legendary woman in Chinese history, and she had been portrayed in folk songs, dramas and novels by many Chinese scholars in different times. The figure was rooted in Chinese Confucian culture and modeled with “Loyalty and Filial Piety”. At the same time, these scholars also showed distinctive appearances of their times. Hua Mulan is the archetype of a Chinese traditional girl in Chinese culture.

By adding a multitude of Chinese and western cultural components to the traditional verse of The Mulan Ballad, a brave woman with strong character pursuing individual freedom was born in Disney film Mulan. And the film Mulan attracted attention from all over the world, wining not only a list of awards and nominations, but also huge economic rewards. Though the Chinese elements were widely used throughout the movie, Disney fashioned the girl from the Chinese folktale. The movie carried out cultural shifts toward the original spiritual core of The Mulan Ballad with American cultural orientation when examining the oriental story with the eye of American. In China, Chinese culture emphasized her absolute filial piety and loyalty while Disney changed the story of filial piety into a story of self-realization based upon different cultural values.

Taking American Disney Movie Mulan as an object of research, this paper will reveal some different cultural values. As well known to all, Chinese and American people possess different cultural values, which may be reflected in the movie. That is why the movie can make people understand the cultural value better in another way. Meanwhile, people learn lots of information about Hua Mulan when enjoying movies. It provide another form of art when people having intercultural communication.

The story of Mulan was first recorded in Gujin Yuefu (Music Record Old and New) and now is called Mulan Shi or Mulan poem, written by Zhi Jiang of the Chen Dynasty. This poem The Mulan Ballad comes from the anthology Yuefu Shiji (Collection of Music-Bureau Poems), compiled by Guo Maoqian during the twelfth century in the Song Dynasty. Having no elder brother, Hua Mulan enlisted the emperor’s army, taking her aged father’s place under male disguise, fighting bravely as a skilled soldier, and finally became a famous general according to the ballad. When the war was over, she refused to accept the official rank and treasure offered to her and returned home. Putting on her colorful dress and make-up, she resumed her girlhood, and thereafter Mulan lived obediently with her parents and took good care of them.

Although Hua Mulan took the man’s place under male disguise, her image was still a favorable woman’s image. She knew to share her parent’s burden because she was the elder child in her family. In order to take the responsibility and show loyalty to the emperor, she joined the army in man’s disguise. Far from achieving self-realization and pursuing fame and wealth, she became an obedient lady after accomplishing her task. Then she performed her domestic duty faithfully, and she was an image of Confucian patriotic and filial daughter in Chinese tales.

2. Literature Review

Hua Mulan is the first Chinese cinematic endeavor of the Mulan legend since the 1939 film Mulan Joins the Army, a war film that attracted its audience by relating to the Second Sino-Japanese war. And Maxine Hong Kingston was believed to be the first writer who adapted Chinese myth and folklores in Chinese American literature. “She employed the motif Hua Mulan in her work The Woman Warriors, in which the adaptation of the image of Hua Mulan is impressive and controversial”.(Yang, 2008: 51) In The Woman Warrior, Kingston reproduced the story of Hua Mulan by means of combining the different Chinese stories with American reality. She fancied that Mulan was a warrior and during the battle she met her fiance and gave birth to a baby in the barrack. After she killed the local tyrants and set free the imprisoned women, she knelt at her parents-in-law’s feet, promising to do farm work and housework. Kingston’s version of Hua Mulan is equivalent in frame with the original, but different in connotation. The Swordswoman is an image of “modern feminist, who wants to take revenge, to lead revolution and to make contributions” (Kinston, 1999: 40).

The 2009 feature film production of Hua Mulan, directed by Jingle Ma and co-directed by Wei Dong, is much less a war movie and much more a portrayal of Mulan’s character, portrayed by Zhao Wei. In the movie, Mulan becomes an esteemed general, but at great personal cost and sacrifice. The growth of Mulan as a general is eclipsed by her character development as a human being. A romance may seem out of place in a war film, but the result is deeply moving portrayal of the great personal suffering and sacrifices of Mulan, and of those who fight in wars. Eventually, her love for her comrades extends to her love for all human life, and she makes a final sacrifice to bring lasting peace between the Rouran and Wei nations.

3. Traditional Virtue in China and Individual Freedom in America

3.1 Traditional Virtue in China

As well known to all, filial piety is considered to be traditional virtue and is very important in Chinese life. “Traditional Chinese feel a lifelong obligation to their family, ideally exemplified by an unreserved devotion to please them in every possible way”. (B. Strauss, 1988: 95) In China, Chinese filial piety connotes that children are subject to their parents, sometimes even blindly. The filial piety and younger brotherly respect or obedience are the root of humane character, especially in the idea of the three years’ mourning period for parents reciprocating parental care in the first three years of life. The duties of the child to the parent and the virtue of filial piety are very important to every Chinese people.

In The Mulan Ballad, the main idea of Chinese Traditional culture is filial piety. The Mulan image originates from the poem of Mulan in the North Dynasty. In the poem, hard life in war, bravery and success are highlighted in this heroine, who receives high praise from generation to generation. Mulan joined the army in man’s disguise for some reasons. Being disguised as a man to war is considered anti-tradition, but the fundamental reason for doing to save the old ailing father, to show filial piety that is always emphasized by the tradition. Under this circumstance, Mulan is praised instead of condemned. Taking father’s place to war is another synonym of filial piety. The motivation came from her dedication to the family and her determination to protect her aging father. Her sense of commitment pushed her into a position for which she had not expected before. It is her devotion to her family that the poem puts more emphasis on. The emphasis is made stronger when the poem ends with Mulan’s preference for family life over high official ranking. So what we see is a typical Chinese woman at that time, she is industrious and kind-hearted. But besides her self-sacrifice, there is nothing about her personal values.

3.2 Individual Freedom in America

When we see the Disney movie Mulan, Americans hold different cultural values in this movie. In the movie, Mulan was born in a family of democracy and freedom, so she didn’t follow the feudal shackles and also had lots of special ideas. In order to deal with the matchmaker’s question, Mulan did the cheat sheet on her arms. She was lively and naughty, did not bother about small matters, and excelled in courage. Before Mulan went out for the battle, all of she wanted was to be herself. This sentence appeared many times in the movie. In the movie, Mulan was not the obedient kind, and she could not pretend to obedient well. When she first appeared, she was trying to recite the social morals, which was apparently difficult for her. And when her mother arranged her to meet the matchmaker, she was unpunctual and this was considered a serious demerit by all others. She did not bother about small matters, so when she could not remember the three obedience and four virtues, she made notes on her hand and said to her mother “In case I forget something.” She was lively and naughty, so she changed the traditional delicate eyebrows and hairstyle and said “I want to be myself.” She hated who bullied the weak, so returned the doll to a little girl from those mischievous boys’ hands. All of these were her nature, but this nature could not please the matchmaker. Even Mulan had Grandma Hua’s apple, pendant, jade and lucky cricket, even her family had prayed to the blind date. “You are disgrace! You may look like a bride, but you will never bring your family honor! ” The matchmaker blustered. And Mulan realized that “Now I see that if I were to truly be myself. I would break my family’s heart.” It showed that the later enlistment was not only the love of daughter to father, but also to pursue individual freedom. Male or female, everybody has dreams and potential inside them. This will help some young women to realize that there’s a lot they can do. They can move beyond structures that still seem a little intimidating to them. Therefore, the most important new feature is Mulan’s awareness of self-identification. Without permission, Mulan in the poem might have not gone to war. But in Disney movie Mulan, she cuts her hair, dons her father’s armor, mounts her horse and rides off into the night where her new journey begins. It is not a surprise that new film adds new elements to Mulan, such as love with the captain or farce caused by the guardian dragon Mushu. But the essential element filial piety is more or less colored by American feminist elements.

4. Patriotism in China and Individualism in America

4.1 Patriotism in China

In China, the doctrines of “san gang”, namely, “monarch guides subject, father guides son, and husband guides wife” were very important for the feudal society. This doctrine was the supreme guiding principle of all feudal social formations, and regulated the individuals’ behavior. And it helped maintain the stability and harmony of social relations by requiring virtues. The written Mulan heroic tradition started with her love for home and brave in the battlefield. In the poem, her dedication to the family and her determination to protect her aging father were strengthened in the later evolution of the heroic tradition in the feudal society in China. Central to the “san gang” doctrines is the cardinal virtue of Xiao (filial piety), for the family is regarded as the foundational unit on which all social structures are anchored. “In addition to a child’s obedience to the parents, Xiao also stresses the child’s obligation to preserve the honor and continuity of the family” (Tang Zhengbi, 2001:28). The virtue of Xiao informs the virtue of zhong (loyalty to the monarch), because the state is conceived of as an enlarged family in which the monarch-subject relation is the social extension of the father-son relation. In feudal China, filial piety and loyalty to the monarch are considered as the core of morality family ethics.

The original story of Mulan offers a quiet simple plot as it is about a girl in feudal China. Mulan was forced to join the army because “Father has no grown-up son; Mulan has no elder brother” (Wang Qian, 2006:273). She joined the army out of her affection for her father, who was considered the householder of the family in feudal China. She joined the army to fulfill her father’s duty, which was the reason why she was highly praised by the society. Mulan’s taking her father’s place in the army is the commendation of filial piety and its being sung for thousands of years just shows that in Chinese people’s eyes, family loyalty takes priority over personal goals.

4.2 Individualism in America

In China, traditional Chinese feel a lifelong obligation to the family while Americans value individualism and equality in a family. The Disney movie Mulan was tinted with American cultural values. In a word, in the movie, Mulan pursued freedom and made attempts at self-expression. Chinese give an unreserved devotion to please the family in every possible way, so the country and family loyalty take priority over personal goals. In the movie, traditional loyalty and filial piety diminished while Mulan’s attempts at self-realization were stressed. Maybe we can learn the western people’s understanding of Hua Mulan’s story with their knowledge. The western people pay more stress on self-happiness while Chinese people advocate loyalty and filial piety. Mulan finally fulfilled her dream stands for the victory of seeking equal rights for both sexes in the movie, where she became the paragon of freedom to love.

On the other hand, through imagination, American Disney Cartoon Mulan portrays a new character about Hua Mulan who owns the concept of value of Western individualism. In addition, this new character also conforms to the law of development of modern society, so it is not hard to see that this movie is tinted with American culture. Mulan is not a daughter who disobeyed the decree in order to fulfill her duty for her father. But she is a perplexed individual finding herself-identity in an unequal society. This was the cause of all the development of Mulan’s adventurous story and it gave Mulan the chance to pursue the individual realization.

And for the purpose of protecting her disabled father not to join the army, she also had the courage to oppose the minister’s orders. And when Mulan was found to have kept a big secret that she was a girl, she was abandoned by the army. Mulan was rather frustrated and when Mushu consoled her with the thought that her original intention was to save her father and she really did her best while Mulan’s answer was that perhaps she was not for her father but for proving herself a useful person. From here, the audiences can see Mulan’s sub-consciousness is that she wants to pursue her real self.

“As the foundation of American spirit, individualism established the basic thought on ‘self’ in the United States. American people advocate self-motivation, self-choice and self-realization through regeneration by one’s own efforts”. (Xu Lisheng, 2004:75) From this point of view, Disney Mulan diminishes the influence of Chinese filial piety, laying stress on Mulan’s self-reliance and individual achievement, and it also reveals us a figure of strong character and a woman who was brave to pursue individual freedom. Due to different cultural values, the original story of Mulan in China emphasizes her absolute filial piety and loyalty while Disney has changed the story of filial piety into a story of self-realization.

In the movie Mulan, Hua Mulan relied on her ability and intelligence to successfully stress the women’s position and character. In the first battle, Mulan saved the emperor and people worship. So we can see that in the United States, no matter who you are, everyone has equal rights to do everything. Because of that, the concept of “everyone is equal in front of the God” goes deep into the heart of Americans. Americans like to treat their lives as a competition of achieving success, equality means that everyone has the same opportunity to compete and achieve success. In other words, people’s success is not dependent on his family, but individual’s struggle. As the basic feature and content of American culture mode, individualism attaches great importance to equality of chance and competition and to be a winner. Americans have the concept of the desire and the ability of all individuals to control their own destiny. They want to be themselves without outside interference from the government, a ruling noble class, the church or any other organized authority.

Disney portrayed Mulan as an image of pursing freedom, objecting to feudal society making attempts at self-expression. In China, Chinese country and family loyalty take priority over personal goals while Americans value individualism and equality in a family. Here the influence of Chinese traditional loyalty and filial piety diminished, the movie stressed more on Mulan’s attempts at self-realization, which perhaps represented the western people’s understanding of Mulan’s story.

5. Male Chauvinism in China and Feminism in America

5.1 Male Chauvinism in China

In feudal China, women, under the overwhelming influence of the patriarchal society, were put in the marginalized position. As an indestructible rampart, male superiority hardly left any room for women’s independence and freedom. In all fields of work and life, it was the male who held the obvious position and had the say, so it is easy to understand why Mulan couldn’t show people her real image. Being disguised as a man to war is considered anti-tradition(go against tradition), but the fundamental reason for doing to save the elderly father, to show filial piety that is always emphasized by the tradition. At that time, women could not enjoy any kind of social status, so once Mulan’s secret was disclosed, she could have been sentenced to death according to the law. Women take no position at that time.

In feudal China, women couldn’t walk out and must stay at home. They didn’t have society status, what they could do was doing housework and something for the family. In the movie, we can see Mulan couldn’t have the right to show her view as a man in public. When her father is summoned to the army by the councilor, she steps forward and speaks for her father, which causes the councilor’s displeasure. Hua Zhou, Mulan’s father, frowns and blames her, “Mulan, you dishonor me.” In ancient China, in men’s presence, women usually don’t have right to say, which shows submission to them. There is an unwritten rule, “When she is a daughter, she should be submissive to her father; as a wife submissive to her husband; as a mother in her old age, submissive to her son.” The women’s true self is weakened, degraded and even oppressed. In China, Chinese filial piety connotes that children are subject to their parents, sometimes even blindly. In The Mulan Ballad, Mulan’s real identity was not found from beginning to end, she was considered a man to fight for the country.

5.2 Feminism in America

“There are a lot of differences among the customs and thoughts in different countries throughout the world, but there is a surprising similarity in these cultures on the regulation of women’s psychology, personality and social roles” (Ding Aiqun, 2004:58). That is to say, western culture also has the discrimination against women. Nevertheless, influenced by the belief that “All men are created equal”, Americans’ sense of hierarchy is not so strong. On the other hand, the film clearly presents feminism in the audiences’ eyes. Disney Mulan revised this plot to stress the idea that women were as good as a man and they also had the right to fulfill what they wanted regardless of the status or the sex. Mulan saves her fellows and the commander Li Xiang, but she is injured, from which her true identity as a girl is thus revealed. The astonishing secret that she was a girl shocked the army. Though Mulan was considered a hero and the bravest solider in her troop, she still couldn’t escape the punishment when her real sex was revealed. According to the military law, she ought to be killed but for her bravery and contribution to the troop, she was just abandoned by the troop; though badly treated, Mulan was large-minded and she finally played a leading role in saving the emperor and brought peace to the whole country.

On the way home, Mulan sits at the fire and says to her, “maybe I didn’t go for my father. Maybe what I really wanted was to prove I could do things right. So when I looked in the mirror. I’d see someone worthwhile.” The words “what I really wanted was to prove I could do things right” distinguish Mulan in traditional ancient China in that she wants to find out and prove herself rather than merely show filial piety to her father. A question thus arouses controversy. Bravery comes from filial piety or from proving her own ability? That is very difference between American Mulan and Chinese Mulan. Differing from Chinese traditional gender discrimination, these two plots show that American affirm the females’ ability. In addition to this, when Mulan saved the emperor’s life, he bowed low to her for appreciation and stood out to protect her from being punished. This endows the end the modern thought of equality and feminism and it is inconsistent with the tradition gender discrimination.

6. Conclusion

The story of Hua Mulan is a household tale in China, and the image of Hua Mulan portrayed as an obedient daughter and loyal never changes. She was very respectful at home and obedient to her parents in a traditional Chinese family. When filial piety is considered to be traditional virtue in China, the image of Hua Mulan endowed strength and seeking individual freedom appeared in Disney movie Mulan. Born in a family of democracy and freedom and with lots of special ideas, all of she wanted was to be her in the movie. Loyalty is often cited as one of the many virtues of Confucianism, in other words, patriotism seems to be the most important value in Chinese cultural values. For Hua Mulan, the loyalty to family and the country takes priority over personal goals. While in the movie, Hua Mulan owned the concept of value of Western individualism and had the chance to pursue the individual realization. In feudal China, male chauvinism once barred women from many important posts and women were put in the marginalized position, and that is why Hua Mulan couldn’t show people her real image and being disguised as a man to war. But the movie clearly presented feminism in the audiences’ eyes and stressed the idea that women were as good as a man and had the right to fulfill what they wanted. Hua Mulan believed that what she really wanted was to prove she could do things right. Based on the traditional Mulan’s story, Disney movie Mulan shows American culture through adding details of American thought. Taking American Disney Movie Mulan as an object of research, this paper reveals these different cultural values in the three aspects.

This movie examined the oriental story with the eye of American and carried out cultural shifts toward original spiritual core of The Mulan Ballad with their American cultural orientation. It can arouse people’s cultural sensitivity and enrich their knowledge of other countries’ surface and deep-rooted culture. In a word, no matter what and how people in different countries portray the image of Hua Mulan in their works, they all develop and maintain their unique cultures. In the multicultural world, the cultural exchange is very important with the form of movie art. Film has many advantages in spreading different culture values in intercultural communication. When people enjoy movies, the knowledge would ensure the effectiveness of intercultural communication.

Works Cited

[1] B. Strauss. Disney Tries Its Hand at Chinese Storytelling. Boston: Boston Globe City Edition, 1988.

[2] Deng Jie. Mulan: A Case Study—Americanization and Orientalization. Youth, 2013(5)：56-57.

[3] Lin Guanxing. “Visiting the Hometown of Hua Mulan”. Travel and customs, 1999(6): 49-50.

[4] Kingston, Maxine Hong. Personal Statement: Social and Symbolic Gender. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

[5] Tian Wei. An analysis on American Individualism in the Disney Movie Mulan. Overseas English. 2013(7): 285-291.

[6] Yang Xiaomei. “From Hua Mulan to Swordsman: Revenge for Sexism and Racism”. Sino-US English Teaching, 2008(12)): 49-51.

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