Source: http://images.wikia.com/disney/images/0/0d/Mulan_Screenshot.jpg
I. Activating Prior Knowledge
Have you ever seen the Disney movie, Mulan? It is a story about a young girl who dresses as a boy to take her father's place in the Chinese army in their fight against the Xiongnu. The movie is based on the poem, The Poem of Mulan.
II. Setting A Purpose for Reading
As you read the poem, compare it to your knowledge of the movie, Mulan. How are they similar? How are they different? If you have not seen the movie, take a few moments to do an internet search for a summary of the movie.
III. Reading the Text (Read, Re-Read, and Read Again)
The Poem of Mulan
Tsiek tsiek and again tsiek tsiek,
Mu-lan weaves, facing the door.
You don’t hear the shuttle’s sound,
You only hear Daughter’s sighs.
They ask Daughter who’s in her heart,
They ask Daughter who’s on her mind.
“No one is in Daughter’s heart,
No one is on Daughter’s mind.
Last night I saw the draft posters,
The Khan [Emperor] is calling many troops,
The army list is in twelve scrolls,
On every scroll there’s Father’s name.
Father has no grown-up son,
Mu-lan has no elder brother.
I want to buy a saddle and a horse,
And serve in the army in Father’s place.
STOP! Can you answer this question? If not, go back and re-read the passage.
Which line contains an onomatopoeia? Summarize the first stanza of the poem in your own words.
At dawn she takes leave of the Yellow River,
In the evening she arrives at Black Mountain.
She doesn’t hear the sound of Father and Mother calling,
She only hears Mount Yen’s nomad horses cry tsiu tsiu.
She goes ten thousand miles on the business of war,
She crosses passes and mountains like flying.
Northern gusts carry the rattle of army pots,
Chilly light shines on iron armor.
Generals die in a hundred battles,
Stout soldiers return after ten years.
STOP! Can you answer this question? If not, go back and re-read the passage.
Find two examples of sensory language in the poem. Summarize the second stanza of the poem in your own words.
On her return she sees the Son of Heaven [Emperor]
The Son of Heaven sits in the Splendid Hall.
He gives out promotions in twelve ranks
And prizes of a hundred thousand and more.
The Khan asks her what she desires.
“Mu-lan has no use for a minister’s post.
I wish to ride a swift mount
To take me back to my home.”
STOP! Can you answer this question? If not, go back and re-read the passage.
Was the military action successful? What evidence supports your response?Prediction: Why does Mulan wish to return home?
When Father and Mother hear Daughter is coming
They go outside the wall to meet her, leaning on each other.
When Elder Sister hears Younger Sister is coming
She fixes her rouge, facing the door.
When Little Brother hears Elder sister is coming
He whets the knife, quick quick, for pig and sheep.
“I open the door to my east chamber,
I sit on my couch in the west room,
I take off my wartime gown
And put on my old-time clothes.”
Facing the window she fixes her cloudlike hair,
Hanging up a mirror she dabs on yellow flower-powder.
She goes out the door and sees her comrades.
Her comrades are all amazed and perplexed.
Traveling together for twelve years
They didn’t know Mu-lan was a girl.
STOP! Can you answer this question? If not, go back and re-read the passage.
Which lines describe Mulan's transformation from warrior to woman? How might the soldiers have reacted to this transformation?
Source: “The Poem of Mulan,” in The Flowering Plum and the Palace Lady: Interpretations of Chinese Poetry, trans. Hans H. Frankel (New Haven: Yale UP, 1976), 68-70.
Source: http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/eras/era5.php
The Story of Mulan first appeared during the later Tang Dynasty, but her story reflects the long history of nearly continuous military struggles against the nomadic Xiongnu, who lived on China’s northern borders. The Han dynasty was able to keep the Xiongnu at bay for several hundred years through a combination of military defense and simple bribery. (Han officials found that it was cheaper to pay the Xiongnu to refrain from attacking than to fight them.) But the uneasy truce between the Han and the Xiongnu began to unravel around 50 CE. This crisis, in concert with many others, helped bring down the Han.
IV. Personal Reflection – Respond to the following question in your blog. Be sure to include a quote from the text to support your response.
Response: How did Chinese emperors obtain soldiers for their armies? Was this an effective policy? Give reasons to support your response.
V. Peer Reflection - Read three classmates’ response and respond to what they have written.
I. Activating Prior Knowledge
Have you ever seen the Disney movie, Mulan? It is a story about a young girl who dresses as a boy to take her father's place in the Chinese army in their fight against the Xiongnu. The movie is based on the poem, The Poem of Mulan.
II. Setting A Purpose for Reading
As you read the poem, compare it to your knowledge of the movie, Mulan. How are they similar? How are they different? If you have not seen the movie, take a few moments to do an internet search for a summary of the movie.
III. Reading the Text (Read, Re-Read, and Read Again)
The Poem of Mulan
Tsiek tsiek and again tsiek tsiek,
Mu-lan weaves, facing the door.
You don’t hear the shuttle’s sound,
You only hear Daughter’s sighs.
They ask Daughter who’s in her heart,
They ask Daughter who’s on her mind.
“No one is in Daughter’s heart,
No one is on Daughter’s mind.
Last night I saw the draft posters,
The Khan [Emperor] is calling many troops,
The army list is in twelve scrolls,
On every scroll there’s Father’s name.
Father has no grown-up son,
Mu-lan has no elder brother.
I want to buy a saddle and a horse,
And serve in the army in Father’s place.
STOP! Can you answer this question? If not, go back and re-read the passage.
Which line contains an onomatopoeia? Summarize the first stanza of the poem in your own words.
At dawn she takes leave of the Yellow River,
In the evening she arrives at Black Mountain.
She doesn’t hear the sound of Father and Mother calling,
She only hears Mount Yen’s nomad horses cry tsiu tsiu.
She goes ten thousand miles on the business of war,
She crosses passes and mountains like flying.
Northern gusts carry the rattle of army pots,
Chilly light shines on iron armor.
Generals die in a hundred battles,
Stout soldiers return after ten years.
STOP! Can you answer this question? If not, go back and re-read the passage.
Find two examples of sensory language in the poem. Summarize the second stanza of the poem in your own words.
On her return she sees the Son of Heaven [Emperor]
The Son of Heaven sits in the Splendid Hall.
He gives out promotions in twelve ranks
And prizes of a hundred thousand and more.
The Khan asks her what she desires.
“Mu-lan has no use for a minister’s post.
I wish to ride a swift mount
To take me back to my home.”
STOP! Can you answer this question? If not, go back and re-read the passage.
Was the military action successful? What evidence supports your response?Prediction: Why does Mulan wish to return home?
When Father and Mother hear Daughter is coming
They go outside the wall to meet her, leaning on each other.
When Elder Sister hears Younger Sister is coming
She fixes her rouge, facing the door.
When Little Brother hears Elder sister is coming
He whets the knife, quick quick, for pig and sheep.
“I open the door to my east chamber,
I sit on my couch in the west room,
I take off my wartime gown
And put on my old-time clothes.”
Facing the window she fixes her cloudlike hair,
Hanging up a mirror she dabs on yellow flower-powder.
She goes out the door and sees her comrades.
Her comrades are all amazed and perplexed.
Traveling together for twelve years
They didn’t know Mu-lan was a girl.
STOP! Can you answer this question? If not, go back and re-read the passage.
Which lines describe Mulan's transformation from warrior to woman? How might the soldiers have reacted to this transformation?
Source: “The Poem of Mulan,” in The Flowering Plum and the Palace Lady: Interpretations of Chinese Poetry, trans. Hans H. Frankel (New Haven: Yale UP, 1976), 68-70.
Source: http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/eras/era5.php
The Story of Mulan first appeared during the later Tang Dynasty, but her story reflects the long history of nearly continuous military struggles against the nomadic Xiongnu, who lived on China’s northern borders. The Han dynasty was able to keep the Xiongnu at bay for several hundred years through a combination of military defense and simple bribery. (Han officials found that it was cheaper to pay the Xiongnu to refrain from attacking than to fight them.) But the uneasy truce between the Han and the Xiongnu began to unravel around 50 CE. This crisis, in concert with many others, helped bring down the Han.
IV. Personal Reflection – Respond to the following question in your blog. Be sure to include a quote from the text to support your response.
Response: How did Chinese emperors obtain soldiers for their armies? Was this an effective policy? Give reasons to support your response.
V. Peer Reflection - Read three classmates’ response and respond to what they have written.
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