The Reflection of Confucianism in the Movie: MULAN

Mulan .

Confucius ( K o ng F uz i 孔夫子) w a s b o rn d uring th e Spring a nd A utumn era o f th e Do ng Z h o u d y na s ty .

T h o s e w ere times o f rupture a nd d ra s tic ch a ng es fo r th e a ncient king d o m o f C h ina .

Wa rl o rd s b a ttl ed a g a ins t ea ch o th er w ith a rmies o f h und red s o f th o us a nd men,

…s eeking to o v er th ro w l o ca l rul ers , ta ke o v er th eir l a nd s , a nd th eir po s itio n o f ro y a l s o v ereig ns .

B ut,

in th e mid s t

o f w a r a nd ch a o s …

a r a nd ch a o s , Cwonfucius s ea rch ed fo r pea ce a nd o rd er.

H e s tud ied h o w w is e king s o f th e pa s t rul ed pea ceful d y na s ties .

Also, how

Ch ina ’s

firs t a nces to rs l iv ed in h a rmo ny w ith th e o rd er o f

ian H ea(vT en

天) .

He

w a nted to rev iv e

th e va l ues a nd tra d itio ns o f a ncient d y na s ties .

So , h e b eca me a n ed uca to r a nd a n a d v is o r to l o ca l rul ers .

F uture a d o pted

d y na s ties

Confucius’

tea ch ing s a s th eir principl es a nd w ere a b l e to res to re th e pea ce.

M a ny

b o o ks w ere

w ritten co nta ining a nd pres er v ing

th es e principl es :

Ren 仁 H uma nity , kind nes s , g entl enes s .

“If one sets one’s heart on ren, there will be none he hates” (Analects 4.4).

Li 禮 Rig h t b eh a v io r: Ritua l s .

“To delight in li and music improves you” (Analects 16.5).

Li 禮 Ritua l : Wo rs h ip th e A nces to rs .

“He who offends against Tian has none to whom he can pray” (Analects 3.13).

Li 禮 Ritua l : G o v ernment o b l ig a tio ns .

“Provide a leading example to your officers” (Analects 13.2).

Li 禮 Ritua l : D is cipl ines a t h o me.

“When abroad serve superiors and ministers, when at home serve elders” (Analects 9.16).

Li 禮 Ritua l : Ceremo nies .

“Fulfill your office eagerly, perform your duties with loyalty” (Analects 12.14).

Y ong 勇 V a l o r. “The wise are not confused, the valorous are not fearful” (Analects 9.29).

Yi 義 M o ra l intentio n.

“If a person has valor but lacks yi, he becomes a bandit” (Analects 17.23).

Z hong 忠 Lo y a l ty . “If the lord directs his minister with li, the minister will serve his lord with zhong” (Analects 3.19).

X in 信 Trus tw o r th y : pro mis e keeper. “Take zhong and xin as the pivot and have no friends who are not like yourself in this” (Analects 1.8).

X iao 孝 F il ia l Piety . “One pupil asked about xiao and Confucius said, Never disobey” (Analects 2.5).

J ing 敬 Res pect.

“Confucius said, xiao and jing, are the roots of ren” (Analects 1.2).

S hu 恕 R ecipro city : T h e G o l d en Rul e. “That which you do not desire, do not do to others” (Analects 15.24).

De 德 V ir tue,

po w er, ch a ra cter.

“He who exercises government by means of his de may be compared to the North Star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it” (Analects 2.1).

J unzi 君子 G entl ema n: ma n o f perfect v ir tue. “The junzi takes yi as his basic substance; he puts it into practice with li, uses zhong to enact it and ren to complete it” (Analects 15.18).

D ao 道 W a y , meth o d , principl e,

mes s a g e.

“In the morning hear the dao, in the evening die content” (Analects 4.8).

W u l un 五倫 F iv e

Ca rd ina l s :

W u l un 五倫 1. S ub ject

to Rul er.

W u l un 五倫 2. S o n

to

F a th er.

W u l un 五倫 3. Y o ung er

b ro th er to

O l d er

b ro th er.

W u l un 五倫 4. W ife

to

H us b a nd .

“Women and small men are difficult to nurture. If you get too close to them, they become stubborn, and if you stay too distant, they become resentful” (Analects 17.25).

W u l un 五倫 5. F riend

to

F riend .

T h es e

principl es

a b o ut s o cia l b eh a v io r a nd mo ra l th inking a re kno w n a s th e centra l d o g ma o f th e rel ig io n:

T he “p en dan t fo r b al an ce ”...

i s t he Yin Yang s y m b o l :

O p p o s i t es i n l i fe co m p l em en t an d dep en d o n each o t her fo r b al an ce an d harm o n y .

Yin

Yang

Female

Male

Passive Negative Night Cold

Active Positive Day Warmth

A l s o s ho wn i n M ul a n an d Sh a ng ’s ho rs es .

Shang or

S han g S hu

i s t he n am e o f o n e o f t he b o o k s i n t he

Fi v e C l as s i cs of

C o n f u ci an i s m .

Li

m e a ns: Ritual.

Zhou

i s t he n am e o f t he dy n as t y du ri n g whi ch C o n f u ci u s l i v ed.

If y o u i n t erchan g e t he s y l l ab l es o f C o n f u ci u s 's m i ddl e n am e i n C hi n es e:

Fuzi

y o u g et t he ho m o p ho n e:

Chi Fu .

Yao

was a k i n g du ri n g an ci en t dy n as t i es , who C o n f u ci u s reg arded as wi s e an d virtuous.

Shan m ean s “t o u s u rp ”. Yu was t he l eg en dary em p ero r fo u n ded t he X i a dy n as t y .

who

Wu Wu

was t he em p ero r who fo u n ded t he Z ho u dy n as t y .

Zhong

m ean s l o y al t y .

References Elsten, David. “Beyond The Five Relationships: Teachers And Worthies In Early Chinese Thought.” Philosophy East & West 62.3 (2012): 375-91. Web. 27 Nov. 2014. Eno, R. “The Analects of Confucius: An online teaching translation.” Indiana University. N.p., 2012. Web. 27 Nov. 2014. Moyers, Bill. “Confucianism.” Films On Demand Digital Educational Video. Films Media Group, 6 Jan. 2007. Web. 27 Nov. 2014.

Mulan. Dir. Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook. Perf. Ming-Na Wen and Eddie Murphy. Walt Disney Feature Animation, 1998. Netflix. Netflix. Web. 27 Nov. 2014.

Richter, Kent, Eva Räpple, John Modschiedler, and R. Peterson. Understanding Religion in a Global Society. 1st ed. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2005. Print. Taylor, Rodney L. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Confucianism. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2005. Print. Theobald, Ulrich. “Chinese Thought and Philosophy: Confucius and Confucianism.” Chinaknowledge. N.p., 27 July 2010. Web. 27 Nov. 2014. VEA. “Confucius in Ancient China.” Films On Demand Digital Educational Video. Films Media Group, 20 Mar. 2014. Web. 27 Nov. 2014.

Cindy Marquina 1998 Disney All Rights Reserved