I. Introduction

The Ballad of Mulan is a narrative folk song in Northern and Southern Dynasties (AD 420~589), which is regarded as the earliest story of Mulan. The poem opens with “ Click, click and again click click, Mulan weaves, facing the door. You don’t hear the shuttle’s sound, you only hear Daughter’s sighs” (Han 23). In the poem, Mulan disguises herself to replace her father to join the army because of her filial duty to her parents and her loyalty to her nation. In the battlefield she won honor and glory but she refused to act as an officer and chose to go back home instead. The poet created the image of Hua Mulan characterized as dutiful, brave, diligent and amiable.
In 1998, the Hollywood released the cartoon movie, Mulan, Beth Hannan Rimmels showed clearly that Mulan got great benefits for the Hollywood and influenced other women who learned from Hua Mulan (146). Besides, Mulan was not only released in America, but also acclaimed abroad and got a boxing office of nearly 200 million dollars. Thanks to the appropriate application of cross-cultural communication tactics, the film Mulan gets a roaring success. In accordance with Chinese tradition, the figure, the quality and the setting of Mulan are full of Chinese characteristics. Nevertheless, it is still regarded as an Americanised film. The version of Disney, which adapted from The Ballad of Mulan, reshapes a new look of Mulan. So to speak, Hua Mulan in the movie is an independent woman with inpidual and feminist spirits. Compared with Chinese Mulan in Yuefu songs, Disney’s animated cartoon about Mulan has developed with inheriting according to The Ballad of Mulan and been influenced by American culture. Hua Mulan in Hollywood’ film is an extraordinary heroine and she has surmounted all difficulties to pursue self-fulfillment. The new image of Mulan in Disney’s film, which is regarded by people as a brave woman warrior and has set a fine model for the oppressed women to realize their value of life .
The Ballad of Mulan is a familiar story to everyone in China, yet very few foreigners know about it. Film, as a special art, incarnates plentiful cultural knowledge, brings sheer fun and great interests. The civilization of a country can be described vividly in its film. The Chinese famous folk song, The Ballad of Mulan, it was shot by Disney Company as an animation Mulan achieved much success all over the world. As a result, the story was known by a sea of people around the world. The adaptation of traditional literary masterpieces from other cultures into movies has been a common practice of Hollywood currently. By the comparison of the poem The Ballad of Mulan and its Hollywood animation version, the paper first compares the differences of the two versions on images, characterizations and themes, then proceeds to investigate the cultural root for the emergence of these differences. It also gives spectators a special experience through cinematography, which serves as a method of interpreting both the literary masterpiece and its culture. Disney has added liberal doses of Chinese cultural achievements from the ancient fork song The Ballad of Mulan into the movie attempting to give it a real Chinese savor. However, Americans have their own culture and values. Therefore, the American version of Mulan has well embodied cultural differences between Chinese and American cultures. This paper aims to analyze the cultural differences of the two images of Mulan in China and America to enhance people’s intercultural sensitivity and broaden their knowledge of two cultures. 从《木兰辞》和迪士尼电影《花木兰》看中美文化差异(2):http://www.youerw.com/yingyu/lunwen_39250.html