The Ballad of MULAN Retold by Song Nan
The Ballad of MULAN Retold by Song Nan Zhang
What does the first slide tell you about the story? What does the phrase, “Retold by” tell you about the story? What is an oral tradition in a culture?
What other culture have we been studying in class that used an oral tradition to tell its stories? Answer: The Kumeyaay
If a story says that it is “retold” then it is most likely from a culture that has an oral tradition for story telling. What country do you think the story of Mulan is from? Answer: China The country of China has a long oral tradition for passing on its cultural stories to future generations. An oral tradition is the communication of stories through spoken word instead of the written word. The Ballad of Mulan comes from an oral tradition and it is retold in written words by Song Nan Zhang.
Do you know what a Ballad is? Since the word ballad is used in the title of our story, this gives us a clue to the content of the story. What do think a ballad could be about?
Vocabulary used in The Ballad of Mulan: Ballad= A ballad is a poem that tells a story that was intended to be sung. China= The People’s Republic of China is a country that has the third largest land area in the world. China also has the largest population of any country in the world. Approx. 1. 265 billion people Sorrowful= To be sorrowful is to be in a state of sadness.
Long ago, the country of China was ruled by Emperors. What is an emperor? An emperor is the supreme male ruler of an empire. Could a girl have been an emperor in Ancient China? Answer: No. An emperor used warriors to protect his empire from invaders. Were girls allowed to fight as warriors for the emperor in Ancient China? Answer: No.
Long ago in Ancient China, lived a girl named Mulan… Mulan lived with her mother and father. She helped her mother weave cloth and take care of the household duties. The emperor needed warriors to fight off attacks against invading troops. Mulan’s father has been told to fight. Mulan’s father was old and frail. Mulan had a younger brother.
What do you think Mulan will decide to do? Why would she make this decision?
Let us begin reading The Ballad of MULAN and fight out what happens!!!
- Slides: 10