In Chapter 23, you learned that China enjoyed a time of peace and prosperity during the Han dynasty. Education, literature, and art flourished. Under the rule of Emperor Wu, the Chinese established a music bureau, or yuefu. The purpose of the yuefu was to collect and record songs and ballads of the ordinary people. Many of these pieces were anonymously written, though educated people also wrote for the yuefu. The word yuefu also came to mean the type of poetry that came from these songs and ballads.

Emotions and relationships were one theme of yuefu poetry. The most popular theme was the daily life of common people, such as peasants. During the Han dynasty, about 90 percent of the people were peasants. They lived in small villages in simple homes and traveled to work in the fields. The peasants worked long and difficult hours raising livestock and cultivating grain. They did not own the land, but rented it from the landowner. The government required peasants to pay taxes and to work one month each year on government projects. During wartime, peasants served as soldiers.

One of the most well-known examples of yuefu poetry is the Ballad of Mulan. Although not credited to an author, some say that a women poet around the year 5 c.e. wrote it. It is the story of a young woman with was living the typical life of a commoner. As you read the poem, think about what happens to Mu-lan.

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 on Daughter’s heart,
No one is on Daughter’s mind.
Last night I saw the draft posters,
The Khan [the 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 horse,
And serve in the army in Father’s place.”

In the East Market she buys a spirited horse,
In the West Market she buys a saddle,
In the South Market she buys a bridle,
In the North Market she buys a long whip.
At dawn she takes leave of Father and Mother,
In the evening camps on the Yellow River’s bank.
She doesn’t hear the sound of Father and Mother calling,
She only hears the Yellow River’s flowing water cry.

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.
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.

On her return she sees the Son of Heaven [the 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.”

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 [makeup], facing the door.
When Little Brother hears Elder Sister is coming
He whets [sharpens] the knife, 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.
“The he-hare’s feet go hop and skip,
The she-hare’s eyes are muddled and fuddled.
Two hares running side by side close to the ground,
How can they tell if I am he or she?”

Source
The Flowering Plum and the Palace Lady: Interpretations of Chinese Poetry. By Han H. Frankel, Yale University Press, 1976. Copyright © 1976 by Yale University Press.

Investigating Literature

As a woman among the common people, Mu-lan was expected to lead a life serving her father, brothers, and eventually her husband and family. A peasant’s life was not an easy one. Instead, Mu-lan chose to disguise herself as a soldier to fight for the emperor in her father’s place. Her life was not easy, but it certainly was extraordinary. In two drawings below, compare what Mu-lan’s life as a commoner was supposed to be to what it was as a soldier. Each drawing must include Mu-lan with
•	clothing appropriate to her life.
•	possessions, such as a weapon, she would have had.
•	an animal she would have had.
•	background setting appropriate to her life.
Label each feature with a brief caption identifying what the item is and why it fits her life. For each drawing, add a thought bubble with a two- or three-sentence caption expressing Mu-lan’s feelings about her life. Use correct grammar and spelling.

History Alive! The Ancient World, Investigating Literature