China's Bravest Girl: The Legend of Hua Mu Lan (English, Chinese and Chinese Edition) - Hardcover

Chin, Charlie; Arai, Tomie; Chu, Wang Xing

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0892391200 ISBN 13: 9780892391202

Publisher: Childrens Book Pr, 1993

Synopsis

Legend of Hua Mu Lan who goes to war disguised as a man to save the family honor and becomes a great general

About this title

Language Notes:

Text: English, Chinese (translation)
Original Language: Chinese

From School Library Journal:

Grade 3-5-Mu Lan, often called "the Chinese Joan of Arc," is a young woman whose aged father is summoned by the emperor to fight an invading army. She dons her father's armor, distinguishes herself in battle, only revealing her true identity when the war is over. The English version presented here is in quantrains in which meter and detail are sacrificed to relentless, often forced, rhyming. The accompanying Chinese text provides many details that do not occur in the English as well as many different sentiments. For example, when Mu Lan's father is seeing her off, the English text gives him the line "'Farewell, my faithful daughter,'" while the Chinese version says, "'Farewell! I wish you win the battle!'" The Chinese text has problems with diction, mixing classical Chinese with modern colloquial (somewhat like mixing the language of the King James Bible with today's inner-city street slang). This provides much unintentional humor along the way. Both versions have Mu Lan asking for a camel, a slow-moving animal, so she can hurry home. Attractive, well-researched watercolor illustrations in vibrant primary colors have much child appeal. Another bilingual version of this significant tale, Wei and Cheng Jiang's The Legend of Mulan (Victory, 1992), provides somewhat different details but is also something of a mixed bag.
John Philbrook, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Childrens Book Pr
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0892391200
• ISBN 13: 9780892391202
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 30