For week 8 assignments I read the “Ballad of Mu-lan”. While this ballad is different from the Disney version, I would argue it’s better. In summary Mu-lan’s father gets drafted for a war, but she wants to go in his place. She travels to grab the supplies she needs and then goes off to battle for twelve years. Only after her return home and she changes back into her old clothes do her fellow soldiers realize that Mu-lan was a woman. Another reading was that of the excerpts from Yan Zhitui. These excerpts explain the difference between the people South of the Yangzi and North of the Yangzi. It describes different people’s appearances, accents, vocabulary, mourning, family relations, and foods. 

    In the beginning of the excerpt women’s responsibilities are discussed. It’s explained that in the south women have “no social dealings” (pg. 1) while in the north women have much more control, even including advocating on behalf of their husbands and sons. Also discussed is apparent class differences between the north and south which can be heard in a person’s accent and rhetoric. While in the north courtiers and commoners sound almost identical, in the south the two are as different as night and day. I wonder why it was in the north that the commoners spoke better than the nobles? In most of history it’s usually the opposite, as seen in the south. Typically nobles have access to better education and have to appear more educated than commoners, so it’s odd that it seems to be the other way around. 

    I think that this is all for this post, and I am sorry if this is still too short, but I tried to write much more and analyze the material as best as I could. After this post I have to finish up my other work, but aside from that I am hanging out with my friends one more time before we all go off to college, so I’m really excited.