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Help[Facts] Re: Mulan
in reply to a message by Rory Skene
It is an actual first name but I'm not sure if it's actually used in China or not at the moment (since the Chinese didn't react favourably to the Disney film of the same name).
The Disney character was based on a legendary ancient Chinese woman warrior called Hua (or Fa) Mulan (花 木蘭 or 花 木兰 if used in simplified Chinese) in which Hua is her surname.
Before I get to the pronunciation, let's get to the meanings of the Chinese characters used for the name. 木 means "tree, wood" while 蘭/兰 means "orchid." Overall, if you combine them together, the name Mulan would mean "lily magnolia."
Regarding the pronunciation, it's safe to say that it's actually pronounced moo-lan, not moo-lahn. As the pinyin for 木蘭/木兰 is written as Mùlán, let me go over how it should be pronounced. The 'moo' bit goes from a neutral tone to a high tone and the 'lan' bit goes from a low tone to a neutral tone. I can't really go over the details so I left you a Wikipedia page for it (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Chinese_phonology) and there's a section called 'Tones.' That's what I am talking about with regards to the tones. It's not the most reliable source but it's there if you want to look at it.
If I have gone over too much stuff, I'm sorry, but there is a lot of info that I need to put and clarify.
PS: If you want to know what her surname (花) means, it's "flower, blossom."
~I luv London Tipton 'cause she's an idiot like moi~
My pinool: http://www.behindthename.com/pnl/149249
The Disney character was based on a legendary ancient Chinese woman warrior called Hua (or Fa) Mulan (花 木蘭 or 花 木兰 if used in simplified Chinese) in which Hua is her surname.
Before I get to the pronunciation, let's get to the meanings of the Chinese characters used for the name. 木 means "tree, wood" while 蘭/兰 means "orchid." Overall, if you combine them together, the name Mulan would mean "lily magnolia."
Regarding the pronunciation, it's safe to say that it's actually pronounced moo-lan, not moo-lahn. As the pinyin for 木蘭/木兰 is written as Mùlán, let me go over how it should be pronounced. The 'moo' bit goes from a neutral tone to a high tone and the 'lan' bit goes from a low tone to a neutral tone. I can't really go over the details so I left you a Wikipedia page for it (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Chinese_phonology) and there's a section called 'Tones.' That's what I am talking about with regards to the tones. It's not the most reliable source but it's there if you want to look at it.
If I have gone over too much stuff, I'm sorry, but there is a lot of info that I need to put and clarify.
PS: If you want to know what her surname (花) means, it's "flower, blossom."
~I luv London Tipton 'cause she's an idiot like moi~
My pinool: http://www.behindthename.com/pnl/149249
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