HUA MULAN

When the Huns, led by the ruthless Shan Yu, invade China, each family is given a conscription notice. Mulan's father, Fa Zhou has to serve in the army but he is too old, and he will not survive. Fa Mulan disguises herself as a man, then takes her father's conscription notice, armor, and weapons so that he will not have to go. She rides away on her horse, Khan, to join the army, knowing that if she were caught she would be killed.

Mushu, a small dragon who had been demoted to gong ringer by Mulan's ancestors, is asked to awaken the "Great Stone Dragon". Mushu accidentally destroys the Dragon but realizes that this could be an opportunity to earn his place among the guardians again if he can make Mulan a war hero.

Mulan trains with a group led by Captain Li Shang including fellow soldiers Ling, Yao, and Chien Po. The troops complete their training, but Chi Fu, the Emperor's meddling and misogynistic adviser refuses to let them see battle, accusing the troops of being ill prepared. Mushu forges a letter from the General, ordering Li Shang to take his men to battle. The troops set out to meet General Li, who has already left on a mission. However, Li Shang and his troops discover that the General and his men were killed in battle.

Captain Li Shang and his troops continue, disheartened by their loss, when they are ambushed by Hun archers. After an initial attack, the Huns are believed to be defeated, but the troops soon discover otherwise. As they are setting up the last cannon to fire at the Huns, Mulan spots a precarious mound of snow on the upper mountain side. As the Huns charge down the mountain Mulan takes the cannon and fires the rocket at the snow mound. The collision of the rocket and the snow mound causes an avalanche which spreads over the charging Huns, burying them. Captain Li's soldiers take refuge while Mulan rescues Captain Li from being swept away by the snow.

During treatment, Mulan's true identity is discovered. Captain Li is notified and is expected to execute Mulan, but spares her life and considers his pardon an exchange for Mulan saving his own life. Instead, Captain Li expels her from the army. Mulan decides to return home but hears the Huns emerging from the snow that had blanketed them during the earlier battle. She tries to warn Captain Li's troops as they are heralded by citizens in a parade for their war efforts, but they do not listen. As the Emperor addresses the crowd, the Huns, disguised as parade characters, kidnap him.

Captain Li and his troops try to follow the Huns into the palace but are unsuccessful. Mulan devises a ploy with the other soldiers to dress as concubines, scale the castle wall and infiltrate the castle. When the Huns lower their defenses in the presence of the "women", Mulan and her friends swiftly dispatch them all. During this attack the Emperor is safely removed from the palace by Chien Po, but Captain Li and Mulan are both trapped on the balcony with Shan Yu. Shan Yu is about kill Captain Li when Mulan gets his attention. The Hun recognizes her from the mountain battle and gives chase. Mulan lures Shan Yu onto the palace rooftop where they face each other in personal combat, until Mushu, as arranged by Mulan, propels a huge firecracker that hits Shan Yu and carries him off to his death. The fate of the remaining five Hun warriors is never fully disclosed.

The Emperor meets Mulan and, in an accusatory tone, lists Mulan's crimes, but he pardons her. The Emperor then bows to Mulan, which is considered an extremely high honor as it implies being of a higher status than the Emperor, and the crowd follow suit. The Emperor then offers Mulan a position in his staff but Mulan refuses the offer and confesses that she wants to return home. He gives her Shan Yu's sword, along with his crest, for her to bring home and give honour to her family.

Upon her return, Mulan expects to be reprimanded but is instead embraced by her family. Captain Li arrives to talk with Mulan, having been encouraged to propose. The ancestors reluctantly agree to make Mushu a guardian once more.

Reference : www.wikipedia.com

Dragon

The Chinese dragon, unlike its western cousin, is considered to be a benevolent creature, the custodian of rain, river and lakes, and a harbinger of good fortune.

In Chinese mythology the dragon is described as having the body of a snake, the face of a horse, antlers of the deer and claws of the eagle. The dragon has the beard of a goat and the scales of a fish. But where did such a creature come from? Is there any evidence to suggest such a creature ever existed?

Well, sadly not. No such creature's remains have ever been found, although records of dragons in Chinese culture go back many thousands of years.

One explanation of how the dragon came to be is as follows. Early societies had as their tribal mascot an animal - for example a horse or a camel or a fish. This is in fact something which we observe even today with the American eagle, the British lion or the Russian bear. These symbols were used both for religious as well as military purposes, and rather as the Romans would march with the Eagle as their standard, these emblems were used as military insignia.

The theory goes that as a tribe went to battle and conquered another, it would incorporate some form of the conquered tribe's ensignia. In this way it is beleived the Xia clan, who had a snake as its emblem annexed states such as the Shang - an eagle. Thus, to the snake's body was added the claws of the eagle. Soon the scales of fish, antlers of the deer, face of the horse and the beard of the goat all came to be incorporated, and thereby the Chinese dragon came into being.

So powerful did the emblem of the dragon become that it was adopted by every Chinese dynasty as the Imperial emblem, from Huang Di to the Qing (Manchu) Dyanasty without exception. As early as the Tang and Song Dynasties Dragon King Temple's were built where the people could pray for blessings and a good harvest - all in the hands of the dragons as they controlled the rain.

reference : www.chinatown-online.co.uk