atla-annotated:

Off Topic Mulan Post: The Huns are invading China!

This is something that a) has been bugging me for a while, b) I’ve talked about with friends more than once.

Now, I am aware why they went with ‘Huns’ instead of ‘Mongols’, well since, practically nothing rhymes with Mongols or Xiongnu, but …

Even though the Huns and the Mongols are related, it’s a bit like saying ‘Greece burned Carthage to the ground’. Close, but yet …

Who are the people in the picture:

Attila the Hun: The main villain is definitely modeled on Attila the Hun, who ruled over big parts of Europe around 434. He never invaded ‘China’.

Genghis Khan, founder of the great Mongol Empire, on the other hand, did. He sieged and razed what is now Beijing to the ground in 1213 CE.

His grandson, Kublai Khan, rebuilt the city, but he did not build the Forbidden City.

That palace was build by the Yongle Emperor, whom, at least appearance-wise, the Mulan Emperor is modeled. He also was the one who defeated the Mongols.

If you’re wondering what Bismarck is doing in the pic: Ever since WWI, “Huns” has been used to describe Germans.

Note: “To those saying they used the Huns because they do not exist as a people anymore.” This is only partially true. Hungary is a real country, and:

The Magyars (Hungarians) in particular lay claim to Hunnic heritage.