I have to tell you guys this story. So yesterday I went out with friends who were getting Thai food, and like, 3 of the 5 other girls there are in my Chinese class, so we get to talking about how the Beijing dialect adds an “ar”/”er”/”r” sound to things, so Hua becomes Huar. And I think Hua sounds nicer than Huar, because “Hua Mulan” and my friend’s sister goes “Wait, I thought it was Fa.” And I say: “Well yes, it is. In Cantonese. But in Mandarin it’s Hua. Flower, or blossom.”
And she’s like: “OH MY GOD. I GET THE FLOWER THING NOW.”
and I’m like “NO YOU CAN’T APPRECIATE THE FULL EXTENT OF THIS. HUA MULAN IS LITERALLY LIKE, ORCHID TREE BLOSSOM. SHE IS LITERALLY THE BLOSSOM. THAT IS SHE IS A LATE BLOOMER. IT’S SO PUN FILLED.”
and she’s like “IT ALL MAKES SENSE. I DIDN’T GET IT UNTIL JUST NOW.”
and I couldn’t stop laughing you guys, because there is nothing not funny about: 花木兰.
BECAUSE DO YOU GET IT?
WHEN SHE LEAVES THE TREE HASN’T FINISHED BLOSSOMING
AND THEN SHE COMES BACK
AND IT’S IN FULL BLOOM.
BECAUSE THE FLOWER THAT BLOOMS IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY IS THE MOST RARE AND BEAUTIFUL OF ALL.
AND,
HAHAHAHA.
I could cry with how funny this is.
