MovieChat Forums > Mulan (1998) Discussion > Why Huns

Why Huns

posted 10 years ago by JonSnowsMother
11 replies | jump to latest

Im no expert on history, especially Chinese, but I'm sure the Huns never invaded China, and that these "Huns" are basically Mongolains, they look dress like how Mongolains were supposed to dress, they used Falcons as messengers and crossed the Great Wall.

Does anyone know why they were called Huns?

I'm presuming it's due to some poltical correctness or to appease the Chinese or Mongolian market.
Whatever the reason it's been bugging me for a while and I can't find out why.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

As you say, you are no expert on history, and that much is quite obvious from your post. This has absolutely nothing to do with modern-day "political correctness" as you surmise. 🙄

It just happens to be a rather old convention for Western historians to use the word "Hun" to describe such northern Asian tribes outside of the Chinese sphere of cultural influence, based on a hypothesis that such tribal peoples were related. This goes back to the works of Joseph de Guignes in the 18th century. Disney just went along with that. It's certainly easier for speakers of English and other Western European languages to pronounce "Hun" than "Hsiung-nu."