Hua Mulan

Many, if not all, of those reading this will already be familiar with the story of Mulan as told by the 1998 Disney animated classic movie. But there is more to Mulan’s story than Disney told us.

 

Mulan is a legendary heroine in Chinese histories, c.4-6th century. There is division among scholars as to whether Mulan was indeed a real historical figure, but I am of the belief that she is only a character of legend, like King Arthur of Camelot and Robin Hood.

 

The Ballad of Mulan is the source for most modern adaptations of Mulan’s story. In the Ballad, Mulan was at her loom when the conscription call arrived for her father to join the imperial army. In this tale, Mulan had a younger brother, though he was too young to fight as he was only a child, and her father too old, so Mulan took their place.

She went to four markets (the North, South, East and West) and bought a horse and all her supplies for the journey. The next morning she said goodbye to her parents and left for the army.

 

As the story goes, she fought in a hundred battles across ten years. At the end of this long, gruelling decade, Mulan and her soldier friends went to meet the Emperor. The Emperor offered them all prizes for their fight and even offered Mulan a high-ranking position in his government. Mulan refused this gift, asking only that she be given a horse to take her quickly home.

 

Upon her arrival, Mulan’s parents met her on the outskirts of the town, with her elder sister and her younger brother. Mulan changed from her soldiers uniform into her old clothes. She combed out her hair and fastened golden yellow flowers to it before stepping outside again.

It is at this point that her fellow army friends learned of her sex. They had fought side-by-side for 12 years by this point and Mulan had managed to keep her secret the entire time.

 

Mulan offered them a metaphor to explain how they had not previously known, a metaphor which I believe was used, or at least alluded to, in the 2020 Disney remake of the story (a film I have not, and will not, watch, so don’t quote me on that): she said “The male hare has heavy front paws. The female hare tends to squint. But when they are running side-by-side, close to the ground, who can tell me which is male or female?”

 

The Ballad of Mulan is my favourite adaptation of the story. Mulan did not fare so well in the 17th century version by Zhu Guozhen. In this version, Mulan fought in only 18 battles before being offered the position in the Emperor’s government. She declined the offer and returned home, much as in the Ballad. However, in Guozhen’s version, upon discovering that Mulan was a woman (and specified as a virgin in this text), the Emperor offered her a position in his harem. Mulan again declined the offer, but the Emperor was dissatisfied and had her kidnapped and placed in his harem against her will. Mulan, not one to be told what she could or could not do, killed herself rather than be forced into submission.

 

The story of Mulan has changed over time, as has her name. In some texts, she is Hua Mulan and in others she is Wei Mulan. In some sources Mulan is her given name and in others it is her family name.

 

There are many other versions of the story of Mulan. Though they generally follow the same basic story, the details differ, as do the endings. I strongly encourage you to have a read about for Mulan, as she is a strong and fascinating character in Chinese legend and, whether she was real or not, she was a force to be reckoned with.