Hua Mulan: A Girl Worth Fighting For Hilary Sotomayor Hua Mulan, the female Chinese warrior made famous worldwide in Disney’s Mulan (1998), has had a long celebrated cultural, historical, and political significance within Chinese society. The classic tale describes the life of a young woman who saves her ill and aging father from serving in the war by taking his place in the army. She conceals her identity for twelve years without being detected and achieves great status and victories in the military. In most adaptations of the story of Mulan, the story ends with Mulan rejecting all offers of valour, high status, and riches that the Khan offers her, and requesting to return home to her family. When she reaches her home, she discards her military garb and returns to her regular life as a filial and loyal daughter. Through these examples of virtue and loyalty, Mulan demonstrates characteristics worth emulating in Chinese culture, as shown through her continuing presence in Chinese culture. Since its earliest known publication in the sixth century A.D., the story of Mulan has had plenty of time to be preserved, revived, readapted, and incorporated into various cultural, historical, and political contexts. Because of the high esteem that the Chinese have held for Hua Mulan and her valorous deeds, it is natural that the story of Hua Mulan has had innumerable retellings of her actions and virtue over the last millennium. Each adaptation was created for its own purpose, be it entertainment or propaganda, and each adaptation carries its own unique context. Sharing the common plot line as described in the Ballad of Mulan, each version of Mulan uses her story, and the character herself, to send their own messages about virtuous characteristics that the Chinese ought to emulate, opinions on the state, and thinly veiled discussions of gender norms in Chinese society, in both ancient and modern China. In order to create a succinct summary of the ways that Hua Mulan has been conscripted for certain needs, a wide selection of mediums have been selected to supplement this discussion. This selection includes the original poem, various plays from the Ming dynasty and the early twentieth century, and movies from the early twentieth century, concluding with a discussion on Disney’s Mulan, one of the most recent versions of Hua Mulan. Comparing and contrasting versions of Hua Mulan’s stories will explore the question of what sort of woman she was, and the reason why she has continued to retain her relevance through to present day. Despite the many inevitable distortions that come with the many adaptations of a single story, Mulan has survived the test of time while maintaining at least some semblance of its original meaning and sentiment.
42 Given the large amount of time that Mulan has existed in Chinese culture, it is inevitable that historiographical debates about her origins appear numerous times in both scholarship and popular discussions within societies that have access to the story of Mulan. There have been many different accounts of when the original poem dates to, ranging from the fourth century, to the Northern Wei dynasty to the Sui.1 Because of this ambiguity, there are questions of whether or not Mulan actually existed, what ethnicity she actually was, or if the legend was written about similar events in contemporary scholarship. It is also debated whether or not the original ballad is fabricated.2 However, these details are not important to Mulan’s story, since the meanings she carries for the Chinese are far greater than the scope of these debates. The fact that children today are religiously taught the ballad in primary school textbooks attests to the minute importance attached to the historically vague nature of Mulan.3 Since her creation in the fourth-sixth centuries A.D., Mulan has acted as an example of the ideal person, and is commonly perceived as the most influential woman warrior in Chinese history.4 Mulan has been emphasised for her filial piety, state loyalty, valour, bravery, intellect, and military prowess in most adaptations of Mulan’s story; all qualities that writers and readers feel embody the ideal virtues of Chinese society.5 Although not initially written to portray Confucian values, much of what is treasured about Mulan in later versions of her story are her chastity, filial piety and loyalty to the state, often via her “female duties” and temporary male ones.6 Naturally, subsequent versions attach their own meanings to the tale of Mulan in their
1 Chuanmao Tian and Caixia Xiong, “A Cultural Analysis of Disney’s Mulan with Respect to Translation,” Continuum 27, no. 6 (2013): 865; Louise Edwards, “Transformations of the Woman Warrior Hua Mulan: From Defender of the Family to Servant of the State,” Nan Nü 12 (2010): 177; Hao Fu, “Biographical Sketches,” Chinese Studies in History 35, no. 2 (2001-2002): 30; Anna Wing Bo Tso, “Female Cross-Dressing in Chinese Literature Classics and Their English Versions,” Interdisciplinary Political and Cultural Journal 16, no. 1 (2014): 114. 2 Tian and Xiong, 865; Feng Lan, “The Female Individual and the Empire: A Historicist Approach to Mulan and Kingston’s Woman Warrior,” Comparative Literature 55, no. 3 (2003): 232; Fu, 30; Shiamin Kwa and Wilt L. Idema, “Mulan: Five Versions of a Classic Chinese Legend with Related Texts,”. Edited by Shiamin Kwa and Wilt L. Idema (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2010): xii. 3 Tian and Xiong, 865; Jinhua Li, “Mulan (1998) and Hua Mulan (2009): National Myth and Trans- Cultural Intertextuality,” in Heroism and Gender in War Films. Edited by Karen A. Ritzenhoff and Jakub Razecki (New York: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2014): 187, 189; Qian Ma, Women in Traditional Chinese Theatre: The Heroine’s Play (New York: University Press of America, 2005): 34. 4 Fu, 30-31; Zhang Renjie, “Ode to Mulan: Seeing the Animated Film Mulan,” Chinese Sociology and Anthropology 32, no. 2 (Winter 1999-2000): 32; Li, 187, 189; Kwa and Idema, xii. 5 Lan, 229, 232; Fu, 31; Edwards, “Transformations of the Woman Warrior Hua Mulan: From Defender of the Family to Servant of the State,”, 177; Max L. Bohnenkamp, “An Anonymous Work from the Book of the Manor House of Lord Che,” translated by Max L. Bohnenkamp and Na Xin in The Columbia Anthology of Chinese Folk and Popular Literature (New York: Columbia University Press, 2011): 326; Kwa and Idema, vii. 6 Tso Wing Bo, 114-115; Lan, 232-233; Li, 189.
43 own contexts, with some versions depending on the last known version of Mulan for further additions to China’s “heroic tradition”.7 Building off of the filial piety and virtue present in the original ballad, subsequent versions have added characteristics such as the four womanly virtues of Confucianism (chastity and fidelity, womanly words, womanly bearing, and womanly works) wherein one ought to behave modestly, speak softly, dress up prettily, and do their women’s work diligently to please and honour the husband and family, as seen through various references to Mulan’s work on the loom.8 The addition of chastity to Mulan’s story came in the Song dynasty, which raised moral issues around the chastity of women at war.9 The versatility of the story of Mulan is, in part, what continued its active participation in Chinese culture.10 Without it, there would be nothing that modern audiences would find relatable in her story, as strict gender norms are slowly and intentionally being dismantled within most modern societies today. Issues of Mulan using cross-dressing in order to cross gender boundaries are often discussed within later versions of Mulan, and by scholars who have written about her. Although one might assume that the strict dichotomy of male and female roles in ancient Chinese society would make cross-dressing, especially for a woman to enter a “man’s world”, highly treacherous, cross- dressing was viewed as amusing or as a seemingly simple plot device.11 The original ballad, for example, makes no mention of Mulan’s crossdressing until the end of the poem, where she reveals herself to be a woman to her comrades after twelve years of concealing it. Mulan’s cross-dressing was accepted by audiences because of the urgency of the situation, and is figured as a solution that aids in fulfilling her filial piety and loyalty to the state.12 Additionally, what solves the issue of Mulan gaining power in the “man’s world” is her return to the domestic sphere.13 Given the ballad’s lack of attention to her cross-dressing, it is not surprising that patriarchal themes still exist within the story, despite feminist interpretations that came into play in the early twentieth century, especially with the creation of Disney’s adaptation in 1998.
7 Lan, 229; Joseph R. Allen, “Dressing and Undressing the Chinese Woman Warrior,” positions 4, no. 2 (1996): 346; Edwards, “Transformations of the Woman Warrior Hua Mulan: From Defender of the Family to Servant of the State,”, 175-177; Li, 189; Kwa and Idema, vii, xii. 8 Tso Wing Bo, 115, 118. 9 Lan, 233; Edwards, “Transformations of the Woman Warrior Hua Mulan: From Defender of the Family to Servant of the State,”, 180 10 Kwa and Idema, xii; Edwards, “Transformations of the Woman Warrior Hua Mulan: From Defender of the Family to Servant of the State,”, 176. 11 Tso Wing Bo, 112; Edwards, “Transformations of the Woman Warrior Hua Mulan: From Defender of the Family to Servant of the State,”, 177. 12 Allen, 347; Roland Allenburger, “Is it Clothes that Makes the Man? Cross-Dressing, Gender and Sex in Pre-Twentieth Century Zhu Yingtai Lore,” Asian Folklore Studies 64, no. 2 (2005): 170, 181. 13 Tso Wing Bo, 116; Allen, 347; Allenburger, 180.
44 The original ballad of Mulan, as previously mentioned, is dated generally around the Wei period, and was, ironically, brought to China by a non-Chinese tribe called the Xianbei.14 The poem is generally thought to have been originally featured in the Yuefu shiji in the twelfth century A.D., written by an anonymous writer. Though there are claims that the poem originated in the Gujin yuelu, these claims cannot be verified, as the document no longer exists.15 The ballad generally describes Mulan’s filial piety and loyalty, placing emphasis on bonds formed extraneously of gender differences and roles, sexual obscurity through one’s change of dress, and the idea that it was Mulan’s deeds that made her a man, not her biological sex.16 This is evident through the ease at which Mulan can change from male to female roles, by merely changing her appearance. Mulan is allowed to transgress her female roles through the help of her family and kin, though little mention is made of her “maleness”.17 This transgression is not addressed at all within the original ballad, due to its more temporary nature. The ballad begins establishing Mulan’s feminine character by placing her at the loom, which is considered to be a feminine task.18 The narrator inquires into “who’s in [Mulan’s] heart, [sic] who’s on her mind,”, to which she responds that no one is in her heart or mind; her sighs are caused by the grief she has for her ill and aging father being forced to go to war.19 Here, it is implied that thoughts of romance usually occupy a woman’s mind. In order to protect her aging father, Mulan resolves to go to war in his place, buying armor and a horse as part of her transformation into a man.20 No mention is made of her enthusiasm to go to war to defend her country; her only concern is keeping her family safe, as seen by the many reiterations of her filial piety throughout the ballad.21 Her hardships in war is not mentioned in any part of the ballad, except for the descriptions of conditions of the harsh environment and the war itself. The ballad then jumps directly to Mulan being awarded for her victories in war, to which she responds that “[she] has no use for a minister’s post,”, as her duties in the domestic sphere are more important to
14 Li, 188; Bohnenkamp, 326; Kwa and Idema, xiii 15 Kwa and Idema, xiii. 16 Jing Yin, “Popular Culture and Public Imaginary: Disney vs. Chinese Stores of Mulan,” The Public 18, no. 1 (2011): 65, 69; Kwa and Idema, xiv-xv. 17 Kwa and Idema, xv; Yin, 69. 18 Allen, 347. 19 Anonymous, “The Ballad of Mulan,” in The Flowering Plum and the Palace Lady: Interpretations of Chinese Poetry, Edited by Han H. Frankel (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976): 68. 20 Edwards, “Transformations of the Woman Warrior Hua Mulan: From Defender of the Family to Servant of the State,”, 184. 21 Allen, 349; Edwards, “Transformations of the Woman Warrior Hua Mulan: From Defender of the Family to Servant of the State,”, 180.
45 her than the spoils and valor of war.22 Mulan then returns to her home and domestic sphere, correcting any transgressions she made crossing into the “man’s world” as a woman; “tak[ing] off [her] wartime gown/And put[ting] on [her] old-time clothes.”23 After it is revealed that Mulan is a woman, the ballad ends with this amusing quote: “The he-hare’s feet go hop and skip/The she-hare’s eyes are muddled and fuddled./Two hares running side by side to the ground,/How can they tell if I am he or she?”24 The light-hearted nature of this ending suggests a vague hint at essential gender equality, and here, Mulan is simply revelling in her own resourcefulness and capability.25 It is necessary to note that this reference to gender equality is likely not a proto-feminist idea, because of Mulan’s requirement to dress and essentially “be” a man in order to access the male power seen in going to war. In addition, she relinquishes this power easily by returning home and dressing as female. Nothing is changed in Mulan’s transgression of male gender roles, and Mulan’s role in the war, as told in the ballad, is not described to be particularly impactful. Xu Wei’s play, titled Ci Mulan, is one of the first adaptations of Mulan that builds off of the original ballad.26 Ci Mulan is part of a four-part collection of plays, including Kuang gushi, Yu chanshi and Nü zhuangyuan. These four plays are about women taking the places of men in legal and civil service. The play itself is not concerned with historical accuracies and was primarily for drama and entertainment, drawing on themes of identity, performance, disguise and recognition, while presenting culturally imposed additions by Xu Wei.27 Xu Wei’s Ci Mulan follows along the same plot as the ballad, albeit with some additions needed for the length and drama that he desired. There is much greater emphasis within Ci Mulan on Mulan as a female hero, and female heroes in general, with references to other venerated figures such as Qin Xiu and Tiying.28 In this play, Mulan is presented as an archetypal woman warrior, as a woman who is bold enough to take male roles and is later referenced as a predecessor of other future courageous Chinese women.29 Much emphasis is made on her femininity throughout the play, such as the need to unbind her feet (with the reassurance that her feet will be rebound upon her return), the imperative need for her chastity to remain intact
22 Anonymous, “The Ballad of Mulan,”, 71; Allen; 350. 23 Allen, 350; Anonymous, ”The Ballad of Mulan,”, 72; Li, 190. 24 Anonymous, “The Ballad of Mulan,”, 72. 25 Tian and Xiong, 867; Li; 189. 26 Qian Ma, 130. 27 Kwa and Idema, xiv, xvii. 28 Xu Wei, “Ci Mulan” in Women in Traditional Chinese Theatre: The Heroine’s Play. Edited by Qian Ma, (New York: University Press of America, 2005): 134. 29 Ma, 131.
46 during the war, and the fact that she needed to remind herself of things such as “remember[ing] to bow like a man.”30 Her female limitations are often referenced within the play, such as when she questions why she has to “be a man/to serve [her] father’s needs.”31 On the other hand, her capability of succeeding in war like any other man is emphasized through her fighting prowess, stating that she is “a girl of beauty/inside the household portal/but who says I’m not a hero/once I’m in the saddle?”32 Like the Ballad of Mulan, her maleness is not explicitly referenced to in favour of her femininity, though the Ci Mulan takes a great deal more time emphasizing Mulan as female, and the achievements that she is able to obtain as a woman, or rather, despite the fact that she is a woman. In addition to Mulan’s return home and her rejection of government positions, gender balance is restored within Ci Mulan through the necessity of Mulan’s actions and the addition of a marriage, as Ming audiences did not consider these stories to have ended until the heroine was properly married off.33 Upon her return, she is married to Mr. Wang, a virtuous male that willcontinue the military career that Mulan had left behind. Her femininity is enhanced in this scene when Mulan is portrayed to be bashful at meeting her new husband for the first time. Like the ballad, the play ends with the analogy of the rabbits, remarking that “there are many confusing things in the world; this story recounts failure to distinguish sexes.”34 Although Ci Mulan is more explicit at returning Mulan to her female roles, it also further emphasises the gender equality that was vaguely hinted at in the original ballad. Moving forward, portrayals of Mulan in the Qing dynasty build on the perception of Mulan as seen in the Ming dynasty, and add their own unique additions to her story. The Qing dynasty, reacting to a change in regime emphasised by changes in language, costume, and hairstyle have had a noticeable effect on portrayals of Mulan. This resulted in new additions to the story with new emphasis on filial piety and patriotism with ethnic ties.35 While chastity and virtue were still highly emphasised in Mulan, the unique addition of the trope of suicide to her story — figured as an expression of her purity and a statement against the unreasonable demands of the government — was added during the Qing dynasty.36 Mulan is the most preeminent character
30 Wei, 135, 138 -139, 146. 31 Wei, 134; Ma, 132. 32 Wei, 137, 141; Ma, 131. 33 Ma, 131-132; Wei, 145, 147; Kwa and Idema, xviii. 34 Wei, 148. 35 Kwa and Idema, xx. 36 Kwa and Idema, xx; Lan, 235; Edwards, “Transformations of the Woman Warrior Hua Mulan: From Defender of the Family to Servant of the State,” 185
47 in narrative discourses of woman warriors in Qing dynasty adaptations, likely due to the original anti-government sentiment of the original ballad. Her popularity emphasizes the sustained popularity of the woman warrior and the Confucian value of filial piety, although life for Mulan is entirely different from that of her Qing audiences.37 Portrayals of Mulan during the Qing dynasty appeared mainly in the form of novels. Zhang Shaoxian, who wrote Bei Wei qishi guixiaolie zhuan, portrays Mulan as moral figure through her Confucian values of loyalty and filial piety, but also through her self-sacrificing nature, as she gives up her marriage so that the other may be happy.38 This theme of self-sacrifice and martyrdom is continued in another version of Mulan called Zhongziao qinu zhuan, where Mulan faces the dilemma of remaining loyal to her parents or following the orders of the emperor. Unable to comply with the demands of the emperor, she kills herself, sends her heart to the emperor and is buried alongside her parents.39 As well, Mulan qinü zhuan plays on the virtue of suicide during the Qing dynasty, where suicide is used as a high crescendo of anti-imperialism as the loyal Mulan is destroyed by the state, with her suicide revealing that the government is unworthy of hersacrifice.40 These strong reactions in response to the unreasonable state are likely statements of Han distaste for Manchu rules and regulations, hinting at the ethnic tensions that existed between the two groups during the Qing dynasty.41 The most famous example of novels about Mulan during the Qing dynasty is the Historical Romances of the Sui and Tang, or the Sui Tang Yang. In Historical Romances of the Sui and Tang, the tomboyish Mulan learns martial arts, refuses to marry and goes to war in her father’s place.42 Mulan attempts to save her leader, Henshan Khan but is captured by the daughter of the enemy, Dou Xianniang.43 Upon finding out that Mulan is a woman, Xianniang is impressed by Mulan’s filial piety and decides to keep Mulan as a personal assistant.44 Similar to other stories of Mulan in the Qing dynasty, her parents die while she is away, and the emperor attempts to take her into
37 Louise Edwards, “Woman Warriors and Amazons of Mid Qing Texts Jinghua Yuan and Honglou Meng,” Modern Asian Studies 29, no. 2 (May 1995): 226-227. 38 Lan, 234. 39 Ibid. 235. 40 Edwards, “Transformations of the Woman Warrior Hua Mulan: From Defender of the Family to Servant of the State,” 190. 41 Ibid. 187. 42 Ibid. 188. 43 Chu Renhou, “Historical Romance of Sui and Tang, Chapters 56-61,” in Mulan: Five Version of a Classic Chinese Legend with Related Texts. Edited and translated by Shiamin Kwa and Wilt L. Idema (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2010), 119. 44 Renhou, 120; Edwards, “Transformations of the Woman Warrior Hua Mulan: From Defender of the Family to Servant of the State,” 186.
48 his harem.45 In response, she kills herself as a resistant response to the empire, demonstrating her value in the Qing dynasty as a loyal anti-imperialist. The fact that her valor and bravery is not enough to demonstrate filial piety in the Qing dynasty is a drastic contrast to the original ballad and previous portrayals of Mulan. However, this sort of characterization of Mulan is quite unique to the Qing dynasty; the trope of suicide is eventually dropped out of the narrative in the interest of including more uplifting themes. Portrayals of Mulan in the twentieth century take an interesting departure from previous periods. Ironically, following the anti-state discourse found in pre-twentieth century narratives, Mulan is further nationalised by the Qing dynasty portrayal, as she is modified into a Han Chinese loyalist that battles barbaric outsiders as an allegory for national identity in China in the twentieth century.46 She is also adapted into the model for engagement in public affairs and national modernization in China, and also serves as a beacon for the modernization of women. Women were seen to be the primary reason for China’s backwardness in the twentieth century, reasoned by China’s defeat by Japan in 1895.47 As well, the twentieth century adds the interpretation of Mulan’s story as feminist; an unprecedented view that would have no place in pre-twentieth century narratives.48 Interestingly enough, in some of these versions of Mulan, filial piety is added as an afterthought, as opposed to the main goal.49 The continuing appeal and relevancy of Mulan to twentieth century audiences is evident as some of the original aspects are removed or altered in favour of more modern concerns, while still retaining the original appeal and message. While these changes were made with the intention of using Mulan and her story for their own agendas, it is worth noting that these changes were likely necessary as the political climate of the early twentieth century would otherwise have let Mulan fall into ancient obscurity. Plays and literature involving Mulan in the twentieth century often centered around the wartime culture of 1937. Prior to the breakout of the Sino-Japanese war, plays were only considered as entertainment for the urban educated minority.50 They were then subsequently used as powerful propaganda by the Shanghai Theatre Circle National Salvation, whose goals
45 Edwards, “Transformations of the Woman Warrior Hua Mulan: From Defender of the Family to Servant of the State,” 186; Renhuo, 120; Kwa and Idema, xx. 46 Kwa and Idema, xii; Edwards, “Transformations of the Woman Warrior Hua Mulan: From Defender of the Family to Servant of the State,” 179-180. 47 Edwards, “Transformations of the Woman Warrior Hua Mulan: From Defender of the Family to Servant of the State,” 194-195; Kwa and Idema, xxiv 48 Edwards, “Transformations of the Woman Warrior Hua Mulan: From Defender of the Family to Servant of the State,” 177. 49 Kwa and Idema, xxiv. 50 Chang-Tai Hung, “Female Symbols of Resistance in Chinese Wartime Spoken Drama,” Modern China 15, no. 2 (April 1989): 150.
49 were to rally citizens for the resistance movement against the Japanese and “spread patriotic news to the countryside and the battlefield.”51 Specifically, female symbols were important during wartime China as a cultural tool during a time of national crisis, and were used to imprint a spread of nationalistic and virtuous ideas to emulate.52 Naturally, as plays that focused on heroines popped up, Mulan ended up being one of the most popular characters in wartime dramas. Traditional characters like Mulan were used as they drew more appeal and were more convenient than making entirely new characters.53 She was considered to be a historical figure that reminded people of China’s struggle against invaders, and thus was an effective symbol of resistance to the Chinese public.54 It was advantageous to portray Mulan as a patriot with her familiar image, as it was necessary to connect to illiterate peasants without the use of written language.55 As well, her status as a female warrior was used in China’s long tradition of woman warriors in theatre, portraying her as captivating with the juxtaposition of beauty and military prowess.56 However, Mulan and other female warriors were portrayed in an different light, with female warriors having noble ideals and courage, while the male warriors in these plays struggle, as they were portrayed to be less talented and resolute, and often shown as sources of depravity and cruelty.57 The fact that Mulan was used to attack Confucian values is not surprising in this more progressive portrayal of women warriors.58 In these contexts, Mulan exhibited martial skills, valour, loyalty, charm, grace, and further, urged women to emulate her in their capacity for action as well as intellect.59 These plays also strayed away from the May Fourth ethos of pursuing romance and individual emancipation in favour of nationalism and collectivism, emphasising the imperative nature surrounding the national crisis that these writers were speaking against.60 Drama was evidently used as a powerful political and social tool, so this encouragement worked just as well as it did for previous audiences in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Ouyang Yuqian’s Mulan Joins the Army, which is set in the Tang dynasty, is one of many plays written to dramatize and revive the heroic deeds of Mulan. In this play, Yuqian embellishes the story of Mulan, doing so in
51 Hung, 150. 52 Ibid. 151-152. 53 Ibid. 168 54 Ibid. 171. 55 Ibid. 171. 56 Hung, 171-172. 57 Ibid. 169. 58 Ibid. 170. 59 Ibid. 161-162. 60 Hung, 152, 167, 170; Kwa and Idema, xxviii.
50 order to fit wartime ideals and contemporary issues in wartime China: anti- Japanese sentiment, loyalty to nation and filial piety as an extension of this loyalty, and themes of traitors and evil ministers within China itself.61 In the opening scene, Mulan demonstrates her superiority over men militarily, as she is better at hunting and outwitting the two men that harass her. Mulan’s masculinity is further emphasised with her mother’s comment of “[wondering] if what [she’s] seeing is or isn’t a girl,”, effectively portraying Mulan as a mischievous tomboy.62 Mulan’s filial piety is emphasised as she reasons that her father ought to be at home enjoying his old age, and remarks that she is grateful for being taught martial arts, as it allows her to serve the two “perfect goals” of serving the country and fulfilling her filial duty.63 Her personal conviction of duty to the nation is emphasised by her willingness to accept duty, no matter what hardships lie ahead of her; a patriotic message sent for the viewers to apply to China’s situation at the time.64 Some mention is made of Mulan’s femininity, although it is less pronounced than previous versions of the story; Han and Liu sometimes fantasize about Mulan’s strange beauty, and at one point Mulan flirts with soldiers in order to advance her mission to infiltrate the enemy camp. Similar to previous versions, this portrayal sends the message of one’s ability to accomplish greatness for the nation, regardless of one’s gender. A similar Henan opera, created in 1956 by Liu Guoqian and Zhang Xinshi for the People’s Republic of China, emphasises Mulan’s role as a moral exemplar of national citizens. In the Communist spirit of the time period, heavy emphasis is placed on the importance of women’s contributions to the nation, even in roles that were specifically made for women. These contributions were considered equal to the ones that men contributed in their male-specific roles, wherein the authors promote gender equality while maintaining the gender differences of women and men as inevitable.65 In this case, Mulan is portrayed as a patriot and advocate of sex equality and is used for both feminist and political purposes. One interesting anomaly in the narrative of plays and literature portraying Mulan is Maxine Kingston’s novel titled The Woman Warrior, which was
61 Hung, 165, 167; Kwa and Idema, xxviii-xxvix. 62 Ouyang Yuqian, “Mulan Joins the Army,” in Mulan: Five Version of a Classic Chinese Legend with Related Texts. Edited and translated by Shiamin Kwa and Wilt L. Idema (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2010), 59; “Transformations of the Woman Warrior Hua Mulan: From Defender of the Family to Servant of the State,” 195. 63 Yuqian, 63-64, 67; Kwa and Idema, xxvix. 64 Yuqian, 64; Edwards, “Transformations of the Woman Warrior Hua Mulan: From Defender of the Family to Servant of the State,” 195. 65 Edwards, “Transformations of the Woman Warrior Hua Mulan: From Defender of the Family to Servant of the State,” 202.
51 originally published in 1976. This adaptation of Mulan entails a search for self-salvation in becoming a woman warrior who can defend herself.66 The Woman Warrior also features a narrative of self-possessive feminism, and is a personal story with a national allegory of peasant uprising.67 In a sense, Kingston used Mulan as a symbol for the oppression that she felt as a Chinese-American woman.68 This version of Mulan is considered to be highly controversial, as it was Orientalist in nature and was criticised for distorting Chinese and Chinese-American history.69 This narrative is an example of how Mulan can be reappropriated to fit into even the most obscure of scenarios. Films that include the portrayal of Mulan’s story, like the plays published in previous time periods, were also created to push certain agendas. The film script of Mulan Joins the Army, published in 1903 by an anonymous writer, fits in with the nationalist and feminist discourse of the early twentieth century. In this film, Mulan is shown to not only demonstrate national loyalty as she urges her cousin Boshi to participate in the war for the welfare of her parents and family, she scolds him for being a ‘weakling and good-for- nothing unlike the greatest heroes in China.”70 She laments the fact that she was far too young and not born as a male to be able to participate in the war in her father’s place. The feminist discourse of this film shines through when Mulan declares that “[she has] always wanted to join the army and shame those men,” and makes such comments on her “all-overpowering rage” as a female hero, and her desire to “slaughter the dragon with [her] bare hands/ and achieve merit in this acrobatic performance… as light as a swallow/and beautiful as a flower!”71 Mulan is portrayed as quite aggressive in this film, through her aforementioned all-overpowering rages, stating desires to “splatter [her] battle gown with blood” and force her male comrades to “deeply bow down before [her] toilette table.”72 However, Mulan still acknowledges that what she does in her cousin’s name will not be of her own merit, and that what she does is out of filial piety and not for the personal advancement of female status in China. This leaves a weak balance to the feminism in Mulan Joins the Army, a feminism which would otherwise not be portrayed in other versions of Mulan.73
66 Lan, 237. 67 Ibid. 238. 68 Kwa and Idema, xxxi. 69 Lan, 229; Kwa and Idema, xxxii. 70 Anonymous, “Mulan Joins the Army” in Mulan: Five Version of a Classic Chinese Legend with Related Texts. Edited and translated by Shiamin Kwa and Wilt L. Idema (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2010): 34, 36. 71 Anonymous, “Mulan Joins the Army,” 37, 41, 42. 72 Ibid. 46-47. 73 Ibid. 38, 46.
52 Lady General Hua Mu-Lan, directed by Yueh Feng in 1964 is another twentieth century film that uses Mulan and adapts it to its own agenda. In this case, Mulan is adapted to a more Communist and patriotic theme, which becomes evident through Mulan saying lines such as “Who wouldn’t enlist themselves?” and “if one’s a good soldier, then gender doesn’t matter. If one can help out the country, who cares or not if there’s a disguise?” Like other versions of Mulan, she is portrayed as having great military skill, and a great ability to adjust to male comradery, if not too enthusiastically, through a scene where she is challenged to drink with her comrades. An interesting stylistic choice in this movie further emphasises her masculinity: Mulan sings in a lower pitch when around other males, as opposed to when she is heard singing by herself. While Mulan promotes gender equality in scolding Wang about his view of women’s “laziness” in their contributions to the war, she is still made subtly feminine in her attraction to General Li, and in her return to her demure and modest female self after she returns from the war. Despite this, she is still praised by the other men as the “bravest, incomparable for generations, and treats everyone as her brothers.” The mixed messages of gender roles and norms are also classically shifted when Mulan receives a sword as a present from Li, and Mulan gives Li a stylish purse. It seems that in twentieth century retellings, only one of two narratives are largely present at once: feminism, or patriotism and nationalism. The Communist narratives of Lady General Hua Mu-Lan and Liu Guoquan and Zhang Xinshi’s Henan opera seem to minimize the individual emancipation of women and feminist ideals, while film adaptations of Mulan Joins the Army from 1903 and 1939 prefer a more feminist interpretation of Mulan. No analysis on the portrayals of Mulan would be complete without discussion of Disney’s Mulan, initially released in the West in 1998. Generally speaking, Mulan was well received around the world, especially by the West.74 As part of Disney’s initiative of the ‘new woman’, Mulan is portrayed as a symbol of girl power and progressiveness, and is described as independent, heroic, strong and courageous.75 Like many other versions of Mulan, Disney’s Mulan incorporates young romance as a plot device that ends the story, but the contact between American and Chinese culture is not well perceived by Chinese scholars.76 Disney’s Mulan has been criticised for many reasons. It contains historical and cultural inaccuracies, as seen through the mixture of “Chinese” additions
74 Kwa and Idema, xxxii; Tian and Xiong, 862. 75 Yin, 54, 68; Tian and Xiong, 863; Li, 187, 190-191; Gwendolyn Limbach, “’You the Man, Well, Sorta’: Gender Binaries and Liminality in Mulan,” in Diversity in Disney Films: Critical Essays on Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexuality and Disability. Edited by Johnson Cheu (Mcfarland, 2013): 115, 124. 76 Tian and Xiong, 862-863.
53 and the decontextualizing, domesticating, and universalization of content in the film in an attempt to retain its “Chineseness.”77 Disney’s Mulan makes various changes in the way the story is portrayed, some of which seem critical of Chinese culture, such as the portrayal of Chinese culture as sexist and backward by allowing Mulan to be forced into this predicament.78 Furthermore, Chinese scholars criticise Disney’s Mulan for Americanizing both Mulan and her story with the values that American fairy tales tend to project, and further through the portrayal of Mulan as an ancient Chinese girl.79 Disney transforms Mulan’s journey from one of filial piety and nationalism to one of self-discovery and actualization, and imports the idea that Mulan is on this journey to form her own individual identity.80 As well, Disney’s Mulan appears to promote the idea of feminism, although Disney cannot and does not criticize traditional gender roles or alter them in any meaningful way, due to the fact that they require these roles to base their movies upon.81 Along with the basic themes of the movie, Mulan herself is changed in a way that is perceived as negative by Chinese scholars. She is transformed into a rebellious, clumsy and awkward teenage girl that has next to no military prowess.82 Her rebelliousness is a very clear departure from previous versions of Mulan, as she cuts off her hair to impersonate as a man and runs away from home, as opposed to begrudgingly obtaining permission from her parents to go to war in her father’s place, further straying from the original meaning of Mulan.83 It is not surprising that Chinese scholars prefer to exclude Disney’s Mulan as a legitimate version of the classical story. The classic Mulan acted from duty, did not struggle with being a “good daughter” and was always dutiful. She also did not need to separate herself as an individual from her fellow soldiers and the rest of society.84 Disney’s Mulan is also unique in the way that she resists both being female and male. While this film contains the disruption that occurs when women become men, it also emphasises the processes of feminization and masculinization in certain aspects of the film.85 In order to become brides and thus successful women in Mulan’s society, all women need to submit to femininity, as seen by the fabled match-making process in the opening sequence of the film.86 Mulan resists this through her discomfort of having
77 Tian and Xiong, 863, 865; Yin, 57, 60, 64, 66; Renjie, 31; Li, 191 78 Yin, 60, 61 79 Tian and Xiong, 863; Yin, 54, 60; Renjie, 31; Li, 191, 194; Limbach, 115. 80 Li, 191; Yin, 58-59. 81 Li, 194-195; Limbach, 115, 121, 125. 82 Tian and Xiong, 867; Yin, 57; Li, 191; Limbach, 116. 83 Yin, 67 84 Ibid. 66-68. 85 Limbach, 116 86 Yin, 61.
54 her hair styled, clothes put on, and makeup applied. As well, Mulan resists becoming male by remarking that the men were “gross”, violent and overly sexual, as seen by Mulan’s suggestion that she’d “like a girl with a brain who always speaks her mind.” The difference between being male and female in Disney’s Mulan is over-stated in the idea that a woman’s body is not her own, while a man is required to maintain physical self-awareness, meaning that it was up to Mulan to “make herself a man.”87 Disney’s Mulan clearly portrays a crisis of self and individuality, as well as a light-hearted dialogue on gender inequalities as displayed in this film. Mulan is portrayed to be more creative and original in the way that she solves her problems, as illustrated by the way she does her morning chores and her ability to solve board games at a quick glance. This imparts a sense of “uniqueness” to Mulan’s character, at trait that is not highly emphasised in any other version of Mulan. As well, her inability to conform to societal norms is clear, with the analogy of Mulan as a “late bloomer” whose true self would “break her families’ heart.” This sets up a crisis of the individual that peaks when she is discovered to be a woman, shortly after her victory against the Huns. This scene is where she questions her own competence and goals because of her perceived failure, stating that “maybe I went to prove that I could do what’s right, so that when I’d look in the mirror I’d see something worthwhile.”88 Her conflict in terms of gender is also visible in the song “Reflection”, where removal of her makeup (an allegory for her femininity) is used to reveal her true self, since she believes that she cannot be a perfect bride and her true self at the same time.89 The dialogue on gender inequality and sexism is very clear throughout the film, with the establishment of impersonating a soldier as high treason, and Mu Shu’s comically cruel offhand comment that no one is listening to her “because you’re a girl, remember?” In general, Disney’s Mulan is clearly incongruent with previous versions of Mulan, with its own flaws and mistakes. It must be noted that this film was intended for an audience of young children, so not all of the themes shown in the original and previous versions of Mulan can be fully explored. However, its appeal and success in the West cannot allow for this version of Mulan to be simply ignored as a historically and culturally inaccurate “mistake.” It is interesting to note that in response to Disney’s Mulan, a film directed by Jingle Ma titled Hua Mulan was released in mainland China in 2009. In essence, the film was an attempt to reclaim Mulan from Disney in its dedication to being historically, culturally, and politically accurate,
87 Limbach, 120-121. 88 Tian and Xiong, 867; Yin, 59. 89 Yin, 60.
55 restoring gender and historic significance to Mulan while re-feminising and politicizing the story.90 Mulan is recreated once more as a heroic woman who is fundamentally defined by filial piety and patriotism, and who is loving and devoted to her father.91 In this version, she is given a military education and a quick wit, is domesticated and submissive, and is considered to have a great future life after saving her father, in comparison to Disney Mulan’s bleak future as an unmarriable daughter.92 In this film, Mulan is not a woman disguised as a man, rather, she is a woman who fights the war as herself, leaving out the conflict between internal femininity and external masculinity, or the storyline of having to feign external masculinity, as seen in other versions of the story.93 The fact that the film Hua Mulan takes great strides to separate itself as an entity from Disney’s Mulan, and further isolate it from the history of Mulan as a direct response to the movie itself, suggests that the public reception of Disney’s Mulan in China was by no means exaggerated. Since the creation of the original ballad more than a millennium ago, the story of Mulan has been adapted and transplanted into varying historical, cultural, and political contexts as part of a national discussion on virtue, filial piety, loyalty and nationalism. As well, Mulan has allowed for discussion of gender expectations and norms in Chinese society, within the comfortable confines of Chinese theatre, literature, and film, where it was allowed to flourish without becoming controversial or negatively perceived by Chinese society. In analyzing Mulan’s progression over time, one may trace an interesting potential timeline of the development of patriotism, nationalism, feminism and egalitarianism in China. Given the fact that Mulan is still a prominent aspect of China’s culture in present day, it is clear that Mulan is a “girl worth fighting for.”
90 Li, 187-188, 192-193. 91 Ibid. 193. 92 Ibid. 193-194. 93 Ibid. 197.
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