Origins

The earliest known writing of The Ballad of Hua Mulan was recorded in Guijin yuelu, by Zhi Jiang c. 568 A.D. The earliest extant version of the work, however, comes to us from Guo Maoqian twelfth-century compilation, Yuefu shiji or Collection of Music-Bureau Poems, as the former has been lost to time[Lan, 2003, p.231].

Where did The Ballad of Hua Mulan come from, then? For the most part, it’s believed that the poem originated in the Northern Wei, around the fifth and sixth centuries—“a time,” Lan tells us,

...when the Northern Wei was engaged in a series of wars against foreign invaders. There have been efforts to identify the military event in the poem with a famous battle in which Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei defeated the invading Rouran army in 429 A.D. [Lan, 2003, p.231]

Northern Wei

A non-Chinese, i.e. non-Han dynasty, this dynasty was ruled by the Xianbei tribe. At first, this non-Sino aristocracy was resistant to Chinese custom and culture, though later, most notably in the era of Emperor Xiaowen (471-77), said ruling class began to encourage the assimilation of Chinese customs and values. The dynasty was starting to decline at this time; this assimilation was intended to strengthen ties and lessen tension rather than endorse Chinese customs and Confucianism.

Mulan in Disney

The Disney film [1], Mulan is how most many people in the West first became acquainted with this tale (myself included). In the past decade, the story has garnered much attention—its unfamiliarity helping to make it a hit. The main character, Mulan herself, is easily identified with—most young women can relate to feelings of not belonging, of difference, of wanting to prove themselves. But is this a true representation of the Mulan in the tale?

Yes and no. As with many of their adaptations, Disney appears to have used a revisionist telling as source material. Versions—particularly Confucianist versions—of Mulan abound, but it seems likely that the Disney version of the story was most heavily influenced by the anonymously penned Zhingxiaoyonglie qinu zhuan, (The Legendary Story of a Girl Who Is Loyal, Filial, Heroic, and Chaste). Though it “completely Siniticizes” [Lan, p.235] the tale, Zhingxiaoyonglie qinu zhuan is the most popular prose account. One recognisable feature of both tales is the Emperor—in Zhingxiaoyonglie qinu zhuan, the author has changed the Emperor to Taizong of the Tang dynasty, and Disney appears to have kept this change.

Another version of Mulan, however, also appears to have influenced the tale. Interestingly,a 16th century (Ming Dynasty) play by Xu Wei begins with Mulan singing an aria “about her desire to find a place for herself among the heroes and heroines of history”. Although the link is somewhat tenuous, the Disney song, Reflection, is easily brought to mind. Xu Wei’s version of the tale, while not as well known as Zhingxiaoyonglie qinu zhuan, is still important—it is here, notes Jeannette Faurot, that the tale’s tone first begins to change. As Susan Mann writes,

Besides duty, Xu Wei’s Mulan is motivated by her excitement at the prospect of going off to war to use skills her father had taught her.

It’s also likely that it was Xu Wei who gave Mulan the “Hua” (Fa, in Cantonese). A well-known critic of Confucianism, his work seeks to make a case for a Chinese tradition of female heroism, going farther than the original, saying that women “can stand upright on their two legs between heaven and earth” [Mann, p.234]. It is the hands of this dramatist that Mulan first takes on her most recognisable colours.

Zhingxiaoyonglie qinu zhuan, the afore-mentioned 1732 revision is the most radical revision of the tale, presenting Mulan as a Han woman from a good Confucianist family, in contrast to the earlier, Northern Mulan. Generally speaking, tracing such ethnicities if of little use; attempting to verify a suggested ethnicity may even be an exercise in futility. But the differences between Mulan in the Northern Wei and Mulan as a Confucianist woman (such revisions first appeared in the Tang Dynasty) are vast; as Lan notes, such a character as Mulan could only surface in a time and place in which Confucianism had “lost its sway”.


A Northern Horsewoman?

Let us first look at Mulan as a Northern woman. Consider the following excerpts from The Ballad of Hua Mulan:

“I want to buy a saddle and horse/and serve in the army in Father’s place…
She doesn’t hear the sound of Father and Mother calling
She only hears the Yellow River’s flowing water cry tsien tsien.”

These lines aptly illustrate Mulan’s courage, valour, and loyalty. The business of war is not something to be taken lightly; Mulan’s decision to take her father’s place is both brave and kind. Moreover, even when she is away from home, possibly for the first time, Mulan puts her family behind her and focuses on the moment.

“She goes ten thousand miles on the business of war,
She crosses passes and mountains like flying…
…Stout soldiers return after ten years…”

Ten thousand miles! To travel even one thousand miles “on the business of war” is an achievement. And to spend ten years at war—here, it seems the poem suggests that, to travel so far and remain unharmed, Mulan must have great skill as a fighter and horse woman.

“The Khan asks her what she desires,
‘Mulan has no use for a minister's post.
I wish to ride a swift mount
To take me back to my home.’"

Here, we return to loyalty, but also to duty—Mulan has done what she must, by her father and the emperor. Now, the ever-loyal daughter and sister, she seeks only to return to home in relative obscurity. She is humble.

The above traits show us Mulan as a Northern horsewoman, aligned with images of other Northern horsewomen of the same period [Lan, p.232] [2]. Moreover, there is some evidence that the poem is also aligned with a shared value system of the Northern peoples, including the Xianbei [Lan, p.232].


Or a Confucian ideal?

In The Sage and the Second Sex, Chenyang Li discusses the role of women in a Confucianist society, noting that the ideal woman was “the obedient daughter, the faithful wife, the sacrificing mother [Ching Chung via Li, p.9]. Others have defined the ideal Confucianist woman as gentle and graceful, almost princess-like. She is pious, chaste, and bound by filial duty, always remembering the Confucian three cardinal guides—monarch guides subject, father guides son, husband guides wife.

Zhingxiaoyonglie qinu zhuan makes much of Mulan’s Confucianist upbringing and, as such, her understanding that loyalty to the state and family serve the same ends. As a virtuous person, then it is Mulan’s duty to replaces her father, too old to fight [Mann, p.236].

Her exploits continue as before—we are told that Mulan makes war for ten years, then returns home. But while she has been away, her parents have passed on; learning this, she immediately vows to tend their graves for the rest of her life. Soon after the vow, though, the Emperor invites Mulan to serve at the imperial court. The narrative becomes less clear here—some think the Emperor’s invitation to serve at court is simply that, an invitation to serve at court, while others have argued it is a veiled invite to become his concubine.

As a Confucian woman, Mulan is now in trouble. Her duty to the Emperor is first, above all but she has a made a vow to her parents also. Does she refuse the Emperor? Does she break her filial vow? Whichever she chooses, she brings shame upon herself and her family. There is only one option—the Confucian Mulan commits suicide, thereby preserving “her integrity as an obedient daughter, loyal subject, and chaste virgin” [Lan, p.236].

Zhingxiaoyonglie qinu zhuan presents a very different Mulan to the Northern Horsewoman discussed above. And yet, she is still recognisable under the veil of Confucianism—Mulan is kind, loyal, and brave, noted for her integrity. It is unsurprising, then, that Confucian writers sought to rewrite her story and polish her up as a model for the ideal Confucian woman—and yet when shown so, the strong heroine we admire becomes tragic and pathetic in the end[3].

Is Mulan real?

Some say yes; some say no. Many small Chinese towns have claimed to be the home of Hua Mulan and many have shrines dedicated to her.

In Women Warriors and Amazons of the Mid Qing Texts Jinghua Yuan and Honglou Meng, Louise Edwards writes,

Mulan (c. 618) was born to the Wei family in Anhui. During the tumultuous years that led to the fall of the Sui, Mulan’s aged, ailing father was called to the army to defend the nation against northern invaders. Mulan, appreciating that her father was too weak to fulfil his duty, dons male attire and takes his place. She battles as a man, with none suspecting her sex, for twelve years before finally returning home and resuming her female life. On hearing of this remarkable occurrence the Emperor requested that she join his palace, but Mulan refused and committed suicide rather than obey his command.

As with many stories from antiquity, it is hard to determine the truth. But even if Mulan herself was not real, the idea of a woman courageous, loyal, resourceful, intelligent, and kind will continue to be as real as we choose to make it.

Footnotes:

[1] Note: as many films do, Disney took artistic license with the film. This is, for the most part, okay—but many people have taken issue—and rightly so, to this writer—with the representation of the Huns as invaders in the film. To my knowledge, the opposing side in the tale is never named; the Huns were a Disney addition, and are unfairly portrayed as evil and barbaric. When watching the film, please be aware of this.

[2] See also Li Bo xiaomei ge, The Song of Li Bo’s Younger Sister and Ziliu ma, The Black-Tailed Red Horse.

[3] I am not a Confucian scholar; much has been said about the role of women in Confucianism, with many scholars calling the system oppressive. There are also arguments, however, that the Confucian idea of yin and yang, masculine and feminine together in one is liberating. Readers must decide for themselves.

References:

Lan, Feng, The Female Individual and the Empire: A Historicist Approach to Mulan and Kingston’s Woman Warrior, Comparative Literature, Vol. 55, No. 3. (Summer, 2003), pp. 229-245
Text kindly provided by JSTOR at http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0010-4124%28200322%2955%3A3%3C229%3ATFIATE%3E2.0.CO%3B2-C

Mann, Susan, Presidential Address: Myths of Asian Womanhood, The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 59, No. 4. (Nov., 2000), pp. 835-862.
Text kindly provided by JSTOR at http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0021-9118%28200011%2959%3A4%3C835%3APAMOAW%3E2.0.CO%3B2-7

Edwards, Louise, Women Warriors and Amazons of the Mid Qing Texts Jinghua Yuan and Honglou Meng, Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 29, No. 2. (May, 1995), pp. 225-255.
Text kindly provided by JSTOR at http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0026-749X%28199505%2929%3A2%3C225%3AWWAAOT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-T

Li, Chenyang, The Sage and the Second Sex, 2000, Open Court Publishing, n.p.