Hua Mulan, of perhaps the
Sui dynasty (581-618 C. E.), was famous for serving years in the Imperial
Army and may or may not have later
died in battle. Mulan has been depicted in varied guises over the centuries, virtually ever-present in the
Chinese cultural
discourse involving the
proper roles of women. She is almost always mentioned when someone wishes to defend the role of women in
China, and presented as an
example for women in difficult times. Possibly the most famous
heroine of China, Mulan is the central figure of traditional accounts from
ballads, to plays, to a long
novel from the
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 C. E.), to modern children's books.
The various tales have a few constant elements. Mulan's
family lives in a time of
war. The Imperial Army is carrying out instructions to recruit the men from each
household, but Mulan's family has only her aging
father. To save him from
conscription, she puts on
men's clothing and joins the army herself. She gets away with her
disguise, although it would have been a
capital offense at the time. In her several years in the army, she acquits herself so well and so honorably that she is offered an official position. Later, her former
comrades-in-arms come to her home and are shocked at the revelation that she is a
young woman. Various versions include further detail, such as her parents begging her not to leave. In some versions her father challenges her to a
duel, and to his shock she bests him with and without a
sword. Variants describe Mulan's
cleverness in
battle,
death in
combat, or even
marriage to a high official, none of which appear in the early ballads. However, almost all depictions of Mulan celebrate general attributes such as
martial fierceness,
tactical intelligence,
filial piety, and
natural beauty.