The Many Faces of Hua Mulan

A comparison of the two Disney versions of Mulan and an original drawing. 

While many of the Disney princess movies we look to detail stories of love and romance, there are those that also tell of the epic travels, trials, and tribulations of the strong women they are centered on. One of the most notable examples of this is Mulan.

Mulan’s Disney tale begins with the war against the Huns requiring more troops from Mulan’s home province. Each family is ordered to send one man eligible for war. For most, this means a son. For Mulan’s family, this is her father, who is already too old for combat. Mulan takes on the role as the family’s “son” by disguising herself to take her father’s place in the military. Her sex aside, she manages to fight, and almost single-handedly stops the invasion of the huns.

With the new live action Mulan movie scheduled to release this month to stream on Disney+, it seemed more than fitting to explore the origins of what is one of the most impactful and emboldening Disney princess movies for young girls. So... let’s get down to business.

There have been several tellings and retellings of Mulan’s deeds, but the earliest record of her origins trace back to the Northern Wei Dynasty from 386-534. In The Ballad of Mulan, Hua Mulan takes her elderly father’s place in the coming war. After twelve years of warfare and valiant fighting, Mulan and all of the surviving warriors are rewarded with lavish gifts and prizes, but Mulan only wishes to return home to her family. When she finally returns home, her family welcomes her home happily, and Mulan changes into a dress. The story concludes with her fellow warriors finally learning that she was a woman the entire time.

One key difference to note is in the pacing of both stories. The men in the army never recognize that Mulan is a woman in The Ballad of Mulan. Despite having lived, worked, and fought together for 12 years, not a single person knew she was a woman; this speaks either to Mulan’s dedication and skill, or to everyone’s general inattentiveness. Additionally, it is never formally stated what war Mulan is fighting in. The ballad itself has been linked to the war that occurred between the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Rouran state, but Mulan’s name is never mentioned in any historical documents.

Regardless, this short ballad is what nearly every story of Mulan draws its inspiration from. The Ballad of Mulan, unlike a lot of the original Disney Princess stories, is only a few lines long, but it still impacts Chinese culture and history.

This, of course, is not the only portrayal of Mulan, but it is the earliest and only record of Hua Mulan that dates back to the time period. There is one other historical retelling of Hua Mulan, which is actually the subplot to a much larger historical fiction written and published in the 1695s by Chu Renhuo. Mulan’s involvement in the story doesn’t arise until over halfway through the novel, but it takes a much different and much darker tone than the original short ballad.

Renhuo’s Romance of Sui and Tang Dynasties begins in much the same way as the original ballad, with Mulan’s elderly father being enlisted in war and Mulan posing as his son to take his place. Mulan’s army is initially defeated. She manages to save the ruler, but is captured by Princess Dou Xianninang. These two get along, and Mulan eventually reveals to her that she is a woman. The princess is so pleased by this that they almost instantly bond and become best friends.

Immediately after, Princess Xianniang and Mulan go to rescue the princess’s father, Jiande, and he feels greatly indebted to his daughter and the soldier that rescued him. Mulan eventually returns home to learn that her father has passed and her mother remarried. Jiande also learns that Mulan is a woman during this time and becomes determined to make her his concubine. Before this can happen, she takes her own life to forever preserve her own freedom.

The Romance of Sui and Tang Dynasties continues on for many more chapters, but Mulan’s part in the novel ends there. Her cultural relevance however, far surpasses that. While the movie has yet to release, Disney’s live action retelling of The Ballad of Mulan definitely seems like a departure from the original animated film many Americans are used to, but it’s also important to remember that Hua Mulan is more than just a Disney Princess.

The historical fiction of Mulan existed long before Disney’s Mulan ever aired, and The Ballad of Mulan predates them both. The best thing we can do for this next Disney live action is to give it a chance and let it exist outside of the movie that gave it a place on the shelves of thousands of young girls today.

Ayana
Teen Blog Writer