Relevant Research of Mulan

Brett Darby
02/08/15
U41938091
Relevant Research of Mulan

In America, the most popular telling of the ancient Chinese woman warrior,
Mulan, is Disneys animated movie made in 1998. The first telling of this story, Poem Of
Mulan, was written sometime between 386 and 533 A.D. (Kwa, 2010). It is said to be
one of the most popular stories in China most likely due to the fact that there are very
little supernatural attributes that play a part. Disney decided to change that and put in the
magical ancestral dragon and a few other details that will later be discussed.
This story has such a long history that it has been subject to change multiple
times, in fact, Mulans story wasnt even recorded for years after her death. The first
telling describes a very skilled female warrior whose father is crippled from war and is
called upon once more to fight against a rebel uprising. In his old age, a war would surely
take his life, realizing this; Mulan tended to her duty and went to war in place of her
father. While there are many small differences the main story is the same, a brave young
woman saw an opportunity to save her father and fight for her country and ended up
becoming a war heroine. Though somewhat minor, the changes did have a big effect on
the story. Ivy Hsieh and Marylou Matoush explain how Disney changed the simple tale of
a girl who disguised herself as a man so that she could fight in a war in place of her aged
father, Disney chose to tell the tale of a girl who is rejected by womanhood and sets out

Relevant Research of Mulan

to discover herself by running away to join the army in place of her father accompanied
by her stereotypical spirit dragon, Mulan saves the Emperor and wins the heart of Captain
Li Shang which completes her mission (Hsieh, I., & Matoush, M. 2012).
Many aspects of this story convey deliberate messages that set social norms at
early ages, for example, in some ancient versions of Mulan, her feet are bound showing
femininity, the fact that her feet are not bound in Disney shows an independent less
oppressive view of women within the displayed Chinese culture. In fact, each version
illustrates the diversity of Chinese cultural values, because each iteration of Mulan at
once breaks a different gender norm and is another adjustment in representing a positive
image of the heroine whether it is not complying with mutilating gender norms, or
fighting in wars, or having the ability as an average woman to save China (Dong, L.
2011).
The main point that the story Mulan is trying to convey is that it is okay to break
gender roles, gender roles should not be a constraint. If we take a look back into history,
we would notice that there are very few historical figures that are women. How many
women presidents have there been? None. How many women have impacted our
technological advancements these past 300 years? Not many. How many women fought
in the revolutionary war? Only one was recorded. Her name was Deborah Thompson.
Interestingly enough, the only reason Deborah fought in the war was because she
disguised herself as a man (Brocklebank 2000). Disney succeeded in inspiring the youth
to not follow the history of the world because there is no reason why woman shouldnt be

Relevant Research of Mulan

just as prevalent in history and in society. Disney used Mulan as a story that the western
public would love and has a great moral value.

References
Brocklebank, Lisa. Marvels and Tales Disneys Mulan the True
Deconstructed Heroine? Vol .14 No.2(2000)268-283
Dong, L. (2011, April 3). Mulans Legend and Legacy in China and the United
States. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
Hsieh, I., & Matoush, M. (2012, February 28). Filial Daughter, Woman Warrior,
or Identity-Seeking Fairytale Princess: Fostering Critical Awareness Through Mulan.
Retrieved February 9, 2015, from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?
vid=7&sid=edd5d1dd-957c-4652-91cf-db2e818714ed@sessionmgr4001&hid=4208
Kwa, S. (2010). Mulan: Five versions of a classic Chinese legend with related
texts. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub.