PHOTO CREDIT: Photos provided by Mimi Chan. Photo by Valerie Boey. 

The Historical and Cultural Impact of Hua Mulan

By Gene Ching

Hua Mulan is a beloved Chinese folk heroine that has gone global. In 1998, Disney premiered Mulan, an animated feature-length film that introduced China’s legendary woman warrior to the world. The film was a blockbuster earning over $304 million worldwide (Box Office Mojo, 1998). Its success brought worldwide awareness of this inspirational female figure.

Mulan’s Historic Origins

The first record of Mulan is a 360-character poem written in the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534 CE). The poem, Ballad of Mulan, tells how Mulan served in her father’s place when a male soldier is drafted from every family. When the war is over, the Son of Heaven, also referred to as the Khan in the poem, rewards his most victorious soldiers, but Mulan only asks for a ‘swift mount’ to return home. Upon her return, she takes off her wartime gown and puts on her old-time clothes.

“She goes out the door and sees her comrades.

Her comrades are all amazed and perplexed.

Traveling together for twelve years

They didn't know Mu-lan was a girl.” (Frankel, H.H., 1976, pp. 68-72)

The poem ends with Mulan posing the question “Two hares running side by side close to the ground. How can they tell if I am he or she?"

Over the centuries, the legend of Mulan grew from this modest poem, however there isn’t much verifiable evidence of Mulan’s life beyond that. “Historians differ over her exact dates of birth and death. There are records of the existence of Mulan under different surnames, including Han Mulan, Wei Mulan and Ren Mulan. All portray her as a courageous warrior” (Canzonieri, S., 2013). Nevertheless, her tale became an inspiration. According to Priego-Casanova, L. and Alpanseque, E. (2020) “Although the gist of the story is nothing more than an allegory of filial piety pushed to its ultimate consequences, Hua Mulan has become a household heroine of Chinese history, standing out for her bravery, sense of responsibility, and her martial prowess on the battlefield.”

Successive retellings of Mulan’s story spanned dynasties, including poems, plays, and novels like Song of Mulan by Wei Yuanfu (c. 750), Mulan Temple by Du Mu (c. 830), A Memorial to the Filial General (1332), The Heroine Mulan Goes to War in Her Father’s Place by Xu Wei (c. 1580), Romance of Sui and Tang by Chu Renhuo (1695), The Complete Account of Extraordinary Mulan (c. 1800), Mulan Joins the Army (1903), and more (Naudus, P., 2020). These expanded her story. In the 20th century, over half a dozen Mulan films preceded Disney’s version (Hong Kong Film Database, 1995). Disney followed Mulan with official direct-to-video sequel in 2004 and a live-action version of story in 2020. What’s more, over two dozen successive non-Disney movie and television versions followed from 1998 onward (Box Office Mojo, 2024).

Mulan’s Modern Day Cultural Impact

For centuries, Hua Mulan has been a source of inspiration for female martial artists, not only as a role model, but also as a martial arts system. Mulan Quan is a modern style of wushu that pays homage to Mulan. Burr and Ching (2000, p. 70) state “Modern Mulan Quan is derived from a nearly extinct style, Hua Chia Chan, and uses taiji as its foundation. It incorporates elements from gymnastics and Chinese folk dance. It was revived into its modern form by Mei Fing Ying and is currently very popular in Beijing.” Mulan Quan includes two empty hand forms, single and double fans, single and double swords (Wu, 1997, p. 11).

The first exclusive Mulan Quan tournament was held in 1994 and attracted 330 competitors. The following year, it expanded to 500 competitors and was officially approved by the Beijing Wushu Institute, a division of the Chinese National Sport Association as the 130th martial arts style. It has been implemented by the Beijing Cancer Center for physical therapy and has spread across Asia, predominantly to Hong Kong, Japan, Macao, and Taiwan (Wu, 1997, p. 12). 

With the influence of Disney’s global blockbuster, the legend of Hua Mulan has spread far beyond China’s Great Wall. Today women all over the world know Mulan’s tale. Martial arts are mostly male dominated; it is estimated that only 20.7 of all martial arts instructors are women (Goldstein, S., 2024). Mulan’s popularity has had a profound effect upon many female practitioners.

“The story of Mulan's impact on women's empowerment is undeniable,” says Master Mimi Chan. Master Chan has a unique connection to Mulan. When she was just seventeen, she was discovered by Mark Henn, the supervising animator for Disney’s Mulan, and tapped to be the video reference for the martial arts in the film. In Disney’s version, Mulan was also supposed to be seventeen, so Master Chan’s casting was a perfect fit (Burr, 2000, p. 36). 

“From her courage to defy gender norms to her determination to protect her family and country, Mulan serves as a powerful role model for women everywhere,” continues Chan. “Her story reminds us that strength comes in many forms, and that women are capable of achieving great things when they embrace their inner warrior. I’m grateful to have embodied Mulan for Disney’s animated feature where she not only was the first Disney princess who didn’t need rescuing, but also saves the day.” (Chan, M., 2024)

<Reference>

Box Office Mojo (1998) ‘Mulan’ Available at: https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0120762/ (Accessed 13 March 2024).

Box Office Mojo (2024) ‘Mulan’ Available at: https://www.imdb.com/find/?q=mulan&ref_=nv_sr_sm (Accessed 14 March 2024).

Burr, M. (2000) ‘Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman, Wah Lam Temple's Heritage Flows from Pui Chan to Mimi Chan’, Kung Fu Qigong, June, p. 36.

Burr, M. and Ching, G. (2000) ‘From Shaolin Temple to Bruce Lee: 100 Kungfu Styles of the Past Millennium’, Kungfu Wushu Qigong, January, p. 70.

Canzonieri, S. (2013) ‘Ancient Chinese Women Warriors – The Greatest Stories Never Told’ KungFuMagazine.com, 14 November [online]. Available at https://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/index.php?p=article&article=1133 (Accessed 13 March 2024).

Chan, M. (2024) Interviewed by Gene Ching. 12 March, online.

Frankel, H.H. (1976) The Flowering Plum and the Palace Lady: Interpretations of Chinese Poetry. New Haven: Yale University Press).

Hong Kong Film Database (1995) Available at: https://hkmdb.com/db/search/results/CHu2p334A3azWV9+emKy+A-1.mhtml (Accessed 14 March 2024).

Goldstein, S. (2024) ‘Martial Arts Statistics’, LLCBuddy, 5 March [online]. Available at: https://llcbuddy.com/data/martial-arts-statistics (Accessed 14 March 2024).

Naudus, P. Mulanbook (2020) Available at: https://mulanbook.com (Accessed 14 March 2024).

Priego-Casanova, L. and Alpanseque, E. (2020) ‘Beyond Hua Mulan: The Role of Chinese Women in Warfare and Martial Arts’, KungFuMagazine.com, 23 October [online]. Available at https://www.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/index.php?p=article&article=1567 (Accessed 13 March 2024).

Wu, L.L. (1997) ‘Mulan Quan’ Kungfu Wushu Qigong, Dec/Jan, p. 11-12.

※ Views in this writing are the author's own.