Mulan

Five Versions of a
Classic Chinese Legend,
with Related Texts

Edited and Translated,

with an Introduction, by
SHIAMIN KWA
and
WILT L. IDEMA
Mulan
Five Versions of a
Classic Chinese Legend
with Related Texts
Mulan
Five Versions of a
Classic Chinese Legend
with Related Texts

Edited and Translated,

with an Introduction,
by

Shiamin Kwa and

Wilt L. Idema

Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.

Indianapolis/Cambridge
Copyright © 2010 by Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

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For further information, please address:

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Cover design by Abigail Coyle

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Printed at Sheridan Books, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Mulan shi. English

Mulan : five versions of a classic Chinese legend with related texts / edited and
translated, with an introduction, by Shiamin Kwa and Wilt L. Idema.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-60384-196-2 (pbk.) — ISBN 978-1-60384-197-9 (cloth)
1. Hua, Mulan (Legendary character)—Literary collections. I. Kwa, Shiamin.
II. Idema, W. L. (Wilt L.)

PL2668.M83.E13 2010
895.1'124—dc22 2009035628

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements

of American National Standard for Information Sciences—
Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials,
ANSI Z39.48–1984
 CONTENTS

Preface vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
“Poem of Mulan” 1
“Song of Mulan” 5
The Female Mulan Joins the Army in Place of Her Father 9
Mu Lan Joins the Army (1903) 31
Mulan Joins the Army (1939) 53

Appendix 1. Summaries of Selected Pre-1949 Plays 105

Appendix 2. Mulan in Three Novels of the Qing Dynasty 119
Bibliography 127
Glossary 133
 PREFACE

The exploits of Mulan, the legend of the White Snake, the romance of Liang
Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, and the thwarted love of Weaving Maiden and Buffalo
Boy continue to fascinate Chinese audiences all over the world. As the embod-
iment of the wisdom, virtue, and pursuit of love of the Chinese people, these
tales have been told and retold throughout the twentieth century; they have also
been performed on the stage, adapted for the screen, and rewritten as dramas for
television. They have inspired theme parks and postage stamps, violin concerti,
and Western-style operas. In their modern transformations these traditional
tales have been hailed as the quintessence of Chinese culture, as instruments for
cultural renewal, and as tools of criticism.
The earliest extant premodern versions of these Chinese tales and legends
are no less varied and multiform than their modern adaptations. By the time of
recording, each of these stories had already undergone a centuries-long period
of development and change. Depending on the time, region, and genre in which
the version was created, each is unique and brings its own perspective and mean-
ing to the story. Moreover, each of these texts reflects the idiosyncracies and per-
sonality of its author (whose name has usually been lost). We could make no
greater mistake than to assume that these stories embody a single, unchanging,
essential meaning, even though many modern and contemporary scholars write
about these stories as if they do.
Despite the popularity of these tales with modern and contemporary authors
and intellectuals, in premodern times these legends (with the exception of Mu-
lan) were mostly ignored by the scholars and literati of late imperial China. They
flourished in the realm of oral literature and in the many genres of traditional
popular literature (suwenxue). This series aims to introduce the contemporary
English reader to the richness and variety of the traditional Chinese popular lit-
erature of this period and to the wide discrepancies between the different adap-
tations of each story by translating at least two premodern adaptations in full.
Each of these sets of translations will be preceded by an introduction tracing
the historical development of each story up to the beginning of the twentieth
century. The translations will be followed by a selection of related materials that
will provide readers with a fuller understanding of the historical development
of each story and will help them place the translated text in the development of
Chinese popular literature and culture.

vii
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The final version of this volume was made possible by the efforts and contri-
butions of many others. The staff of the Harvard-Yenching Library provided
assistance in locating obscure materials. An anonymous reader of the manu-
script suggested an article that had previously escaped our notice. Maria Franca
Sibau emailed corrections, images, and citations. Professor Wai-Yee Li at Har-
vard University meticulously combed through my Xu Wei translation to save me
from a number of errors. Dr. Robert Roses read multiple drafts of the intro-
duction for clarity, and offered a non-specialist’s perspective. The hard work of
the editorial and production staff at Hackett Publishing Company made the
completion of this volume seem effortless from start to finish. Our editor, Rick
Todhunter, oversaw this project with cheerful enthusiasm. Meera Dash, Carrie
Wagner, Ruth Goodman, and the production staff meticulously combed through
the text, uncovering errors and redundancies. All authors should be so lucky to
work with such thoughtful and responsive people.
In spite of all their considerable efforts, and many more, all faults and errors
of course remain completely my own.
Shiamin Kwa

ix
 INTRODUCTION

In the rich Chinese tradition of tales and legends that originated centuries ago
and survives to this day, the story of Mulan, with its utter lack of supernatural
demonstrations or interventions, is one of the most mundane. A heroine such
as Meng Jiangnü successfully destroys the Great Wall with her tears of grief at
news of her husband’s death; the White Snake takes human form to pursue a
worthy scholar and is punished for her vainglory with eternal imprisonment in
Thunder Peak Pagoda; and the thwarted lovers Zhu Yingtai and Liang Shanbo
are transformed into butterflies after their deaths, so that they can be together
forever in lepidopterous love. In contrast, the subject of this volume, Mulan,
simply puts on her father’s armor and takes on a male identity to go to battle.
Yet, the very feasibility of this action is what makes it so compelling, as well as
revolutionary. Transformation is not about magic spells or divine intervention:
it is about the deliberate and basic action of changing clothes.
Though the story of Mulan has been reiterated over the centuries, a few basic
elements have remained constant. A young girl’s elderly and sickly father is called
up in the draft. The family knows that he is too ill to go, but they have no al-
ternative: they have a daughter (sometimes two), but women are excluded from
joining the all-male military, and a son, who is too young to enlist. The father
decides that he has no option but to go. Mulan tells her parents that she will
serve in his place. To do so, she will need to disguise herself as a man. She goes to
the market to buy the necessities for travel and battle, dons her father’s armor,
and joins a group of young men heading off to war. For a dozen years, she fights
side by side with them, preserving her chastity and hiding the fact that she is a
woman from even her closest companions. She successfully leads a battle that
decisively ends the war and is lauded by the emperor for her efforts. Instead of
accepting an official post, she asks to return home to her parents. When she
arrives, she returns to her old room, takes off her armor, puts on her dress and
makeup, and effortlessly resumes her old life.
There have been variations in the story over the centuries, but they are com-
paratively minor ones. Different versions emphasize different motives. In some,
Mulan is a filial daughter forced into the circumstances by her duty to her father;
in others, Mulan is a fiercely patriotic fighter willing to risk her life for her coun-
try, where so few men will. Other versions add a romantic subplot: in Xu Wei’s

xi
xii Introduction

version, Mulan returns home and is promptly married to her next-door neighbor,
Mr. Wang, and in the 1930s film version, a troubled attraction between Mulan
and a fellow soldier is swiftly resolved when she dresses up as a woman again at
the end. The basic structure remains unchanged: a girl becomes a man out of ne-
cessity, fulfills the task that required her to change, changes back once the goal is
accomplished, and seeks to return to her former life. This matter-of-fact transi-
tion from one identity to another is fascinating, and it draws our attention to how
much role-playing is a part of life. The multiplicity of identities occurs on mul-
tiple layers. Within the Mulan story, of course, we see directly how Mulan takes
on and sheds personae according to the various demands of her circumstances. As
we will see in the versions in this volume, the story takes different emphases, per-
haps influenced by the biases of the author or the cultural climate at the time of
its production. Readers, too, project their own particular interests onto Mulan.1
Because of this versatility, the legend of Mulan has endured for hundreds of
years.2 This is not to say that the legend’s popularity has been consistent since
its arrival. Indeed, there is no documentation to suggest that the recognition that
Mulan enjoys in the twenty-first century is an unbroken continuation from her
appearance in the “Poem of Mulan” more than a millennium ago. The story, as
modified to represent Mulan as a Han Chinese loyalist battling an encroaching
barbarian outsider, became a neat allegory for growing concerns about national
identity and collaboration in the early twentieth century. Likewise, the Annie
Oakley aspects of our heroine captured the attention of twentieth-century
Chinese women looking for native independent female role models, and those
in the West who looked eastward for strong female characters. In the last few
decades alone, Maxine Hong Kingston appropriated parts of the Mulan story
in her novel The Woman Warrior; Disney chose Mulan for its first Chinese heroine
in a feature-length animated film; and, at the time of this book’s writing, a new
film version is in production by a Mainland Chinese studio, and another version
is currently in development. Whatever the reasons, although Mulan may not
have made much of an impression when she first arrived on the scene, she is now
certainly the most recognized Chinese folktale heroine in the world.

1
Joan Judge has chronicled the push and pull of Mulan as patriot versus Mulan as filial girl
from the late-imperial period to the early twentieth century (2008, pp. 143–86).
2
There is to our knowledge no evidence of a historical Mulan. Sanping Chen has argued,
however, that the name “Mulan,” which means “magnolia” in Chinese, is derived from a for-
eign word meaning “bull” or “stag,” was a “style” or courtesy name adopted by military men
in the fifth and sixth centuries, and was used as a surname by non-Han Chinese families (2005,
pp. 23–43).
 Introduction xiii

I. The “Poem of Mulan” and “Song of Mulan,” from

the Collected Works of the Music Bureau
The earliest recorded versions of the Mulan legend are two poems printed in the
Collected Works of the Music Bureau (Yuefu shiji), an anthology compiled by Guo Mao-
qian in the twelfth century. The first work, “Poem of Mulan” (“Mulan shi”), is
undated and anonymous, and it is followed by an imitation, translated in this vol-
ume as “Song of Mulan,” written by the Tang dynasty official Wei Yuanfu (mid-
eighth century). The “Poem of Mulan” contains details, such as the reference to
the ruler by the term “khan,” that suggest the northeastern conflicts of the North-
ern Wei period (386–533). Guo Maoqian claims that the poem is taken from the
Musical Records, Old and New (Gujin yuelu), a text that is no longer extant and which
dates from approximately the sixth century C.E.3 This dating was adopted by
Xu Wei (1521–1593) as the setting of his influential play, which further secured
the tradition of dating the poem to that time, but there is no external corrobo-
rating evidence for an exact date of composition. Already in the twelfth century
we see a disparity between the two earliest versions of the Mulan legend. The
“Poem of Mulan” gives us a final stanza marveling at the difficulties of telling
apart male from female, with the image of two hares running together; this im-
age will recur in Xu Wei’s play and in a 1939 film version. The “Song of Mulan”
emphasizes Mulan’s extraordinary demonstration of filial piety and loyalty.
The “Poem of Mulan” begins with the image of Mulan performing the typ-
ically female task of weaving while lamenting her situation:

A sigh, a sigh, and then again a sigh—

Mulan was sitting at the door and weaving.
One did not hear the sound of loom and shuttle,
One only heard her heave these heavy sighs.
When she was asked the object of her love,
When she was asked who occupied her thoughts,
She did not have a man she was in love with,
There was no boy who occupied her thoughts.
“Last night I saw the summons from the army,
The Khan is mobilizing all his troops.
The list of summoned men comes in twelve copies:
Every copy lists my father’s name!”
3 Wei, 1979, pp. 373–5.
xiv Introduction

Reasoning that her brother is too young to take their father’s place, Mulan de-
cides aloud that she will substitute for her father. She plans to get only a saddle
and a horse, and there is no discussion about her change of clothes into male
disguise:

The eastern market: there she bought a horse;

The western market: there she bought a saddle.
The southern market: there she bought a bridle;
The northern market: there she bought a whip.

Rather, the transformation into a man predominantly involves equipment, sug-

gesting that it will be deeds that distinguish her. The ballad’s emphases are sub-
tle, but significant: in the middle section, details of Mulan’s departure from
home and her life as a soldier are expressed primarily through what is heard,
whether it is the clacking of the shuttle, the girl’s sighs, the wind’s whistling,
or the horses’ whinnying. With the exception of the cold light on her armor, it
is not so much what she sees that captures the emotion, but what she hears.
When Mulan returns home, she changes back into her female clothes. Here,
the poem describes the removal of her soldier’s garments and the steps she takes
to return to her old self, moving from east to west in her chambers. Mulan takes
off her soldier’s buffcoat and puts on her skirt and makeup.
The ballad ends with the hare analogy appended as a sort of moral to the
story, describing the surprised reactions of her fellow soldiers:

“We marched together for these twelve long years

And absolutely had no clue that Mulan was a girl!”
“The male hare wildly kicks its feet;
The female hare has shifty eyes,
But when a pair of hares runs side by side,
Who can distinguish whether I in fact am male or female?”

The analogy is an intriguing one: there are concrete ways of telling apart male
and female. The hares have specific gendered characteristics, but they are obscured
by the activity natural to animals with a nervous spring and wandering eyes: they
are always in motion, and when they are in motion, those characteristics are hard
to see. Men and women, unlike hares, do not have different eyes or legs. They do
have natural physical differences, and sometimes, as will be emphasized in Xu
Wei’s play, culturally imposed physical differences like bound feet. These, too,
 Introduction xv

can be obscured. Time and again, in Mulan’s case, the human analogy for the
evasive effect of hares running side by side is clothing. When hares run, their
physical difference is obscured; when people are dressed identically, their sexual
difference is obscured.
When Mulan dressed as a male, her brave actions and her assertions were ac-
cepted without question as a man’s. Interestingly, it is female characteristics that
are emphasized as being put on; little mention is made of dressing up as a man,
with the exception of battle wear. As noted earlier, the transition into becom-
ing a male soldier in the ballad is to get the appropriate equipment. Equipment
is equally important in transforming a male civilian into a male soldier; the cat-
egory is changed by clothing, but it is not a gender category. Sufen Lai writes
about the contrast between the scenes of changing into a male and changing back
into a female: “Such contrasting treatments in describing Mulan’s transforming
herself and assuming different roles suggest that women’s cross-dressing was still
a taboo subject even under the Confucian premise of filial piety; therefore, her
transformation into a warrior is suggested with the purchasing of a gallant horse
and its necessary gear, while her return to womanhood is detailed with feminine
motions, objects and sentiments.”4 Lai’s suggestion that the ballad’s audience
would not have been as accepting of a woman’s cross-dressing is convincing, but
the conclusions reach beyond audience discomfort to suggest the possibility of
a different way to read maleness and femaleness. Mulan had been introduced at
the beginning of the ballad with the equipment of femaleness as well: the weav-
ing shuttle that clicks its reminder of women’s work. But when the soldier’s
buffcoat is taken off, and her hair is styled and makeup reapplied, it is not in
response to a service or social role: she is putting on femaleness. Or, to put it the
opposite way, femaleness is a kind of social role: it is an addition to the essen-
tial humanity of the male role. As the visual vocabulary and the hare metaphor
seem to imply, gender, like a social role, is something that can be put on.
Wei Yuanfu’s “Song of Mulan” is not significantly different from the “Poem
of Mulan” in basic content, but it presents a different emphasis. The author was
a prime minister in the Tang dynasty (618–907), during the Dali period (766–
779) following the An Lushan and Shi Siming rebellion (755–763), which re-
sulted in the near collapse and severe weakening of the Tang dynasty. Neigh-
boring nations in Mongolia and Tibet saw their opportunities for advantage,
and for a time (in the year 763) the Tang capital, Chang’an, was occupied by

4 Sufen Sophia Lai, “From Cross-Dressing Daughter to Lady Knight-Errant: The Origin

and Evolution of Chinese Women Warriors,” Presence and Presentation: Women in the Chinese Literati
Tradition, ed. Sherry Mou (New York: St. Martin’s, 1999), p. 86.
xvi Introduction

Tibetan troops. Perhaps the contemporary circumstances weighed on Wei

Yuanfu’s mind, as he incorporates Tibetan incursions into his version of the
Mulan legend.
The poem begins with the same justifications for Mulan’s action (“My father
has grown old, and worn by age; / How can he survive service?”). The “Song”
provides the same details as the “Poem of Mulan,” describing Mulan washing
away the powder from her face and then later removing “turban and gauntlet”
when she returns to her parents. While the “Poem of Mulan” draws attention
to the difficulties of telling male from female, the “Song” makes this distinc-
tion a pointed argument:

“Before, I was a hero among warriors,

But from now on I’ll be your darling girl again!”
Relatives bring wine in congratulations:
“Only now do we know that a daughter is as useful as a son!”

Mulan sings about her transformation back into her parents’ “darling girl” just
as celebrating neighbors draw attention to their newfound appreciation of daugh-
ters. We should not assume, however, that here Wei Yuanfu makes a protofemi-
nist argument about equality; the comparison is not made to emphasize the equal
qualities of women to men, but rather to demonstrate how one exceptional
woman reveals the inadequacies of most men:

If in this world the hearts of officials and sons

Could display the same principled virtue as Mulan’s,
Their loyalty and filiality would be unbroken;
Their fame would last through the ages—how could it be destroyed?

In the subtle variations from the “Poem of Mulan,” a shift in emphasis results
in a new reading. When the story regained momentum nearly five hundred years
later, it would include even greater elaborations and interpretations.

II. The Female Mulan Joins the

Army in Place of Her Father, by Xu Wei
The sixteenth-century play The Female Mulan Joins the Army in Place of Her Father (Ci
Mulan ti fu congjun) was part of a quartet of plays called the Four Cries of a Gibbon
 Introduction xvii

(Sisheng yuan) written by the late-Ming dynasty man of arts Xu Wei.5 The Four
Cries of a Gibbon are strikingly original comic plays that each elaborate on themes
of identity, performance, disguise, and recognition. Xu Wei was famed for his
talent in calligraphy, painting, and the literary arts, and he made his reputation
with an unrestrained style that mirrored his eccentric life: his works of art sought
to mimic spontaneous emotion rather than copy generic literary forms. As an
artist and as a writer, he influenced later generations, who held him up as a model
for the free and unrestricted individual style that they sought to emulate. The
three plays that accompany The Female Mulan in the Four Cries of a Gibbon are all
deeply invested in questions of who a person is and how that person portrays
him- or herself to others.
After the two poems from the twelfth-century Music Bureau compilation
previously discussed, there were no treatments of the story of Mulan until
Xu Wei’s version. Xu Wei’s play, which introduced the surname Hua (meaning
“flower”) to our heroine, may be credited for resurrecting the story, which be-
came the popular subject of novel and play adaptations in the centuries that
followed, up to this day. The play is concerned not with issues of historical ac-
curacy but with entertainment: how did this girl carry out her transformation
and how did she sustain her deception for a dozen years? Although there is un-
fortunately no documentation of performances of The Female Mulan, stage direc-
tions and the play itself allow one to easily imagine a performance that takes
advantage of costume changes, including a scene of Mulan unwinding her foot
bandages as part of her transformation into a man, staged battle scenes, and ac-
companying descriptive songs.
The play is divided into two acts. The first act begins with the protagonist,
played by a young female lead (dan) introducing herself as Hua Mulan, and pro-
vides the setting of the play, among the Xianbei tribe in the Northern Wei.
Mulan notes that all men of age are being conscripted to subdue the rebellion
of a fictional bandit leader named Leopard Skin. Concerned that her father is
too elderly to serve, Mulan decides to take his place. This decision is followed by
an offstage shopping excursion that launches a series of songs about the various

5 The
reader should be reminded that until the twentieth century, what we call a “play” in
Chinese literature was actually a sung drama, more akin to a Western opera or Broadway mu-
sical, with alternation between arias set to existing tunes, and recited speeches, than to spo-
ken-word plays. The Female Mulan is a zaju, a short dramatic form of four or five acts from the
Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). By the time The Female Mulan was written in the late Ming dy-
nasty, the genre rules were significantly loosened: the plays of Four Cries of a Gibbon range in
length from one to five acts.
xviii Introduction

accessories she buys. The middle of the act is taken up with stage work, ac-
companied by descriptive songs. In the third aria, Mulan removes her footbind-
ings. Although bound feet are anachronistic for a woman of the Northern Wei,
a setting deliberately chosen by Xu Wei, the opportunity for such a scene must
have been irresistible. One can easily imagine the titillating entertainment value
of this action, and its potential for visual comedy. Mulan changes her feet back
“into floating boats” (large, natural feet) but assures the audience that she will
be able to return them to their golden lotus glory with the help of a secret
family recipe. Having treated the audience to a “foot show,” she commences to
change her costume, from her women’s clothes into soldier’s clothing. She demon-
strates a soldier’s skill by performing martial arts with sword, staff, and bow and
arrow, one after the other. She receives her parents’ blessings and leaves with two
fellow soldiers, in search of Leopard Skin’s lair.
Act 2 begins in the heat of battle, with the commanding general, Xin Ping,
employing “Hua Hu” (Mulan) to lead the raid on Leopard Skin. They suc-
cessfully invade the bandit hideout and capture Leopard Skin. Hua Hu is sin-
gled out for his part in the capture and is given cap and girdle as symbols of a
promotion to a position in the Imperial Secretariat. Hua Hu is thus sent home,
still as a man, in the company of her two fellow soldiers, to await the new ap-
pointment. Hua Hu sings an aria about how the one who captured the bandit
king was a fraud and therefore that the successes were not due to her work. As
she travels with the soldiers, they comment on how strange it is that they have
never seen Hua Hu use the toilet. “Hua Hu” mysteriously tells them about a
statue in his village whose face changed to that of Chang’e.6 Returning home,
“Hua Hu” first reapplies female makeup, then greets her family. She shares her
successes with her parents, showing them the cap and girdle she has been granted,
and then confirms that she returns to them as a “dogwood bud,” or virgin. Af-
ter her amazed fellow soldiers leave, a young male lead (sheng) also wearing cap
and girdle enters; he is Mr. Wang, the neighbor’s son who has succeeded in the
exams. The two have been conveniently matched by their parents and are im-
mediately married on stage. The wedding is also one of Xu Wei’s innovations to
the inherited Mulan tradition. Luo Qiuzhao suggests that this reflects the in-
fluence of Ming dynasty plays, which conventionally end with a reunion scene
or wedding.7 If Mulan cannot keep the cap and girdle, at least she ought to be
married to one who can.
6
The goddess of the moon.
7
Luo, 1996, p. 76.
 Introduction xix

The play ends with Mulan singing the following song, which quotes the end
of the “Poem of Mulan”:

I was a woman till I was seventeen,

Was a man for twelve more years.
Passed under thousands of glances,
Which of them could tell cock from hen?
Only now do I believe that a distinction between male
and female isn’t told by the eyes.
Who was it really occupied Black Mountain Top?
The girl Mulan went to war for her pop.
The affairs of the world are all such a mess,
Muddling boy and girl is what this play does best.

Discussions of Xu Wei’s play have aligned with the readings of the ballad and
do not make much of their differences; those scholars who do discuss the theme
of cross-dressing in The Female Mulan mainly discuss either the terms of its place
in the literary tradition, its incipient feminism in Xu Wei’s work, or its acquies-
cence to the patriarchy with Mulan’s return to womanhood and domesticity at
the end. Written a few decades before the spectacularly traumatic end of the Ming
dynasty, The Female Mulan does not make use of the female figure as a critique of
the ineffectual male who could not act appropriately in service of his country.
The transgressions in The Female Mulan are not really that transgressive: Mulan
uses expedient means to carry out a task and, having succeeded, seems to return
to exactly who she was when she began. Something strange occurs in this play;
what is most affecting is not the obvious fact of the switching from female to
male and then back again, but rather the complete disavowal of its strangeness.
Xu Wei’s play, for all its apparent superficiality and inadequacies, does propose
some fascinating questions about the performance of the self.
The Female Mulan engages questions of gender in a much more complicated
manner than the “Poem of Mulan.” The play clearly presents a case of perfor-
mance, and a performance that is crucial both domestically and nationally to
Mulan; yet, the character who carries out that performance dismisses her actions
completely. Mulan uses the strategies of costume and speech to create a self,
mocks the belief that sight can be trusted, and leaves the audience with a co-
nundrum when considering the entire performance. If actions in battle scenes
were as if performed by someone else, to whom do we direct our appreciation?
Similarly, in watching a play, what constitutes our experience of what happens
xx Introduction

onstage? Does acting nullify all actions performed under cover of disguise? The
Female Mulan suggests that questions of gender or loyalty are not primary con-
siderations. Rather, the play points to more profound questions about how we
define ourselves in general: aren’t we all simply playing parts? If we are, how do
we keep hold of our “true” selves?

III. Mulan in Drama and Prose in the Qing Dynasty

After Xu Wei, adaptations of the legend of Mulan proliferated during the Qing
dynasty (1644–1911). The non-Han Chinese Manchus, neighbors from the
north, established the Qing dynasty, which replaced centuries of consecutive Han
Chinese rule during the Ming. This change of regime, emphasized by marked
changes in language, costume, and hairstyle, among other things, appears to have
had some effect on the Mulan version we encounter during this period. Whereas
Xu Wei took liberties with historical detail for the sake of entertainment, mak-
ing up a bandit king named Leopard Skin as the enemy and inserting anachro-
nous footbinding for dramatic effect (and titillation), these later versions re-
turned to emphasizing filial piety and patriotism, this time with a specifically
ethnic cast to the story. With Mulan, the writers found an opportunity to pre-
sent a heroine who embodied their vaunted qualities of loyalty to a ruler against
an invading, outside force. Summaries of the lengthy Mulan plays and novels of
this period are supplied in the appendixes at the end of this volume.
We see here the preoccupations with emphasizing chastity and loyalty, with
the trope of suicide. In contrast to the previous versions we have encountered,
here Mulan is driven to committing suicide to express the pureness of her heart.
Winning battles and coming home unscathed and virginal are no longer heroic
enough. The widely popular hundred-chapter Historical Romance of the Sui and Tang
(Sui Tang yanyi; c. 1675), compiled by Chu Renhuo (c. 1630–c. 1705), includes
a version of the legend of Mulan in chapters 55 through 61 (see Appendix 2).
The action of the story is set during the final years of the Sui dynasty (581–
618 C.E.), when rebellions had broken out all over China, and the Turks had
joined in the warfare. Mulan is portrayed as the daughter of a Turkish father
and a Chinese mother; when the khan conscripts her father, Mulan goes in his
place. The familiar elements of the story are expanded with many secondary
characters, including the formidable woman warrior Dou Xianniang who first
captures Mulan but later comes to admire her and take her on as a personal at-
tendant. At the novel’s end, the defeated but pardoned Mulan returns home to
find that her father has died and that the khan wants to take her into his harem.
 Introduction xxi

Rather than submit, Mulan commits suicide, entrusting her sister to carry out
a mission in male dress.
In The Story of the Loyal, Filial, and Heroic Mulan (Zhongxiao yonglie Mulan zhuan), likely
dating from some time in the late eighteenth century, the action is set somewhat
later, beginning with the end of the Sui and taking place during the reign of
Tang Taizong (599–649) (Appendix 2). In this novel, Mulan is now surnamed
Zhu and is a Chinese maiden from Hubei. In this lengthier version, Zhu Mu-
lan is given three generations of back story. The novel also inserts many super-
natural elements, such as mystical and secret fighting techniques given to Mulan’s
grandfather, Zhu Ruoxu. Mulan learns the doctrines and techniques at her
grandfather’s knee and receives all his books when he dies. Mulan continues to
train in the arts of warfare, in addition to the feminine arts of spinning and
weaving, and successfully defeats a fox spirit who reappears to challenge Mulan
again in battle. Eventually, Mulan triumphs and is rewarded with titles. When
she reveals that she is a woman, Taizong makes her a princess, and she returns
home to raise her now orphaned brothers. Taizong repeatedly entreats Mulan to
return to the capital, but she respectfully refuses in order to stay at home to care
for her brothers. Eventually, Taizong falls prey to gossip and summons Mulan
for a third time, with the intent of murder. This time Mulan again refuses and
underscores her sincerity by committing suicide. Taizong, overwhelmed with
remorse, constructs monuments in Mulan’s memory, and she is later given a
posthumous title. As in the Historical Romance of the Sui and Tang, Mulan has to go
to the extremes of suicide to make her mark in history.
In the eighteenth century, we see an expansion of The Female Mulan by Xu Wei
into a forty-scene chuanqi by the Manchu prince Yong’en (1727–1805), who gave
his play the title A Couple of Hares (Shuangtu ji) and opted to keep the happier
ending of a wedding (Appendix 1). As a member of the Manchu aristocracy,
Yong’en may well have found the Northern Wei a convenient historical parallel
to the Qing dynasty. His play can be read as a celebration of Han Chinese loy-
alty to their Manchu rulers. Yong’en had to come up with many new characters
and episodes in order to fill his forty scenes, and, to conform to the conventions
of chuanqi, he greatly expanded the role of Mulan’s fiancé from childhood, now
given the full name of Wang Qingyun. He also gave Leopard Skin a younger sis-
ter, who falls in love with Mulan and is willing to betray her brother for the op-
portunity to marry the handsome enemy officer. In the play we are also treated,
as we are in the expanded novelizations, to supernatural intervention, although
again not in Mulan’s case. Her special skills are mundanely earned, but they are
powerful enough to either inspire supernatural occurrences or else defeat them.
In this case, the apparition of Guanyin (a female manifestation of an originally
xxii Introduction

male bodhisattva) comes and goes, reminding the viewer that shape and iden-
tity shifting is a key element in Mulan’s successes. Yong’en’s play may have had
some impact on the way Mulan was portrayed on the Peking opera stage of the
twentieth century, which continued to use the Northern Wei for its setting. It
also provided Mulan with impassioned speeches about the exceptional behavior
that she commits as a woman, delivered as a challenge to all men. Here, rather
than posing as her father, Mulan identifies herself as Hua Hu’s son, also going
by the name Hua Hu, a variation that recurs in some of the later adaptations.
The actual scenes of battle are engaged with some detail here, with introductions
to Xin Ping, the commander in chief, and Niu He, the unworthy and lecherous
superior who lusts after “Hua Hu” and fails miserably in battle. Here, too,
Yong’en inserts other memorable characters, including the bandit king’s step-
sister, who falls in love with “Hua Hu” and agrees to defect. The play ends hap-
pily with Mulan taking her leave to return home to her village, where her parents
are ennobled and her fiancé receives a title. On her way home, Mulan again sees
her childhood pets, a pair of rabbits running toward her, and she changes back
into female dress to her companions’ surprise.
Yong’en’s play appears to have been the direct source for one more vernacu-
lar novel, An Extraordinary History of the Northern Wei: The Story of a Filial and Heroic
Girl (Bei Wei qishi guixiao; 1850) by Zhang Shaoxian (Appendix 2), which appeared
as the Manchu Qing was beset by foreign and internal foes, when models of fil-
ial piety and loyalty to a barbarian dynasty were in short supply. The forty-six-
chapter novel, like the Historical Romance of the Sui and Tang and The Story of the Loyal,
Filial, and Heroic Mulan, takes advantage of the length allowed by novels to expand
the story. Unlike the other two novels, the Mulan story here is, true to Yong’en
and Xu Wei, returned to the Northern Wei. The story adds political intrigue
and the infighting that occurs even between members of the same side: Mulan
is betrayed by her superior, Niu He, who jealously refuses to acknowledge her
achievements to the generalissimo Xin Ping. This novelization also introduces
other female characters: Lu Wanhua, a concubine who becomes a sworn sister;
and the bandit leader’s wife, Miao Fengxian, who is a formidable warrior finally
defeated by Mulan. Mulan fights side by side with her former concubine and
sworn sister, Lu Wanhua, and successfully defeats the bandits. Mulan and Wan-
hua have sworn to marry Mulan’s childhood sweetheart, Wang Qingyun, and the
novel is ended with a celebratory wedding with titles distributed all around. To
allay any remaining doubts about Mulan’s commitment to her female duties, the
consummation of the wedding is also described.
In the final years of the Qing dynasty, as China faced increasing pressure from
imperialist powers, playwrights turned again to Mulan. The first scenes of Hua
 Introduction xxiii

Mulan, a chuanqi play in sixteen scenes by Chen Xu (1879–1940), were published

as early as 1897 (Appendix 1). More scenes followed later, but its first complete
printing was not until 1914. Interestingly, the changing character of Mulan in
this play seems to reflect its long gestation period. In the opening scenes, Mu-
lan is still depicted as the perfect filial daughter who supports her aged and sickly
father by her diligent weaving. As in Yong’en’s play, Mulan goes to war as Hua
Hu’s son. By the end of the play, Mulan, supported by “good fellows from the
green forests,” is fighting foreign foes and swears not to come home before she
will have defeated these barbarians for good. If the opening scenes reflect a tra-
ditional morality and seem to present Mulan once again as an example of filial
piety and loyalty, the final scenes seem more inspired by the events of the Rev-
olution of 1911. Indeed, as we shall see, Mulan’s references to her political action
become more strident as she enters the early twentieth century.

IV. Mulan as Opera: Mu Lan

Joins the Army8 and Beyond
By the time of Mu Lan Joins the Army (Mu Lan congjun), a Peking opera script first
published in 1903, the emphasis on Mulan’s patriotism had come to the fore-
front: the filial daughter has been clearly transformed into a feminist patriot.
No author is mentioned, and none has been identified in later scholarship. The
genre of the text is not specified either, but in view of its structure, the text was
most likely intended to be performed as a Peking opera.9 Unfortunately, there
is no information on the performance history of the play, if there ever was
any.10 One can easily imagine, however, Mu Lan Joins the Army as a very lively play

8
In most other accounts of the legend of Mulan of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the name
“Mulan” is treated as a single word, and Mulan is provided with a surname, either Hua or
Zhu. In this play, however, it appears that the syllable mu is treated as a surname “Mu.” For
instance, in speaking to Huo Qubing, Mu Lan often refers to herself as “Mu lang,” which
literally means “a young man surnamed Mu.” For this reason, the name of the heroine of
the play is transliterated here as Mu Lan.
9 Yan
Quanyi mentions Mu Lan Joins the Army as one of the earliest examples of reformist
Peking opera, in his Qingdai jingju wenxue shi (2005, p. 439). Also see Zhongguo jingju shi, shang juan,
2005, p. 325.
10
For instance, there are no references to Mu Lan Joins the Army in Wang Zhizhang, Zhongguo
jingju biannian shi, 2 vols. (Beijing: Zhongguo xiju chubanshe, 2002), for the final years of the
Qing.
xxiv Introduction

in performance, and the stage directions make clear that our anonymous author
very much wrote it with the intent of performance.
The action of the play is moved to the reign of Emperor Wu (r. 140–87 B.C.E.)
of the Han dynasty, who pursued a policy of aggressive expansion in Mongolia
and Central Asia with the aid of generals such as Huo Qubing and Wei Qing.
This struggle between the Han and the Xiongnu (in earlier scholarship often iden-
tified with the Huns) is portrayed as the righteous war of the Chinese against
the barbarians, who are chased back by Mu Lan and Wei Qing as far as the North-
ern Ice Sea. In the first part of the play, Mu Lan eagerly jumps at the opportunity
to join the army once her cousin, despite his devotion to the martial arts, turns
out to be too much of a coward to do his duty. Her primary motivation now is
not filial piety, but “to shame those men” and to serve as a model for women.
She is not shown weaving at all, and to the extent that filial piety is mentioned,
it is only as an afterthought. In the second part, Mu Lan is ordered to meet up
with Wei Qing and arrives just in time to save the general from an imminent de-
feat at the hands of the Xiongnu.11 A note in the text points out that Wei Qing’s
distress has to be highlighted in order to stress the main theme of the play. At
the end of the second part, Mu Lan explicitly declares that her actions have not
been inspired by loyalty to a single person or a single dynasty, but by concern
for the nation and the race. Pointedly, the play does not depict her return home.
The characterization of Mulan as a female patriot, or perhaps even a femi-
nist patriot, was very much in tune with the times. As the political situation of
China rapidly deteriorated following its defeat by Japan in 1895, Han Chinese
turned more and more against the Manchus. At the same time, China’s treat-
ment of its women came increasingly to be seen as one of the major causes of
its backwardness; this same period witnessed the rise of a strident feminism,
which hailed Mulan (often compared to Joan of Arc) as one of the native mod-
els for the new Chinese woman, who would participate on equal footing with
male citizens in building a new and strong nation. Patriots and feminists, both
male and female, changed the meaning of the Mulan legend “from filiality to
fearlessness, from a dutiful daughter’s return home to an ethnic Han national-
ist’s heroic struggle against threatening foreign—read Manchu—forces.”12 Many

11
All Chinese readers of the play probably will be reminded of the story of Li Ling, who
failed to meet up with his commander, bravely fought the Xiongnu, but eventually, when out-
numbered, surrendered to them.
12
Judge, 2008, p. 143. Judge’s comments are in particular inspired by a commentary on Mu-
lan by Xu Dingyi in 1906. She discusses the various interpretations of the character of Mu-
lan during the final decade of the Qing in more detail on pp. 151–162 of her study.
 Introduction xxv

Photograph of Qiu Jin in contemporary Chinese male

dress.

career women who grew up in the early decades of the twentieth century have
testified to the enormous influence the model of a modernized Mulan exerted
on them.13 The debates on the future of China were not limited to the printed
page but rather moved onto the stage. The theater, especially the Peking opera
of Beijing and Shanghai, was very much a part, if not a driving force, of the
intellectual ferment of the times.14
The overlap of history with a literary model is best expressed in the case of
Qiu Jin (1875–1907). In 1904, the youngest daughter of a well-to-do family
left her husband and young children to go to Japan, where she studied fencing

13 Wang, 1999.
14 Goldstein, 2007, esp. ch. 3, “The Experimental Stage” (pp. 89–133).
xxvi Introduction

Photograph of Qiu Jin as a Japanese woman warrior, com-

plete with sword.

and archery and experimented with various styles of dress, using Mulan as her
role model. Qiu Jin is celebrated to this day as one of the first martyrs of the
revolution against the Qing imperial government; upon returning from Japan,
she edited a newspaper on women’s issues and taught at a school in her native
Zhejiang. In 1907, she attempted an uprising against the Qing but was captured
and summarily executed. Qiu Jin’s interest in the sartorial creation of her iden-
tity is evident in the photographic history she left behind: she alternatively ap-
pears in Japanese women’s dress (specifically, that of a Japanese woman warrior,
with sword drawn), Manchu male dress, and Western male dress. Her patriotic
poems seek to emulate Mulan’s example, as they are insistently nostalgic for a
Han era before the entrance of the “barbarian” Manchus. Qiu Jin became an out-
spoken opponent of footbinding, that corporeal marker of gender that Xu Wei’s
 Introduction xxvii

Mulan dismisses and regains with ease. The resonances between the real-life rev-
olutionary who poses in various (and often male) costume and the literary hero-
ine whose abilities are released by changes of clothes are nearly too perfect.15
Both cases demonstrate how easily identities could be tried on and discarded
at will; a persona could be put on just as simply as a costume. Both cases also
demonstrate the consequences of that ease; what remains underneath when so
much ends up being surface? Does a body matter? When Qiu Jin was surrounded
by Manchu troops and captured for treason in 1907, she reportedly refused to
speak. She was then given a brush in order to write her confession. She wrote
instead: “Autumn rain and autumn wind: the sorrow kills one.” Qiu Jin plays on
her surname, Qiu, which also means autumn, in these final, unspoken words.
Instead of speaking her words, she wrote them down. Instead of inscribing her
confession, she inscribed her biography. Instead of writing her life story, she
took her life and made it into lyric.
Mulan’s popularity endured and increased in the early twentieth century; her
character was one of the roles taken on by the immensely popular and celebrated
Peking opera star Mei Lanfang (1894–1961) in 1917. Mei was a world-famous
star, who specialized in the role of the dan, or young female lead. The fact that
he was a female impersonator was hardly atypical for an actor in Peking opera,
but it lent itself to Mei’s argument for equality between the sexes. Mulan’s strength
is contrasted with that of all the people of the country, not just women, and the
blurring of gender is emphasized by the fact that this woman impersonating a
man is played by Mei, a man impersonating a woman.16
In the 1917 interpretation of Mulan Joins the Army (Appendix 1), cowritten
with Qi Rushan, Mei chose the patriotic Mulan over the virtuous and filial
Mulan. Here again, Mulan was to take on a symbolic role of patriot. The em-
phasis here is on the significance of political action, made especially heroic by
the fact that it is carried out by a woman. The script emphasizes that it is a nat-
ural duty—and one not restricted by gender—to act on behalf of one’s state.
One’s motives should not be personal but rather should consider the state’s best
interest; if the state were to collapse, private relationships would not be able to
exist, either. The undated text for On Campaign in Place of Her Father (Appendix 1),
an alternative title for the Mei and Qi collaboration, focuses more on the addi-
tional character He Tingyu, who is the commander in chief of Hua Hu (really
Mulan in her father’s guise). The emphasis here is on military strategies and
15
For more on Qiu Jin and her work, consult Idema and Grant, 2004, pp. 767–808.
16
While Mei’s performance of Mulan was quite a success, he would prefer in following years
to portray female warriors who fought as women.
xxviii Introduction

specific battles, but the resolution is the same: Mulan is heroic in battle but does
not accept any appointments, choosing instead to return home to her life as a
woman. Several other plays followed this one, continuing to emphasize the theme
of women shaming men into accepting their political duty. In Pifu’s one-act play,
Joining the Army: On the Road (Appendix 1), Mulan declares: “Since ancient times
those who live in the inner compartments would not leave the gate, but how can
the past be a model for the present, now that the country is in chaos?”
Mei took advantage of his role as an actor to demonstrate onstage how Mu-
lan’s gender switching emphasized the importance of political action: by mak-
ing the actions of valor more important than whether they were performed by
a man or a woman, Mei implicated every citizen in civic duty.17 Offstage as well,
he employed gender difference to express political objection. He pointedly with-
drew from performing in Mainland China during the Japanese occupation. One
of his ways of marking this protest was to grow a beard, physically emphasizing
his gender and thus eradicating the female persona that was essential for his métier.

V. The Film Mulan Joins the Army

The 1939 film Mulan Joins the Army was produced by Zhang Shankun for Shang-
hai’s Xinhua Film Company during the Japanese occupation, when most of the
film world had fled to Hong Kong. Written by the playwright Ouyang Yuqian,
directed by Bu Wancang, and starring the actress Chen Yunshang (Nancy Chan)
in the title role, this film ran for a record-breaking eighty-three days beginning
on the first day of the Chinese lunar year. Chen Yunshang was an instant hit.
Her public identity was promoted as a contrasting alternative to other popular
film actresses of the day; she was a thoroughly “modern” girl: athletic, vital, and
“Western.” This film, released in a Shanghai that was besieged by rivalries between
Nationalist agents and agents of puppet regimes supported by the Japanese,
tapped into the popular anxieties about occupation, collaboration, and domi-
nation.18 Mulan Joins the Army is a thinly veiled allegory for the cause of resistance

17
In an interesting gender twist, during the 1930s in occupied Shanghai, Mulan was a pop-
ular subject for the all-female casts of Zhejiang-style Yue “opera play” (yueju) performances.
Jin Jiang writes about the opera play Hua Mulan as the first patriotic play of that type, one
version an adaptation of Mei Lanfang’s Peking opera. See Jiang, 2009, pp. 92–5.
18
On this topic, consult Poshek Fu’s Between Shanghai and Hong Kong: The Politics of Chinese Cin-
emas (2003). The book is a detailed study of the historical period and the role of films, and
this film in particular, in addressing these anxieties.
 Introduction xxix

in the name of national pride and love of country. Ouyang also rewrote the play
in 1942 as a Guilin-style opera (Guiju); it has some modifications and omissions
that appear to have been made to adapt to the different performance require-
ments of a staged rather than a film version (it is summarized in Appendix 1).
The Mulan of Mulan Joins the Army is a patriotic heroine whose filial actions
are only an extension of her profound sense of duty to her country. Mulan re-
peatedly scolds fellow soldiers for failing to unite against the barbarian enemy,
and she comes against obstacles in the military leadership: she discovers that her
leader is being led astray by an adviser who collaborates with the enemy. Un-
deterred, Mulan does her best to protect the leader while leading the troops to
success against the foreigners. The film ends with Mulan declining the emperor’s
rewards and returning home to her parents where she reveals that she is a woman
to her army companion. The two of them are united in marriage.
The film balances the weightier task of political criticism with the comic el-
ements of Mulan’s situation. Scenes make light of the differences in gender,
often emphasizing how much gender is a performance. In one memorable scene,
Mulan and Liu Yuandu go on a secret mission to explore enemy terrain; they
not only travel in mufti, but Mulan dresses as a woman, encouraged to do so
because “he” is already feminine. There is a lot of flirtation between Mulan and
Liu Yuandu, even as Mulan is perceived to be a man, making for comedy to an
audience that knows Mulan is a woman. The comedy serves to underscore the
political allegory, however; how is it that this woman is the most successful sol-
dier in the battalion? What is the matter with Chinese men?
Mulan Joins the Army opens with a scene that recalls the “Poem of Mulan” and
The Female Mulan. We see Mulan in a hunting costume on horseback with bow
and arrow, shooting and retrieving birds. She then sets her sights on a rustling
in the bushes:
( . . . From among some bushes, there is a rustling, and Mulan draws her bow and shoots at it.
Striking her target, she suddenly hears a cry of pain. It is in fact another hunter who had been con-
cealed in the bushes. In pain he jumps up, sees Mulan, and recognizes her.)
LI: Wang, what were you calling out about again? Did you shoot something?
WANG: No, I didn’t shoot anything; instead, I got shot by someone! Take a
look . . .
(He demonstrates to them where he was hit)
ZHANG: Hey, isn’t that a daughter of the Hua family?
(Mulan rides over to the group)
xxx Introduction

LI: That’s right!

ZHANG: Pretending to be mad but actually scheming, she’s come over to our
village to hunt—and flaunt the rules!
LI: That’s right!
MULAN: Big Brother Wang, I am truly sorry. I thought you were a rabbit. I
didn’t think you would have been crouching there.
We are returned here to the now centuries-old comparison of telling apart the
male and female hare. Mulan mistakes Wang for a rabbit in the bushes, insult-
ing him on multiple levels. Not only has she mistaken a man for an animal and
struck him with an arrow, she tells him that she has mistaken him for a rabbit. By
comparing him to a rabbit in particular, contemporary slang for a homosexual,
she impugns his masculinity. Of course, this is the subtext of Mulan Joins the Army.
Mulan is more “masculine” than any of the young braves in the film, inasmuch
as masculinity is defined by courage, loyalty, and fearlessness in battle. Certainly,
the young men of the village are portrayed as hapless and ineffectual, and neither
Wang nor his shooting companions go off to battle at all.
In the country’s time of need, it is only Mulan who can step forward to do
what is right for her compatriots. Unthreatened by foreign incursion, unswayed
by selfish greed, she outperforms the men. Yet, her exceptional behavior is sim-
ply that: exceptional. She stands out, but only as a role model, a symbol of what
every man should strive to be. Once she has proven her potential, and demon-
strated what can be accomplished with the right motives, she quickly steps down
from present and future positions of power and marries the man who had been
her subordinate throughout the many years of war: all’s well that ends well. Mu-
lan is ultimately not a role model to women, who are expected to stay at home
to serve the family as her sister does, but a role model to men.

VI. Conclusion
Through the twentieth century into the twenty-first, the story of Mulan gained
momentum, and it was adapted in opera and film versions over the decades. We
have, for example, versions of Mulan written after the formation of the People’s
Republic of China in 1949 that make her a native of Yan’an, birthplace of Com-
munist heroes. Mulan was a popular figure in Hong Kong films as well, espe-
cially in Cantonese-style Yue opera versions. She is called “Fa Muk Lan” accord-
 Introduction xxxi

ing to Cantonese pronunciation and was a popular hit in the 1964 Cantonese
opera film titled Lady General Hua Mulan (Fa Muk Lan).
It is this Cantonese pronunciation of Mulan’s surname that came to the
English-speaking general audience when Maxine Hong Kingston published
her novel The Woman Warrior: A Girlhood among Ghosts in 1989. Kingston took lib-
erties with the Mulan legend, weaving into her interpretation threads of other
stories and legends that she said were learned from hearing her mother’s stories.
Kingston’s Fa Mu Lan was a critique of the oppression Kingston herself felt as
a Chinese-American woman, and one of the reminders of that oppression to
the protagonist is a series of grievances tattooed onto her back by her parents
(a reference to the male hero Yue Fei). The narrator girds the memory of this
fierce warrior, who is braver than any man, against the reality of her girlhood in
San Francisco’s Chinatown, where she finds herself being belittled for the fact
that she is a girl. The novel uses the figure of Mulan to voice the grievances of
a Chinese-American girl who grows up hearing the tales of a fierce role model
but is expected to live out traditional roles. Instead of viewing the novel as a per-
sonal rumination on one girl’s crises of identity set against a pastiche of partially
observed notions of handed-down ethnicity, the Asian-American author and
activist Frank Chin furiously objected to what he perceived as Kingston’s re-
Orientalizing of China to pander to a white audience. Kingston’s best seller
became, to Chin, a deliberate corruption of the Mulan legend for the sake of
selling women’s oppression in traditional China. Mulan resurfaced again in the
1990s, with the 1998 Disney animated movie Mulan, the first Chinese story to
receive the Disney treatment. This Mulan was generally well received, and it plays
the most significant role in Mulan’s name recognition to popular audiences in
the West.19
In recent years, Mulan has continued to be a popular subject for Chinese
plays and films, both in Mainland China and in Hong Kong and Taiwan. In
2003, Li Liuyi produced an avant-garde stage adaptation of Hua Mulan. In 2008,
a hybrid “Chinese opera” version of Mulan debuted at the Vienna State Opera
House with music by Guan Xia played by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. At
the time of this book’s writing, a film of Mulan starring Zhao Wei as the lead
is currently in production.
Over the last millennium, Mulan has been transformed in the hands of writ-
ers and directors, as much as she transformed herself. Mulan’s superiority as a

19 See Lan, 2003.

xxxii Introduction

woman committing acts of daring beyond the abilities of men, morally or mar-
tially, should not be immediately interpreted as evidence of a willingness to
valorize women over men, however. The reader must consider that arguing for
Mulan’s moral superiority—preserving her chastity while defying expectations
in filial or national gestures—may just be another way of arguing for the ne-
cessity of keeping her contained within the safe and protected confines of the
domestic sphere. Though the interpretations and variations of the legend of
Mulan may differ, Mulan herself endures: she is, after all, no stranger to change.
MULAN
 ANONYMOUS

“Poem of Mulan”
A sigh, a sigh, and then again a sigh—
Mulan was sitting at the door and weaving.
One did not hear the sound of loom and shuttle,
One only heard her heave these heavy sighs.
When she was asked the object of her love,
When she was asked who occupied her thoughts,
She did not have a man she was in love with,
There was no boy who occupied her thoughts.
“Last night I saw the summons from the army,
The Khan is mobilizing all his troops.
The list of summoned men comes in twelve copies:
Every copy lists my father’s name!
My father has, alas, no grown-up son,
And I, Mulan, I have no adult brother.
I want to buy a saddle and a horse,
To take my father’s place and join the army.”
The eastern market: there she bought a horse;
The western market: there she bought a saddle.
The southern market: there she bought a bridle;
The northern market: there she bought a whip.
At dawn she said good-bye to her dear parents,
At night she rested by the Yellow River.
She did not hear her parents’ voices, calling for their daughter,
She only heard the Yellow River’s flowing water, always splashing, splashing.
At dawn she left the Yellow River’s bank;
At night she rested on Black Mountain’s top.
She did not hear her parents’ voices, calling for their daughter,
She only heard the whinnying of Crimson Mountain’s Hunnish1 horsemen.
1 The Chinese term hu, which we here translate as “Hunnish,” generally refers to the no-

madic populations on China’s traditional nothern border (in modern Inner Mongolia).

1
2 Anonymous

Myriads of miles: she joined the thick of battle,

Crossing the mountain passes as if flying.
Winds from the north transmitted metal rattles,2
A freezing light shone on her iron armor.
A hundred battles and the brass were dead;
After ten years the bravest men returned.

When they returned, they met the Son of Heaven,

The Son of Heaven seated on his throne.3
Their honorary rank went up twelve steps,
And their rewards were counted in the millions.
The Khan asked Mulan what he might desire—
“I, Mulan, do not care for an appointment here at court.4
Give me your racer good for a thousand miles,5
To take me back again to my old hometown.”

Hearing their daughter had arrived, her parents

Went out the city, welcoming her back home.
Hearing her elder sister had arrived, her sister
Put on her bright red outfit at the door.
Hearing his elder sister had arrived, her brother
Sharpened his knife that brightly flashed in front of pigs and sheep.

“Open the gate to my pavilion on the east,

Let me sit down in my old western room.
I will take off the dress I wore in battle;
I will put on the skirt I used to wear.”
Close to the window she did up her hair;
Facing the mirror she applied makeup.
She went outside and saw her army buddies—

2
The Chinese commentators here explain the “rattle” as a small iron three-legged pot, which
was used for cooking food at daytime and for beating out the watches during nighttime.
3
The Son of Heaven (the emperor/khan) is said in the original to be seated in the Hall of
Light, a ceremonial structure described in ancient books.
4
More precisely, an appointment as Secretarial Court Gentleman.
5
That is, a horse (or, according to some editions, a camel) that can run a thousand Chinese
miles in a single day (the Chinese mile is roughly one third of an English mile).
 “Poem of Mulan” 3

Her army buddies were all flabbergasted:

“We marched together for these twelve long years
And absolutely had no clue that Mulan was a girl!”

“The male hare wildly kicks its feet;

The female hare has shifty eyes,
But when a pair of hares runs side by side,
Who can distinguish whether I in fact am male or female?”

Translated by Wilt L. Idema

 WEI YUANFU

1
“Song of Mulan”
Shuttle in hand, Mulan heaves a sigh;
“Who is it for this time?” I ask,
wanting to know why she sorrows.
Deeply moved, she composes her face.

“My father is listed in the draft’s register,

But his strength and energy daily wane.
How could he journey a myriad miles?
He has a son, but the boy is still too young.

“The steppe sands envelop horses’ hooves;

Northern storms crack a man’s skin.
My father has grown old, and worn by age;
How can he survive service?”

Mulan goes in place of her father,

Feeds his horse and takes his place in the ranks.
She changes away her white silk skirt;
She washes away her powdered, rouged face.
Riding the horse, she reports to the garrison;
Filled with noble courage, she wields a sword.
Camping at dawn at the foot of snowy mountains,
Resting at dusk on the bank of Qinghai Lake:
At night she surprises the captives at Mt. Yanzhi,
And she also captures the Tibetans from Khotan.2
The victorious commander in chief returns,
And officers and men can go back home.
When her father and mother see Mulan,

1
Wei Yuanfu’s “Song of Mulan” is written in lines of five syllables, with an occasional ad-
mixture of lines of seven syllables. Line spaces in the translation reflect a shift of rhyme in
the original. The translation is taken from Wei, 1979, pp. 373–5.
2
Now known by the modern name Hotan or Hetian in pinyin.

5
Late Qing New Year print illustration of Mulan. The inscription reads:
Mulan was in origin a cute young girl
Who went to the war instead of her father—how admirable!
Fighting far and wide for ten years, she preserved both name and honor.
The peerless general claims to be surnamed “Hua” (flower).
Inscribed by . . . Inkstone Field, on the mao month, guiyou year. Tianjin, Yangliuqing. Late Qing.
Source: Qingmo nianhua huicui (Beijing: Renmin meishu chubanshe, 2000).
 “Song of Mulan” 7

Extreme joy turns into sadness and worry.

Mulan can understand the expressions on their faces,
So she discards turban and gauntlet and then tunes the strings:

“Before, I was a hero amongst warriors,

But from now on I’ll be your darling girl again!”
Relatives bring wine in congratulations:
“Only now do we know that a daughter is as useful as a son!”

Her old army buddies, assembled outside,

For ten years shared in her trials.
At the outset they swore friendship as brothers,
An oath never broken even in the death of battle!
But when now on this occasion they see Mulan,
Though the voice is the same, the features are quite different!
Stunned and perplexed, they don’t dare approach;
Heaving heavy sighs, in vain filled with wonder.

If in this world the hearts of officials and sons

Could display the same principled virtue as Mulan’s,
Their loyalty and filiality would be unbroken;
Their fame would last through the ages—how could it be destroyed?

Translated by Wilt L. Idema

 XU WEI

The Female Mulan Joins the Army

1
in Place of Her Father

Act I

Characters:
MULAN, performed by dan (young female lead)

XIAOHUAN, performed by chou (clown)

HUA HU, performed by wai (old male)

MOTHER, performed by lao (old female)

YAO’ER, performed by xiaosheng (supporting young male)

MUNAN, performed by tie (supporting young female)

SOLDIERS

1
The Female Mulan is one of the four plays that comprise Xu Wei’s Four Cries of a Gibbon. The
translation is taken from Xu Wei, 1984, pp. 44–59.

9
Woodblock illustration from a late-Ming edition of Xu Wei’s play The Female Mulan
Joins the Army in Place of Her Father (Ci Mulan ti fu congjun). Included in his Four Cries of a
Gibbon (Sisheng yuan).
Source: Guojia tushuguan cang xiqu xiaoshuo banhua xuancui (Taibei: Guojia tushuguan, 2000).
12 Xu Wei

(Dan playing the girl Mulan enters)

MULAN: My surname is Hua, my name Mulan. Generations ago, in the time
of the Western Han, my ancestors, being among those descended from good
families of the Six Prefectures,2 settled here in Hebei’s Wei Prefecture.3 My fa-
ther’s name is Hu, and he is also called Sangzhi. All his life he has loved martial
arts and was skilled in literature, and he was at one time a famous “commander
of a thousand.” He married my mother, from the Jia family, and she gave birth
to me.4 This year, I am barely seventeen years old. Neither my little sister, Mu-
nan, or my little brother, Yao’er, have reached adulthood. Yesterday I heard that
Black Mountain’s head bandit, Leopard Skin, led hundreds of thousands of men
on horseback in rebellion and is now calling himself king. Our great Wei’s Tuoba
khan5 has sent down to our district, calling up troops. The army rolls have been
arriving, twelve in a row, scroll after scroll bearing my father’s name. As I think
of it, my father is not only old, but has no one in the next generation who can
carry on for him. When I was young, I was a strong one, and had a bit of smarts,
so I followed my father in studying books and martial arts. Now this is my op-
portunity to repay him. Just take a look at what it says in the books about Qin
Xiu6 and Tiying;7 one of them willing to die, the other one willing to go to

2
Meaning Longxi 隴西, Tianshui 天水, Anding 安定, Beidi 北地, Shangjun 上郡, and
Xihe 西河, in present-day Gansu and Inner Mongolia.
3
The Wei district was founded in 195 B.C.E. by Han Gaozu, in the Ye jurisdiction. Modern-
day Hebei, southwest of Linzhang.
4
That is to say, Mulan is the daughter of her father’s first wife, not of a concubine.
5
The version from the Historical Romance of the Sui and Tang places this story in the Tang dy-
nasty, but Xu Wei places it in a non-Han setting, during the Northern Wei period. The rulers
during this period were from the Tuoba family, which was ethnically part of the non-Han
nomadic Xianbei tribe federation. They used their word “khan” for emperor, and Mulan is
here referring to the emperor when she references the Tuoba khan.
6
According to a yuefu written by Zuo Yannian during the Three Kingdoms period (220–
280 C.E.) in Wei, found in the “Miscellaneous Songs” (“Za qu ge ci”) section, and titled
“Song of the Qin girl, Xiu,” Qin Xiu is a girl who avenges the death of her father by killing
his murderers in the marketplace. She is incarcerated and given the death penalty, although
she is later pardoned.
7
Tiying is the youngest daughter of the physician Chunyun Yi of the Western Han. Her
father was sentenced to mutilation for embezzling government funds and was sent to the
capital for execution. Tiying submitted a memorial to Han Wendi (Emperor Wen of the
 The Female Mulan Joins the Army in Place of Her Father, Act I 13

court to be a slave, both for their fathers’ sake. But, weren’t those two putting
their buns in hairnets? Did they put put on male caps? Didn’t they just wear
skirts and jackets? There’s just one thing: if I were to stand for him, I must have
a new bow, horse, spear, sword, gown, and boots—all prepared from scratch.
And I’d better go over my martial arts once or twice. Only then can I tell my
family about my aims to take dad’s place. They will know that there is no alter-
native and certainly should not take pains to keep me. Where is Xiaohuan?
(Chou playing Xiaohuan enters)
Xiaohuan! Don’t let Father and Mother find out: we are going shopping!
(Mulan turns offstage and mimes buying things)
(Comes back leading Xiaohuan, carrying her packages)
XIAOHUAN: Miss, where should I tie up the horse?
MULAN: Stable it at Wang San’s home, across the way!

[Dianjiangchun]8
The Xiu girl braved death,
Tiying faced judgment,
They were both my female companions, in skirts and hairpins.
Standing on the ground, holding up heaven:
What’s this about men being heroes?

[Hunjianglong]
The army scrolls are in a dozen,
Roll upon roll, scroll upon scroll, listing my father’s name.
He is already aged,
And is plagued by debilitating illness.
To think, how in earlier times,
He fit an arrow, to hunt the hawk, piercing it with its white-feathered
shaft.

Han), begging to be her father’s substitute to pay off his debt as a slave at court. Wendi was
moved, and he thereupon abolished corporal punishment, which was a significant reform of
existing Han law.
8
The arias in Chinese opera are set to existing song tunes. The titles in brackets refer to the
melodies in a repertory of aria tunes.
14 Xu Wei

Now, ah,
He leans on a staff, to count the wild geese, counting them against the blue
sky.
He calls in the chickens, and feeds the dog,
He stays in the village, and minds the fields.
For training falcons, his wrist is too weak,
For chasing hares, his back is too bent.
He leads us sisters by the hand,
He combs the hair of us little girls.
Seeing us in front of mirrors touching up rouge, he laughs out loud,
Hearing about swords raised in battle, his brow furrows, in frowns.
With a long sigh, he says:
“For us parents, North Mang Hill9 is rearing,
For our girls, the “Bared Belly of the East” has yet to come.”10
If I want to practice martial arts, I’ve got to first let out these feet11 and change
to this pair of boots. Only then will I manage!
(As she changes footwear, she acts out pain)

[Youhulu]
Just-removed, the half-folded Tiny Ripple Socks bindings,12
How it hurts!
It took me several years to bind together these “Phoenix-head sharps.”13
Now I quickly turn them into floating boats.14
How will I now fill up these boots?

9 This hill north of Luoyang in Henan province is the burial site of royals from the East-

ern Han and the Wei and thus functions as a metaphor for death.
10 The famous calligrapher of the Eastern Jin dynasty (217–420), Wang Xizhi (303–361)
is the source of this allusion. When the emperor’s adviser Xi Jian approached Wang’s father
about finding a son-in-law for his daughter, Wang told him to go to the Eastern Room to
take a look at his sons. Xi returned to report to the emperor that all of the men were fine,
but they almost all seemed nervous, whereas one of them lay on a couch with his belly ex-
posed. The emperor selected the relaxed one.
11 This refers to bound feet—an anachronism, as discussed in the Introduction.
12 A metaphor for bound feet.
13 Another metaphor for bound feet.
14 That is, they’ve become big and flat.
 The Female Mulan Joins the Army in Place of Her Father, Act I 15

When I return, I’ll still want to get married. So what can I do? Well, no need
to mope about that! My family has a method for shrinking golden lotuses:15
just take a bit of saltpeter, boil it, and use it to wash the feet. In this way, we
make them even smaller!
(Sings:)
Take the raw saltpeter, boil it so it is white like snowflakes,
And in a thrice, you’ve shrunk them back into golden lotus petals.
In these boots, I’m pretty much steady. Now I’ll put on these clothes!
(Changes clothes, puts on man’s felt military cap)

[Tianxiale]
Dressed up, I daresay I am a senior campaigning officer,
Among their ranks, it will be easy to hide.
Hook the belt tightly—
I shall hang my sword on the plates.
The chain mail is pliant and supple,
Its quilted lining is comfy and warm.
I’ll bring this armor back, and it will be good enough for my brother to wear.
Clothes and boots are all changed. I’ve got to practice some swordplay for a bit.
(Performs swordplay)

[Nezhaling]
This sword!
How long it’s been since I’ve drawn it,
I’ve got to say, I thought it wouldn’t be easy.
Hoisting it up and giving it a whirl—
Well, it’s just like old times.
Why aren’t my hands sore with pain,
Used as they are to threading the loom’s shuttle?
The girl of Yue still needed the instruction of the white ape.16
If I take dad’s place in the army, how can I not grasp this green serpent17
15
Another metaphor for bound feet.
16
A legendary heroine, the girl of Yue is a peasant girl who was taught swordplay by a white
ape that came to her from the mountains.
17 That is, the sword.
16 Xu Wei

So fast that round my red skirt I hold this blast of frost!18

Now I am finished performing with the sword, I had better practice the lance.
(Acts practicing with lance)

[Queta zhi]
Whetted until fresh as a leaf of green,
Fixed onto this fine wood staff,
It is as good as any number of rounds of Pear Petals Dancing in Moonlight
And Ten-foot Snake Creeping.19
Wait, wait, until my feet have unfolded,
And with big steps I can stride again,
And then with one turn of my body, I will push over the tip of Black Mountain.
Ah, arrows! I can’t practice them here. I’ll just have to try to pull the bowstring.
I will see how my way with the bow and string compares to the old days.
(Acts pulling bow)

[Jishengcao]
The thumb ring is thin,
The frame’s ends are rounded.
With one fist closed tight, I grab the “Yellow Snake.”20
For a single arrow, a full eagle’s tail has been pulled out.21
One outstretched arm holds forth with the strength of the white ape.
Singing drawn-out songs, the hero enters the pass,
Then, only then, will I reveal my Tianshan arrows.22

18
Her swordplay will be so swift that the glints around her will blend into a whirl of frost-
like silver, set off by her red skirt.
19
Various fighting methods involving lances.
20
The character translated as “cast,” cuan, is the same character used for casting a shuttle (as
in weaving), but here it is used to refer to the snakeskin-covered bow.
21
Arrows were traditionally made with eagle tail feathers as fletchings.
22
During Tang Taizong’s reign, one of his generals, Xue Rengui, was surrounded on Tian
Mountain (Tianshan) under attack by the Tiele. He was challenged to fight ten members
of the Tiele cavalry. The three arrows he shot killed the three top generals, and this show of
skill caused the rest of the Tiele to surrender.
 The Female Mulan Joins the Army in Place of Her Father, Act I 17

As for riding a donkey or a horse, it is familiar enough to me. Even so, I’ve got
to get the posture of jumping astride the saddle.
(Mounts horse in the posture of sitting astride a horse)

[Yao]
Embroidered front and back, my horse-riding vest,
Inlaid with coral, my horse-urging whip,
This costume is not army issue.
So with these two leather reins I’ll control my unicorn tightly,
And through millions of mountains I’ll catch alive a monkey companion.23
With this one bit and bridle, I’ll trample out the foxes from their den.
I will only reveal that a lovely girl was the one in the saddle when I
return home.24
Who, then, will not call me a great hero?
Everything is taken care of now. I have to call Father and Mother to come out
so I can talk to them.
(Addressing backstage, she asks father, mother, younger brother, and younger sister to come out)
(Wai playing father, lao playing mother, xiaosheng playing brother, and tie playing the younger
sister enter. Upon seeing her, they are surprised.)
MOTHER: Child! Why are you dressed up like this today? You have unbound
your feet! How strange! How strange!
MULAN: Mother! Father is supposed to join the army: how can he not go?
MOTHER: He is old already, how can he go?
MULAN: Could little sister or little brother be made to go?
MOTHER: You’re mad! How are two as young as they are able to go?
MULAN: Things being that way, then no one will go.

23
It was thought that exhausted horses, if allowed to sleep for too long, would become se-
verely ill; therefore, the horse’s keeper would house a monkey in the stables with the horse to
distract it and keep it awake, making a monkey part of riding paraphernalia.
24
It is impossible to replicate in English the play on words and sounds here. The word for
“beautiful,” which is definitely a feminine adjective (jiao 嬌) sounds similar (indicated by the
shared sound element) to the word meaning saddle (jiao 驕).
18 Xu Wei

MOTHER: That’s precisely why we are at our wits’ end. Your father is ready to
hang himself from worry!
MULAN: The way I am now . . . can I go or not?
MOTHER: Child! I know well your abilities. You could indeed go. (Crying) It’s
just that . . . how can two old folks like us bear to let you go? And another thing,
if you go . . . you’re still a girl. Through a thousand provinces and a million miles,
you’ll be marching with men and keeping their constant company—breakfasting
together in the morning, lodging together at night—you cannot prevent your
you-know-what from showing! Don’t you think that this will create problems?
MULAN: Mom! Don’t worry. I will return to you still a virgin.
(They weep together)
(Two soldiers enter)
SOLDIER: Is this the Hua residence?
FATHER: Why do you ask?
SOLDIER: We are also recruits. Our home office said that in this ward there
is a Hua Hu and told us to come and hasten him so that we may all travel to-
gether, so hurry up.
MULAN: Brothers, sit a while! Allow me to prepare a few things, and I’ll be
good to go. Xiaohuan, go fetch my horse!
(Mulan readies her military equipment)
(Everyone watches)
PARENTS: Fine horse! Fine arms! You’ll certainly be a success, returning to
hurrahs. No matter what, you must regularly write to us, and spare us both from
worrying. Now, we’d like to drink a toast to you, but things are so helter-skel-
ter. I’ve sent Xiaohuan to go buy you some hot buns. Bring them with you for
munching on the road. I’ll put these needles and thread in your bag, and you’ll
be prepared if you get a rip in your clothes, or a break in your armor!
TWO SOLDIERS: Hurry up!
(Family members weep in parting, then leave first)
(Mulan goes to meet the soldiers)
MULAN: Elder brothers, thanks for waiting such a long while! Let’s mount
our horses and be off.
 The Female Mulan Joins the Army in Place of Her Father, Act I 19

(Mulan gets on the horse and starts on her way)

(The soldiers secretly confer)
SOLDIERS: This Hua Hu doesn’t look bad at all. He doesn’t look like a senior
officer, but he’d be a nice morsel. Tomorrow we can take him to meet our needs.
MULAN:

[Yao]
I’m no further from home than a shot from an arrow,
But I hear the sputtering Yellow River’s flow.
The horse lowers his head, and I point far off to where the goose drops into the
reeds.
My iron armor is unlined—suddenly there appears a fleck of frosty crystal.
From the intensity of the sorrows of parting, my peach-flower face has become
drawn.
If I for a moment think of these tightly stitched clothes,25
Two rows of tears drip from their pearl strings.

[Liu yao xu]

Ai! The smell of face powder still lingers on my face;
I try to wash off the mark left by my hair ornament.
It still isn’t gone even after a whole day.
But I have been twisted into a veritable man, and in great haste, I mount
my horse, astride the saddle.
In my boots are planted a golden whip,
My feet push against the bronze rings,
Dropping the needle’s point,
I’ve slung on my strung bow.26

25An allusion to Meng Jiao’s (751–814) “Song for the Traveler”:

The thread in his mother’s hand,
Sews clothes for the traveler.
Close together, these tight stitches,
fearing a late return.
Who can say that the inch-long heart of grass
requites three months of spring’s rays?
This poem is the classic exposition on a mother’s love.
26 Replacing one kind of “needle” and “thread” with another.
20 Xu Wei

Before I meet anyone, I am prepared to meet him by bending my back;

I cannot use anymore the curtsying I did in my woman’s skirts.
I don’t fear the mandarin ducks becoming a pair and asking for marriage,
I’m more concerned about the burning need to pee and poop.27
I need a ruse.

[Yao]
Brothers! While we’ve been talking,
And without urging the whip,
We’ve crossed ten thousand green mountains like dots, and
Neared “Five Zhang”28 Red Pass.
Where the sunlight rests on the city wall’s parapets,
Several banner flags are raised.
In tattered caps, and worn shirts,
They are not very intimidating,
This must be an officer of the guard!
Is he not like us, one of the same kind?
Relying on our youth,
Relying on Blue Heaven,
Not fearing hardship,
Not loving money,
Yet we all head toward recognition, for which our portraits will hang up in
Lingyan Tower.29
Isn’t this better than scheming and robbing someone of his command, and
stealing someone’s glory?
It is worth much more than wealth and position, which is after all
decreed by Heaven.
Even if the Black Mountain Bandits’ crimes are broad as heaven,
They began as nothing more than mere thoughts in the mind.
(Acts out asking)

27
Thus revealing her female genitalia to the soldiers.
28
A “zhang” is a Chinese measurement equivalent to 11 feet 9 inches.
29
This refers to portraits commissioned by Tang Taizong of twenty-four meritorious offi-
cials. Here, Mulan says that she and the other soldiers are not looking for glory, but only to
serve their ruler.
 The Female Mulan Joins the Army in Place of Her Father, Act I 21

[Yao]
Where are we now?
Feet and inches away, but
Seeming halfway to heaven,
The long slope ahead winds like a coiled snake.
It must be that the commander in chief is seated atop the platform,
A little Tiying is about to meet a great commanding officer.
By now my heart is shaken,
In time I will get comfortable with a warrior’s heart.
Commanding a thousand men and horses,
I will sweep across Black Mountain in battle,
I shall sweep away the traces of old rouge from my flower cheeks with my
sable cap.
ALL: While we were talking, we happily arrived at the commander’s camp. We
shall first select a place to set up, and tomorrow we shall all go together to see
our commander. (Exeunt)
 Act II

Characters:
XIN PING, performed by wai

MULAN, performed by dan

LEOPARD SKIN, performed by jing (male “painted face”)

EUNUCH, performed by chou

MOTHER, performed by lao

YAO’ER, performed by xiaosheng

MUNAN, performed by tie

WANG LANG, performed by sheng (young male lead)

XIAOHUAN, performed by chou

SOLDIERS

(Wai playing the commanding general enters)

XIN PING: I am the “Subduing the East” commanding general, Xin Ping. Our
ruler ordered me to lead 100,000 brave troops to kill the Black Mountain ban-
dits, and I have been victorious in every battle. But we can’t do anything about
the chief bandit, Leopard Skin, who has hidden himself behind high, steep cliffs
and won’t come out from behind their walls. The other day, three thousand
braves newly arrived, and I will appoint them after trying out their martial skills.
There is a Hua Hu, who seemed capable. Now I am about to roll out this cat-
apult, to fire on those steep cliffs above. This chief bandit will have no choice
but to come out and fight. When the troops are drawn up against each other
in battle formation, I will have Hua Hu cut through in the middle on horse-
back, and we are bound to capture Leopard Skin at the first roll of the drum.
Where are Hua Hu and the new soldiers?
(Mulan and the group of soldiers enter and kneel)
XIN PING: Hua Hu! Tomorrow I will attack Black Mountain. After two
rounds of battle, you have to let your horse gallop and dash into the troops.

22
 The Female Mulan Joins the Army in Place of Her Father, Act II 23

You will be sure to capture the bandit chief alive. Then I will recommend you
to the emperor, and your reward will not be meager. If you disobey, you will
be beheaded.
MULAN: Yes, sir. I have received your command!
XIN PING: Then let’s raise the troops and go forth!

[Qingjiang yin]
Black Mountain’s little bandit is truly shortsighted!
He continues to hide himself—what can he accomplish?
When the flower opens, butterflies fill the branches.
When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter off.
The more you hide, the more I’ll seek the sight of you.
CHORUS OF SOLDIERS:

[To the same tune]

Black Mountain’s little bandit is truly farsighted!
Left or right, he’s used to getting defeated.
All day long he feels no shame at all,
And in all three meals, gobbles his fill.
The more you seek him out, the more he hides and watches what will
happen.
Your Lordship! We have arrived at the bandit hideout.
XIN PING: Tell the troops to raise the catapult and fire!
(They fire the catapult. A jing playing the bandit chief thrice comes out in front of the ranks to
fight. Mulan dashes out in front and captures him.)
XIN PING: Call back the troops to return!
CHORUS OF SOLDIERS:

[To the same tune]

Our great leader is truly farsighted,
Only after careful calculation did he act.
This bandit was a false case of: When the flower opens, butterflies fill the
branches,
In truth, he was like: When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter off.
Returning with a victory song, we share in his pride.
24 Xu Wei

XIN PING:

[To the same tune]

My gathered soldiers, the great sight that you witnessed a moment ago
Means we’ll have an extra string of cash every month.
No more “all day long he knows no shame”;
I’ll make sure each man shall have three meals to gobble his fill.
When it comes to weighing merits, it is Hua Hu who claims the greatest
share of credit.
(Arriving at the capital, sound of bells and drums. They act out an audience at court.)
XIN PING: (memorializing to the throne) The humble “Subduing the East” com-
manding general, Xin Ping, respectfully reports: by Your Majesty’s grace, we were
sent to march against the bandits from Black Mountain and have fully pacified
them. The bandit chief, Leopard Skin, was indeed captured by my soldier, Hua
Hu, in front of the ranks; he has been brought here for your disposal. As for
the other worthy men, I have put down their names on the registers and made
distinctions according to their merits, and hope you will make your decisions
accordingly.
(Chou playing eunuch presents emperor’s edict)
EUNUCH: His Majesty commands: you have gained great merit in eradicat-
ing the bandits, and We have specially enfeoffed30 you as the marquis of Chang-
shan. We present you with a tablet of office for perpetual inheritance. Hua Hu
shall be the secretarial court officer in the Imperial Secretariat. Bearing in mind
his many years of laboring in military service, We order that he return home
posthaste to rest for three months, then await the new appointment. He will be
given official cap and girdle, and, following this, he and Xin Ping may give thanks
for Our imperial grace. Leopard Skin will be beheaded. As for the other wor-
thies, We will act once their cases are verified.
(Mulan puts on official cap and girdle)
(General and Mulan give thanks, and receive the decree. Chou exits.)
MULAN: I, Hua Hu, am grateful to Your Honor for raising me up with this
recommendation to receive imperial glory and grace beyond my due. But as I am

30 Given a title and stipend.

 The Female Mulan Joins the Army in Place of Her Father, Act II 25

anxious about visiting my parents, I cannot go to your office to give thanks. Al-
low me first to kowtow to you here, and allow me to one day repay you as a dog
or horse would its master.
XIN PING: What you achieved you did on your own. What does it have to do
with me? Because we are in such haste, I, too, cannot send you gifts to congrat-
ulate you properly.
MULAN: Today you have helped me greatly.
XIN PING: I have done no more than lend wind to the sail of a boat going
with the current.
(Xin Ping exits first)
MULAN:

[To the same tune]

Everything is—when I think of it—an illusion, after all;
Why should I boast that I succeeded in this scheme?
The “I” who killed bandits, and captured their king,
Was a woman who changed place with a man.
After all, these successes did not cost me a drop of sweat.
(Two soldiers hurry onstage)
SOLDIERS: Sir Hua! How well you have done!
MULAN: Why are you two so late in coming?
SOLDIERS: We two awaited successful investigations, and now we have acquired
centurion positions. We hope that you will look out for us!
MULAN: Happy news! Now we can travel together.
SOLDIERS:

[To the same tune]

When you think of it, Big Brother Hua is really weird!
Whether he’s pissing or shitting, he won’t allow anyone to watch.
(Companions to each other) That’s a mark of gentility for you!
If heaven gives birth to a worthy man,
It brings luck to his three companions.
26 Xu Wei

The two of us, with offices puny as sesame seeds, raised our eyes to take a
look at him.
MULAN:

[To the same tune]

How am I, Hua Hu, so weird?
I only know of one thing that is weird.
Right next to my home, in a temple,
There is a protecting demon statue, whose face
Suddenly changed into Chang’e’s!31
SOLDIERS: Truly?
MULAN: If you don’t believe me, when we reach my home I will bring you to
see it.
(Exit)
(Father, mother, Xiaohuan enter)
PARENTS: Since the time our girl, Mulan, left, there hasn’t been a bit of news.
The good thing is that at New Year’s, Minister Wang’s son, Mr. Wang, impressed
that Mulan was so filial as to take her father’s place, sought to be affianced
with her. Who would have thought that Mr. Wang would go on to succeed in
the “Wise and Good” and “Literary Scholarship” categories?32 Now he is
home, visiting his parents with the title “collator of the Imperial Library.” Mu-
lan, too, has been gone for more than ten years. With the two of them each grown
into man and woman, and of marrying age, this is no light matter! But how do
we get her to come home, so that we can conclude this betrothal and die with a
clear conscience?
(Two soldiers enter with Mulan)
SOLDIERS: Sir Hua! We’ve arrived at your home! We two will take our leave
and go!
MULAN: What kind of talk is this? Please have a seat in the left chamber, and
wait until noon to go on.

31 From a masculine protective demon (jingang) statue to that of the feminine goddess of the
moon, Chang’e.
32 These exam categories can be understood roughly as “Civics” and “Composition.”
 The Female Mulan Joins the Army in Place of Her Father, Act II 27

(Soldiers assent, stepping aside so as to indicate leaving room)

(Mulan advances and sees parents)
MOTHER: (to maid) Girl! Quick, call Second Sister and Third Brother to come
out, tell them that Big Sister has come back!
(Maid calls younger sister and brother, who enter)
(Mulan, facing her mirror, changes back to female makeup, then bows in greeting to her parents)
MULAN:

[Shua haier]
Your child left, cutting down bandits with martial sword,
Wiping them away like the wind scattering clouds;
I captured the bandit chief alive, then left the capital:
This black gauze cap came from the khan himself.
MOTHER: Your office, what office is it?
MULAN:
It is Secretarial Gentleman. Mother!
I have been bound up tightly so many years in a hall with the nightly rain of
pear-blossom petals,
But I return to you as before, a little box of dogwood bud in spring winds.33
How could I shame my parents?
MOTHER: My child, to think of what you have done!
MULAN:
I don’t mean to boast that . . . true gold withstands fire,
Or that it well compares to . . . the red lotus emerging from the mud.34
(Bows in greeting to brother and sister)

[Er sha]
When I left, you were just a little thing,
Now I’ve returned, your shoulders reach mine,
Right now you are quite ready to go to battle on Father’s behalf.

33
That is, still a virgin after all these years.
34
The lotus is prized because it blooms pure and unblemished in spite of the mud from
which it springs.
28 Xu Wei

Sister, thank you for supporting our two elderly parents,

Brother, all of our generation should consider you its number one.
When I left the city, I could not find time to buy some perfume or
handkerchiefs.
To give to sister: just a package of face powder,
And for brother: two boxes of pine-soot ink.
(The two soldiers hurry onstage)
SOLDIERS: Sir Hua! You were a girl all along! We lived with you for a dozen
years, and none of us knew at all. So it turns out the demon that you spoke
of on the road, who turned into Chang’e, was this riddle! You are the great-
est miracle of all time. It will be known the world over, and everyone will re-
member you.
MULAN:

[San sha]
It is said that between men and women, even their mats shouldn’t touch,
But when there’s no other option, one must use expedient means.
The clever blossom hid securely from the butterflies’ ardor.
In Father’s place, I, ah! Was like the younger brother-in-law for whom
It’s impossible to let go of his sister-in-law’s hand, to save her from
drowning.35
Toward you men, ah! You were like fire raging for dry tinder—how could I
not deceive you?
I was like the heron which is seen only when it soars from the snow.36
In total we were together for ten years,
That makes for half a marriage.
SOLDIERS: With them so busy, we should make ourselves scarce. So we won’t
take our leave, but just go!
(Exit)

35
Mencius’ clarification that whereas men and women should keep a distance between them,
extenuating circumstances (such as the woman’s risk of drowning!) could cause a man to
extend his hand to touch his sister-in-law.
36
This line appears in Xu Wei’s play The Mad Drummer Plays the Yuyang Triple Roll (Mi Heng) as
well.
 The Female Mulan Joins the Army in Place of Her Father, Act II 29

XIAOHUAN: Mr. Wang has come to offer congratulations.

MOTHER: This is the son-in-law that I wrote to you about the other day. I was
about to invite him over, so that you could have your wedding. What perfect
timing!
(A sheng in official cap and girdle playing Mr. Wang enters and sees them)
MOTHER: Mr. Wang . . . stay your greetings! I have just looked at the almanac
for an auspicious day. You two are as old as cast bronze elephants,37 so let’s make
ourselves a family today! Quick, quick, bow and greet each other!
(Mulan turns her back, shyly)
MOTHER: Child! After a dozen years as an officer, what do you have to be shy
about?
(Mulan turns and bows)
MULAN:

[Si sha]
Barely reunited with my family,
Who would have dreamed it would be a wedding?
Now, meeting this way, how can I help but perspire with embarrassment?
I’ve long known of your honors in literature at court,
I’m ashamed that I’ve returned from the din of battle.
I cannot match up with this Eastern Couch38 mate.
I shall serve you as the Divine Immortal flutist,39
Don’t fear that I’ll be a little sister like Sun Quan’s.40

37
A Ming turn of phrase indicating that they are of age.
38
Another reference to Wang Xizhi (see note 10), the ideal son-in-law.
39
Xiao Shi (the Divine Immortal) is a legendary figure skilled in xiao flute playing, who
could imitate a phoenix cry on the flute. Nongyu, the daughter of Duke Mu of Qin, was
also a skilled xiao player, and the duke gave his daughter in marriage to Xiao Shi. One morn-
ing, Nongyu mounted a phoenix and Xiao Shi mounted a dragon, and they flew off together.
40
During the Three Kingdoms period, the Wu kingdom ruler, Sun Quan, had a younger
sister who was skilled in martial arts. She was given by Sun Quan to Liu Bei in marriage. On
their wedding night, Liu Bei found their bridal chamber filled with weapons, which Liu Bei
asked her to remove. In spite of these beginnings, the two had a loving marriage.
30 Xu Wei

[Wei]
I was a woman till I was seventeen,
Was a man for twelve more years.
Passed under thousands of glances,
Which of them could tell cock from hen?
Only now do I believe that a distinction between male and female isn’t told by
the eyes.
Who was it really occupied Black Mountain Top?
The girl Mulan went to war for her pop.
The affairs of the world are all such a mess,
Muddling boy and girl is what this play does best.41

Translated by Shiamin Kwa

41
The play is followed in the earliest printed edition by the following additional notes: “When
Mulan tries out a weapon and changes clothes and shoes, she absolutely must do wonderful
kicks and jumps. When each part of the stage work is done, then she will sing, otherwise it
will be a mess.”
 ANONYMOUS

1
Mu Lan Joins the Army (1903)

Part I
Drafting Troops
Mocking Elder Brother
Taking Leave of One’s Parents
Setting Out for the Border

Characters:
ZHAO JING, performed by supporting jing

MU LAN’S FATHER, performed by old sheng

MU LAN’S MOTHER, performed by old dan

MU LAN, performed by dan

MU LAN’S YOUNGER SISTER, performed by additional dan

MU SHU, performed by little chou

1
The translation is based on A Ying, 1959, pp. 294–303.

31
32 Anonymous

(Zhao Jing enters in military dress, whipping his horse and holding a flag of command)
ZHAO JING:

(Prelude couplet)
Executing the orders of the imperial court;
Drafting troops throughout the wide world.
(Speaks:) I am Zhao Jing, an officer under the command of General Huo, the
great marshal before the throne of the Son of Heaven of the Great Han. At the
order of the imperial court I am widely drafting men for the army. On my mis-
sion I have used the pretext of requiring one adult male from every household.
These common people, who all fear death, beseech me to do them a favor, so I
have received quite some bribes. I have now arrived in Dingtao County. In this
county, I’ve learned, lives a rich man of modest means, who has achieved his
wealth by diligence and thrift. He has only one daughter, who is called Mu Lan.
She is bewitchingly beautiful, and she has no brother who can join the army for
its northern campaign. I’ll have to use once again the pretext of requiring one
adult male from every household and extract a few more bribes. (Acts out nodding
his head and smiling to himself ) Let me apply the whip to this horse, and I’ll be off!
(Acts out whipping his horse and circling the stage) (Exits)
(Mu Lan’s father and Mu Lan’s mother enter with Mu Lan, in simple costume, and Mu Lan’s
younger sister, with hanging bangs and gaudily dressed)
(Prelude couplet)
MU LAN’S FATHER: Into old age I’ve been a commoner in the countryside.
MU LAN’S MOTHER: The whole family happily manifests Heaven’s norms.
(Mu Lan’s father and Mu Lan’s mother act out sitting down together) (Mu Lan and Mu Lan’s
younger sister act out paying their respects)
MU LAN’S MOTHER: Sit down by our side! (Mu Lan and Mu Lan’s younger sister
act out sitting down)
MU LAN’S FATHER: My children, your cousin Boshi has not come home
these last few days, and I have no idea where he may be hanging out. These last
few days my eyes, I felt, were seeing better, but my heart is truly filled with wor-
ries. Just think, my strength is diminishing day by day, and my energy is less and
less with every day. If something untoward should happen to me, I have no idea
what kind of suffering might be the fate of you two girls.
 Mu Lan Joins the Army (1903), Part I 33

MU LAN: Daddy, don’t worry! Cousin Boshi may be idly loafing about now
that he is still young, but I believe he is a real man full of enthusiasm and fer-
vor. As long as you, dear Father, don’t forget that he is our closest relative and
instruct him in a stern, fatherly way, he is bound to turn out all right in the
future!
MU LAN’S FATHER: My child, you are mistaken! (Sings:)
A true man is characterized by his noble courage:
What he says while seated he’ll execute in action.
Since ancient times trouble comes from empty talk;
Without serious study nobody later turns out right.
MU LAN: Dear Father! (Sings:)
The nature of a young man is not yet established:
Once he drops the butcher’s knife, he’s a Buddha.
If you teach and instruct him in a fatherly way,
All of a sudden the blunt iron will turn into gold!
(Mu Shu enters in military garb)
(Prelude couplet)
I’m sneaking away from places of song and dance;
Washing my eyes by banks of streams and clouds.
(Speaks:) I am Mu Shu, and my style is Boshi.2 As a child I lost both my parents,
and growing up I have loved the martial arts. With my roaming knight-errant
friends we form bands and gangs, and when discussing the situation of the
world, we blame Heaven and Earth. I have been raised by my uncle, but today I
have almost turned twenty. It’s too bad that my uncle is such a tightfisted old
scrooge. He doesn’t have any son of his own, but he is unwilling to let me freely
spend his money—I have no idea why this old guy without a son is holding on
to his money! This morning I heard people in the marketplace tell that the em-
pire is drafting soldiers to go on a northern campaign and fight the bandits. But

2 Upper-class men in traditional China would have at least two names. They received their

personal name (ming) soon after birth; this name they would often use for self-designation.
Upon reaching adulthood, they would choose their adult name or style (zi), which would be
used by others when addressing them. Mentioning both personal name and style is a com-
mon element in self-introductions.
34 Anonymous

I eat my own rice,3 so why should I make any effort on behalf of the state? I’d
better sneak away and hide myself for a while at home and then later make new
plans. While talking I have already arrived at the gate of our house. (Acts out enter-
ing the gate) (Acts out greeting) (Speaks:) Uncle and Aunt, please accept my best wishes.
MU LAN’S FATHER and MU LAN’S MOTHER: Dear son, you’ve come
home!
MU LAN: (rises, and speaks:) Cousin Boshi, you have come home! That’s great,
because my parents were concerned about you. (Acts out greeting)
MU LAN’S FATHER: My son Boshi! (Sings:)
Ever since you left home, we never received any news,
And as a result, we were constantly thinking about you.
We were afraid you might suffer from hunger and cold—
White-haired and waiting, we were filled with anxiety!
From now on you should tame your unbridled mind,
And make sure to glorify your parents by making a name.
A man’s achievement all depends on his personal efforts;
If you don’t put in the effort, how can you achieve fame?
MU LAN: Cousin! (Sings:)
My dear elder brother, now please attentively listen to me.
You have to take your closest relatives into consideration!
Alas, our father and mother are now in a desperate situation,
And they have no other son whom they can call their own.
All-under-heaven is in turmoil, and no region is pacified—
You should make every effort to make your plans quickly.
You’re a man in the strength of his years, filled with vigor:
If you do not grab this opportunity, you will never succeed.
(The military officer Zhao Jing, carrying the flag of command, enters)
ZHAO JING: Here I have arrived outside the gate of Mu Lan. Let me give them
a scare! (Roars like the Gorges:) Anybody inside?
(Mu Lan’s father and Mu Lan’s mother act out being frightened) (Mu Shu acts out being so scared
that he falls to the ground)
3
In other words, I have never received an appointment or a salary from the state, so there is
no obligation for me to repay any favor shown to me by the state.
 Mu Lan Joins the Army (1903), Part I 35

(Mu Lan and Mu Lan’s younger sister act out being flustered; they speak to Mu Shu and Mu
Lan’s father)
MU LAN: Daddy, there is someone at the door calling for you.
(Mu Lan’s father acts out holding his staff with shaking hands and greeting the officer, but being
unable to speak) (Zhao Jing enters, and Mu Lan and Mu Lan’s younger sister act out avoiding
him [by leaving])
ZHAO JING: At the order of His Majesty the Emperor I have come to your
district to draft adult males. If you have any son or cousin who will join the
army, quickly report his name!
MU LAN’S FATHER: (replying in a quaking voice:) Yes, yes! I have one full nephew
named Mu Shu.
MU SHU: (on the ground replying in a panic:) I’m not, not, not his nephew, I
won’t go!
ZHAO JING: Tell him to report for duty at our garrison tomorrow in the third
quarter of the hour of noon. If he tries to flee or to hide himself, this will mean
you will have transgressed military law, and I will have you, old fart, arrested and
beheaded!
MU LAN’S FATHER: (replying in a quaking voice:) Yes, yes!
ZHAO JING: (leaving the house and acting out being surprised) I had clearly been in-
formed that Mu Lan had no elder brother, so where did she find this cousin?
Let’s wait till tomorrow at the barracks and question him once again. (Exits)
(Mu Lan’s father acts out wiping away his tears. Mu Lan’s mother, Mu Lan, and Mu Lan’s
younger sister act out appearing again and act out helping Mu Shu to his feet.)
MU LAN’S FATHER: Dear Boshi! (Sings:)
He calls out: My dear Boshi, you now listen to my order!
This is your opportunity to go out and to have a career.
If you now go out and exterminate all those barbarians,
You’ll be ennobled as a marquis with a hundred towns!
(Speaks:) My son, this is your lucky moment! Quickly get ready for your depar-
ture, and don’t miss out on this chance to establish merit. My only wish is that
you will leave early and return soon, so we, these old people, may witness your
glory! (Sings:)
36 Anonymous

Dear Boshi, quickly set out on your many-day journey!

Throughout your life you’ve said you have the abilities.
Right now it’s the moment to display your statesmanship,
And I want you to go out and make a determined effort,
So history books for all eternity will transmit your fame.
MU SHU: Dear Uncle! (Sings:)
He addressed him as dear uncle, please let me explain,
I am only a little student of books, so young of years!
You can’t believe the empty words of my earlier days—
Why do you want me to be a soldier and join the army?
In case I would lose my life out there on the battlefield,
You’d be bereft of the only person who can be your heir.
Dear Uncle! (Acts out weeping) Dear Uncle,
You, you, you have to come up with some secret scheme,
Because I desperately cling to this miserable life of mine.
Please go and bribe that officer, and ask him for his mercy;
Give him some gold and silver so he will go on his way!
MU LAN’S FATHER: (acting out turning toward Mu Lan and pointing) Now what?
I knew all along that he would turn out to be a good-for-nothing. (Acts out wip-
ing away his tears)
MU LAN: Cousin Boshi! (Sings to the rapid beat:)
Your little sister has something she wants to say to you;
Please listen attentively, and don’t be secretly annoyed.
Since ancient times great heroes, Chinese and foreign,
All have been willing to risk their life for their country.
How come you are such a weakling and good-for-nothing,
Who clings to life afraid of death, making people laugh?
They’ll say you’re just a big straw bag, big but of no use!
It’s too bad that I am still only so very young indeed,
And that on top of that I was born as a beautiful girl.
If in my current existence I had only been born as a boy,
MU SHU: Then what? (Mu Lan resumes singing:)
I would grasp in my hands a lance or a spear,
I would hang at my waist a bow and a sword,
 Mu Lan Joins the Army (1903), Part I 37

And all alone on a single horse beyond Yangguan,4

Kill off those barbarians so none was left to flee!
MU SHU: Little Sister, don’t brag. You’re a girl, so what do you know about
the sufferings of the battlefield? (Sings to the rapid beat:)
Dear little sister, now please don’t be upset at me,
Please keep your mouth shut and don’t blabber on.
If you’d raise your sword,
Spur on your horse,
And arrive at the border,
Your soul, too,
Immediately would fly off
To beyond the ninth heaven.
If I indeed am afraid to die and make people laugh,
Why don’t you
In my place
Join the army and put on armor?
MU LAN: (singing to the rapid beat:)
Dear elder brother, there’s no need to mock me now:
Since ancient times there have been female generals.
I definitely want to report my name at the garrison,
And with raised sword assist Commander in Chief Huo!
MU LAN’S MOTHER: My child, you are a girl, so how can you go?
MU LAN: I definitely can go. I have always wanted to join the army and shame
those men. (Acts out kneeling down and taking her leave)
(Mu Lan’s father and Mu Lan’s mother act out weeping) (Mu Lan and Mu Shu act out ex-
changing clothes)
MU LAN:
In front of the hall I take leave of my father and mother,
And I take leave of my elder brother and younger sister.

4
Yangguan is the name of a border station on the western edge of Gansu. It was immor-
talized in a popular parting song by Wang Wei (d. 761).
38 Anonymous

(Acts out taking leave of Mu Shu and Mu Lan’s younger sister) (Mu Shu acts out imitating
female gait and dress)
MU LAN:
I have something to say that I want to impress on you:
Elder brother and younger sister should live in harmony.
Elder Brother, from now on you must learn to behave,
Don’t go and join your old cronies for all kinds of mischief.
When I go and establish major merit on Rouge Ridge,
It will be you, Elder Brother, who’ll enjoy that great fame.
I will in final analysis remain a woman, so in my thoughts
I will always be at home, filially serving my two parents.
Constantly, morning and evening, make sure they are fine,
And comfort our parents whenever they are depressed.
If I will be lucky enough to survive and come back home,
I will once again express my feelings over our separation.
At this moment I cannot fully express my heart’s feelings,
As I am about to leave for the army to report my name.
(Mu Lan acts out weeping as she leaves, acts out walking, acts out turning around to look, and ex-
its) (Mu Lan’s father, Mu Lan’s mother, and Mu Lan’s younger sister act out waving their hands)
MU SHU: She is gone. What are you still standing here for? (Pulls Mu Lan’s father
and Mu Lan’s mother away)
MU LAN’S YOUNGER SISTER: Slowly, Cousin Boshi! Slowly! Listen to what
I have to say! (Sings:)
When a man lacks all shame he is truly despicable:
You truly are just a silverlike wax-headed spear!5
Hearing about barbarians, you retract your head,6
Unwilling to shed your blood on the battlefield.
Dear brother Boshi,
It’s not that I, your little sister, am mocking you,
But from now on I wouldn’t go and brag anymore.

5
A “silverlike, wax-headed spear” may look very pretty but is of no use on the battlefield.
6
That is, you act like a turtle. “Turtle” was a common curse word meaning “pimp” or
“cuckold.”
 Mu Lan Joins the Army (1903), Part I 39

You said you were filled with hatred for the enemy,
But I see your courage is less than that of a pig or dog,
It doesn’t measure up to that of one single beautiful girl.
(Acts out mocking Mu Shu by pulling a face at him)
MU LAN’S FATHER and MULAN’S MOTHER: Little girl, this is just the
way he is, so don’t mock him. Let’s go inside. (Exeunt)
 Part II
The Lost Battle
The Victory Celebration
The Court Audience
The Glorious Return

Characters:
MU LAN, performed by dan

HUO QUBING, performed by (old) sheng

ZHAO JING, performed by supporting jing

GUARDS, performed by extras

KHAN, performed by jing

BARBARIANS, performed by extras

WEI QING, performed by young sheng

HAN SOLDIERS, performed by extras

A BARBARIAN SPY, performed by chou

EUNUCHS, performed by extras

EMPEROR, performed by jing

40
 Mu Lan Joins the Army (1903), Part II 41

(Mu Lan changed into male costume, in military dress, with a bow and arrows on her back, a
sword at her side, and carrying a lance)
MU LAN:

(Prelude couplet)
Cheeks like lotus flowers and a waist like a willow:
While a helmet covers my head I brandish a sword.
(Speaks:) I am Mu Lan, and I am determined to join the army in place of my
father7 and to establish merit beyond the border by exterminating the caitiffs.
Since I have taken leave of my parents, I am on my way to the garrison to re-
port for duty. Who could have thought that I as a girl would have such a great
opportunity today!
(Sings to the slow beat as the suona8 is played backstage:)
Storm-driven dust
Extends to the Central Plain,
An endless expanse of yellow sand;
The breath of death is rising,
Spreading east, west, north, south,
To the very edges of the earth.
Who could have foreseen
That the written order to serve
Would drop down in front of my embroidery window?
It promptly filled me,
This female hero,
With an all-overpowering, towering rage!
At the shortest moment
I had taken my leave
Of my white-haired aged parents.
I’ve abandoned
My inner-chamber companions,
Who do embroidery and pick their flowers;

7
Curiously, in Part I the imperial emissary Zhao Jing never claims that Mu Lan’s father has
to serve!
8
For a description of the suona, see Wichmann, 1991, p. 232.
42 Anonymous

I’ve abandoned
The application of rouge and powder,
The burned incense and fragrant musk;
I’ve abandoned
The singing shirt and dancing sleeves,
And the lute with its many strings.
I’ve come to compete in
Ascending the terrace with raised sword,9
Lifting the lance and grabbing a horse;
I’ve come to see
The forest of spears and trees of sabers,
And people killed in great numbers.
I’ve come to compete in
The number of heads of slain fighters,
For the reputation of being a man;
I’ve come to hear
The rustling poplars of the border lands,
And the barbarian reed pipe of the steppe.
Just look at me
As I look around, filled with confidence,
Raising winds and clouds by my roar;
Just look at me
As I earn merit, achieve noble rank,
And establish a mansion with rows of banners;
Just look at me
As I will lead the captured barbarians
To bow down at the emperor’s feet!
(Speaks:) On this journey . . . (Sings:)
I definitely will
Slaughter the dragon with my bare hands,
And achieve merit in this acrobatic performance,
But who will know
That I am one
As light as a swallow,
As beautiful as a flower!

9
In order to emphasize the importance of the occasion, Liu Bang appointed Han Xin as
his commander in chief on a raised terrace.
 Mu Lan Joins the Army (1903), Part II 43

(Speaks:) I am so elated! (Twirls her lance and exits)

(Huo Qubing, with a red face and white beard, dressed as commander, enters with guards and
the officer Zhao Jing)
HUO QUBING:

(Prelude couplet)
A general in the field, a chancellor at court:
My painted portrait is seen in Unicorn Hall.
(While music is played backstage, he acts out ascending the commander’s seat. Speaks:)
In the Han camp the great flag and pointed banners are arrayed;
Ennobled to the highest rank I command the walls of the border.
When I as general issue an order, even the mountains make haste;
In one movement I clear away all alarms to celebrate “Great Peace.”
I am the commander in chief of the Great Han, Huo Qubing. I have received
the order of the imperial palace for a punitive campaign against the Xiongnu,
and I am currently drafting troops and buying horses in order to link up with
the advance troops. Soldiers! Hang out the poster, and if there are persons who
want to volunteer, quickly report their names.
(Mu Lan enters in military dress and whipping her horse. Acts out descending from horse.)
MU LAN:

(Prelude couplet)
Setting out on my trip to the battlefield,
I risk my life for the sake of the country.
(Speaks:) Anyone here at the gate? I have come to join the army.
ZHAO JING: (acts out coming out and greeting her) There you are! Report at the gate
and enter!
MU LAN: (acts out bowing) Mu Shu reports for duty and enters.
(The guards act out shouting in a threatening manner) (Mu Lan glances [left and] right, acts out
assuming a respectful position)
THE GUARDS: Commander in Chief, a young fighter outside wants to join
the army and requests an audience.
44 Anonymous

HUO QUBING: Tell him to come in. (Mu Lan acts out entering) (Huo Qubing gets
on his feet and acts out observing her carefully. Acts out surprise.)
HUO QUBING: You’re such a handsome young man—you look just like a
tender girl. What kind of courage and schemes do you have that you dare ap-
pear here before me, making light of a thousand trials? Soldiers, chase him away!
MU LAN: Just wait! (Sings to the lead-in beat:)
Commander in Chief, please sit down in your tiger tent,
And listen while I, Mu Shu, tell you a comparable case.
In earlier days, Chu and Han had many great generals,
But none measured up to that young man Zhang Zifang.10
To this very day his portrait is seen in Lingyan Tower,
His face as handsome as that of some flowerlike maiden.
In commanding troops, all depends on tactics and strategy,
So how can one judge a person on the basis of his looks?
How can one rashly judge the world’s greatest heroes?
Please do not wrongly reject me, this young man Mu!
HUO QUBING: What capabilities do you have that you dare brag in such a
manner?
MU LAN: Please listen. (Sings as above:)
You, General, are one of the pillars and beams of the state;
You will have your own considerations, your own ideas.
The Xiongnu basically are the leaders of nomadic tribes,
But for a long time they have troubled China on its borders.
If we do not completely clean out their nests and burrows,
There never will be an end to the problems they may cause.
I, Mu Shu, consider myself a commander who can lead—
Unless I behead the king of Loulan, I will not return home.11

10
Following the collapse of the Qin dynasty upon the death of the First Emperor, a civil
war broke out among different contenders for the throne. The two final contenders were
the hegemon-king of Western Chu, Xiang Yu, and the king of Han, Liu Bang. Eventually,
Xiang Yu was defeated by Liu Bang, who was able to rely on the advice of many fine gen-
erals. His most important adviser was Zhang Liang (Zifang).
11 Loulan was the name of a small kingdom in Central Asia in the second century B.C.E.
that repeatedly fought off Han conquest.
 Mu Lan Joins the Army (1903), Part II 45

HUO QUBING: Mu Shu, don’t talk such nonsense! I will appoint you as a cav-
alry vanguard commander to test your capabilities. Mu Shu, listen to my orders.
I order you to lead five hundred mounted soldiers and link up with Generalis-
simo Wei. In case of any failure or mistake, you will be punished according to
military law.
MU LAN: Yes, sir!
HUO QUBING: All dismissed! (All exeunt)
(Mu Lan enters, costumed as a soldier, together with four mounted soldiers)
MU LAN:

(Prelude couplet)
Once I have the power to command,
I will give my orders to the many troops.
(Speaks:) I am Mu Shu. I have received the order of General Huo to cross the
border for war and to link up with Generalissimo Wei. Officers! Our troops will
depart for the steppe.
(Backstage, music is played. Extras bring lance and horse, and Mu Lan acts out mounting the
horse.) (They circle the stage three times, and exeunt)
(Extras enter again and line up sideways at the edge of the stage) (Mu Lan enters)
MU LAN: What is the name of this place where we have arrived?
EXTRAS: This is the Bend of the River.
MU LAN: Then let’s pitch camp right here. (Extras shout “Yes, sir” and retire. Exeunt.)
(Mu Lan enters wrapped in a feather cloak, with extra holding a candle) (Acts out entering the
tent) (Mu Lan holds the candle and looks all around. Extra exits unobtrusively. Mu Lan acts
out rubbing her eyes and sleeping, acts out being startled awake, acts out heaving a sigh.) (Sings,
to the level beat of flute and fife backstage:)
Ah, who could have known
That fate would be against us,
That our country is suffering decay!
Unfeelingly
I have abandoned
My white-haired aged parents.
Removing hairpins and bracelets,
46 Anonymous

I’ve changed my dainty dress,

Assuming the likeness of a man.
Alas, there was no one else
To take my father’s place
And serve the country at the border.
For this reason,
I carry lance and spear
To give battle in front of the troops.
Leading these
Five hundred men,
I’ll establish my fame on the steppe.
(Acts out sleeping. Acts out being startled awake. Acts out heaving a sigh.)
MU LAN: Just listen to the mighty flow of the Yellow River! How it startles
my mind and moves my soul! (Sings, to the level beat of flute and fife:)
I hear the river’s flow,
Descending from heaven,
And flowing toward my home village.
In dreams of my home village
It still seems as if
I am in my embroidery room:
Carrying plate and basin,
Testing the water’s temperature,
I am waiting on my father and mother
With pleasant mien and fragrant dishes;
With Little Sister
I play by the balustrade,
Or buy flowers for my hair in the quiet alley.
(Acts out sleeping. Acts out being startled awake. Acts out heaving a sigh.)
MU LAN: This is an unprecedented joy for a woman, so why am I so sad and
depressed? (Sings, to the level beat of flute and fife:)
If I can with
The strength of my arms
Capture the bandits, capture their king,
I will be able
To command a large army,
Dispatch troops and order the generals.
 Mu Lan Joins the Army (1903), Part II 47

That will be for our

World of women
A first-time, fully unprecedented event,
And it will teach that
Crowd of blushing stalwarts
To deeply bow down before my toilette table.
(Acts out getting up)
MU LAN: Officers and men, where are you? (Extras as mounted soldiers enter from
left and right) The sky is already bright, so let’s break up camp and move on to
link up with Generalissimo Wei. (Exeunt)
(The khan of the Xiongnu12 and barbarians. Wei Qing and Han soldiers. The two parties en-
gage in a fierce battle. They fight three times for three rounds. Wei Qing is defeated. Exeunt.)
(The key to the whole play is found in this scene, so not the slightest slackening is allowed!)
(Mu Lan enters in a white coat and holding a lance)
MU LAN: Here we have arrived at the foot of Mt. Rouge, so let me climb to
a high spot so I can have a good look, to see where our General Wei is killing
those rebels. (Mu Lan acts out ascending the mountain and standing atop a high terrace. Back-
stage, the sounds of battle are produced. Mu Lan acts out being startled.) In the distance, where
dust is rising, I see defeated soldiers coming down, [like locusts] darkening the
sky! Those must be the Xiongnu who flee in defeat. So let’s go and fight them,
so they will be attacked from both sides!
(Wei Qing enters, fleeing in defeat, followed by the khan, who hotly pursues him. Wei Qing acts
out giving battle and being defeated. Exeunt.)
MU LAN: That’s, that’s, that’s not good! How it is possible that we Han people
are defeated by the barbarians? Let me advance and save General Wei! (Acts out
descending from the terrace) (Sings while music is played backstage:)
Wait till I, this little Mu Lan, throttle those barbarians—
In a moment I will trample this steppe completely flat!
Don’t mock me for being only a weak and tender girl—
Just watch me splattering this battle gown with blood!
(Wei Qing enters, defeated. The khan pursues him, acts out fighting him. Mu Lan enters unob-
trusively, acts out blocking and fighting the khan.) (The khan orders the extras to fight Mu Lan
12
Historically, the highest ruler of the Xiongnu was not designated “khan” or kehan, but
shanyu.
48 Anonymous

from all sides. Mu Lan fiercely fights the khan in a man-to-man confrontation. The khan acts out
being defeated and exits.) (Wei Qing turns around and comes out, and acts out expressing his
gratitude to Mu Lan)
WEI QING: Who may you be, General, who just arrived? Allow me to express
my gratitude for saving me.
MU LAN: I am Mu Shu of the cavalry vanguard under the command of Gen-
eral Huo. General, please pardon my crime of being late in linking up with you.
WEI QING: General, many thanks for saving me. Now please lend me a hand
in exterminating these barbarians.
MU LAN: Yes, sir! I will immediately fight my way into their camp!
(Wei Qing and Mu Lan twirl their lances. Exeunt.)
(The khan enters, leading his barbarian soldiers)
THE KHAN: My children, you have seen how terrible these two manzi were.13
They gave me such a beating that I couldn’t get in a stroke, so what should we
do now?
A SPY: The enemy troops have already arrived!
ALL: Check the situation out once again!
THE KHAN: In front of us there is nowhere we can go, and behind us the
enemy comes in hot pursuit, so where can we flee for safety?
ALL: Let’s fight them one more time to see who will be victorious in the end!
THE KHAN: So let’s fight! Fight!
(Wei Qing and Mu Lan enter together. They engage in battle [with the Xiongnu] for a few rounds.
[The Xiongnu] are defeated and exeunt.)
MU LAN: Where have we arrived?
WEI QING: We have already arrived in foreign territory.
MU LAN: General, we cannot slacken in our efforts. Let’s pursue them closely
and kill them till no single piece of armor is left!

13
Manzi is a common derogatory term used by northerners for southerners. It may be used
by northern Chinese to refer to southern Chinese in a rude manner. Here it is used by the
Xiongnu to denigrate the Chinese.
 Mu Lan Joins the Army (1903), Part II 49

WEI QING: You are right!

MU LAN: Please.
(Together they twirl their lances and exeunt)
(The khan enters leading his defeated troops) (On the backdrop are displayed the signs of ocean
waves)
THE KHAN: My children, this place here is the Northern Ice Sea, so where
can we hide ourselves?
ALL: We can hide ourselves on the icebergs for a while.
THE KHAN: At this moment we have no other solution, so let’s cross the ice.
(Act out stumbling and falling down on the slippery ice, and running away in order to escape)
(Exeunt)
(Backstage, the war drums are sounded) (Wei Qing and Mu Lan enter in pursuit)
MU LAN: Where have we come now? How come we don’t see even a single
shadow of a barbarian?
WEI QING: We have arrived at the Northern Ice Sea. The barbarians must
have been beheaded and killed to the last man by the Han troops, so I would
propose to you, General, that we return with our troops and report to the throne.
MU LAN: I’m overjoyed! (Sings to the level beat:)
My teaming up with you, my general,
Resembled the wind following the tiger,
The dragon following the clouds,
As together we went to the borders and secured the state.
Just look, from now on the cosmos is at peace,
And a unified globe now celebrates Great Peace.
WEI QING: Congratulations!
(All act out shouting in support) (Wei Qing and Mu Lan twirl their lances. Exeunt.)
(Eunuchs and Emperor Wu of the Han enter)
EMPEROR:

(Prelude couplet)
To seek revenge and wash away shame
Is the old ambition of a man of the Han.
50 Anonymous

(Speaks:)
Within the phoenix walls colored clouds rise above towers and pavilions;
Shrubs and trees are always in bloom, and both sun and moon are at ease.
The myriad countries, each in their costume, line up before the throne,
As the Son of Heaven of the house of Han rules the rivers and mountains.
We are Liu Che, the emperor of the Han dynasty. To Our distress the Xiongnu
have for years on end been troubling the Central Plain. Repeatedly We sought
to establish peace through interdynastic marriages, but that did not in the least
assuage the later problems. That’s why the whole world shared in Our rage. We
ordered generals to lead Our army on an extermination campaign against these
barbarians to seek revenge for the people of the Han and wash away their shame.
Eunuchs, transmit Our orders: if any report arrives from the borders, inform
Us immediately!
(Huo Qubing, with a red face and white beard, enters, holding his court tablet)
HUO QUBING:

(Prelude couplet)
Red banners recently reported victory,
So I will thus inform my lord and ruler.
(Acts out entering the throne hall) (Speaks:) This old servant Huo Qubing reports to
Your Majesty: with the assistance of the valorous general Mu Shu, Wei Qing
recently annihilated the Xiongnu. These generals have returned to court and
request an audience.
EMPEROR: This is all thanks to your efforts as a chancellor. Let it be known
that We will see Wei Qing and Mu Shu, so We may reward and ennoble them.
(Wei Qing and Mu Lan enter while performing the dance of obeisance. They act out entering the
throne hall and kneeling down.)
EMPEROR: Please rise! You two have great merit in exterminating the caitiffs.
Please report your glorious achievements in detail.
(Music is performed backstage. Wei Qing presents the register of meritorious achievements. The
emperor acts out reading it.)
EMPEROR: Mu Shu has such great merits that he may be ennobled as a Mar-
quis Within the Passes. Let him accept this reward and retire.
 Mu Lan Joins the Army (1903), Part II 51

MU LAN: Please allow me a few words. (Sings:)

Your servant originally is
Only a common citizen
From the rustic countryside,
But to wield shield and lance
In defense of Altar and Grain14
Is the responsibility of a subject.
To exterminate the barbarians,
And protect race and kind,
Was the basic ideal of your servant;
I did not act on behalf of
The Son of Heaven of the Han
Or the dynasty of the house of Liu.
I did not aim for
Great riches or high status,
The ephemeral fortune of a moment;
Nor did I aim for
My share of the spoils,
And an idle fame that has no value.
I only request that our
Sage and enlightened ruler
Will retract the edict he pronounced,
And, as I lay down my commission,
He will allow the bones of my body
To return to my native hills and groves.
EMPEROR: Even if that may be your wish, how could We not properly dis-
tribute awards? General Huo and General Wei, please take the cap and girdle for
Mu Shu with you.
(The emperor and extras exeunt)
HUO QUBING and WEI QING: Our congratulations, Marquis Mu! Tomor-
row we will send Your Lordship off to his home village. (Act out smiling. Exeunt.)

Translated by Wilt L. Idema

14
“Altar and Grain” renders the Chinese phrase she ji, which refers to the altar to the earth
and the god of millet, symbols of the nation.
 OUYANG YUQIAN

1
Mulan Joins the Army (1939)

Act 1

Characters:
MR. WANG

MR. LI

MR. ZHANG

MULAN

MR. ZHAO

CHORUS OF CHILDREN

MOTHER

FATHER

BROTHER

SISTER

MESSENGER

1
This translation follows the screenplay as published in Wenxian magazine (Ouyang, 1939,
pp. 1–31), with differences in the film version as noted.

53
54 Ouyang Yuqian

Mulan dressed in male hunting attire, from the 1939 film Mulan Joins the
Army.

(Autumn. Clouds and trees. Leaves drop one by one onto the ground from the trees. A flock of
wild geese emerges from the clouds. Close-up of bow shooting an arrow. Among the flock of wild
geese, a goose is struck by the arrow and falls. When the bird falls to the ground, a horse rushes over
and the rider bends over to pick up the goose. This is Hua Mulan, wearing pants and a jacket with
a quiver on her back. She stops her horse. She puts the goose into her bag and again mounts the horse
and goes. She speeds her horse far away. Mulan reaches a peak, stops her horse, and looks around.
From among some bushes, there is a rustling, and Mulan draws her bow and shoots at it. Strik-
ing her target, she suddenly hears a cry of pain. It is in fact another hunter who had been concealed
in the bushes. In pain he jumps up, sees Mulan, and recognizes her.)
WANG: Ah, it’s you, girlie!
(Mulan is speechless in surprise. Another hunter comes out clutching at arrows; three others come
out to ask after him.)
LI: Wang, what were you calling out about again? Did you shoot something?
WANG: No, I didn’t shoot anything; instead, I got shot by someone! Take a
look . . .
(He demonstrates to them where he was hit)
 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 1 55

ZHANG: Hey, isn’t that a daughter of the Hua family?

(Mulan rides over to the group)
LI: That’s right!
ZHANG: Pretending to be mad but actually scheming, she’s come over to our
village to hunt—and flaunt the rules!
LI: That’s right!
MULAN: Big Brother Wang, I am truly sorry. I thought you were a rabbit. I
didn’t think you would have been crouching there.
(Zhang instigates Wang)
ZHANG: Wang, not only does she shoot you, she insults you by calling you a
2
rabbit!
LI: That’s right!
ZHAO: And she has the nerve not to acknowledge her “uncles”?
LI: That’s right!
(The men advance toward her and surround her horse, circling her menacingly)
ZHAO: Hey, you stole something of ours. Quick, leave it here and we’ll let
you go.
MEN: Quick, leave it! Quick, leave it!
MULAN: Who stole something of yours?
ZHAO: What are you saying . . . you are from the Hua family village and have
come over to our Li village to hunt. (Mulan angrily gestures for him to continue) That
goose, that wild hen, and that rabbit were all raised in our village. You took them
without asking; are you not a thief ?
MULAN: That which flew in the sky and that which ran on the ground were
taken outside this village.
ZHAO: Outside this village, huh? If you have entered our village gates you must
pay a tax.

2
“Rabbit” was Beijing slang for homosexual.
56 Ouyang Yuqian

MULAN: When was this decreed?

ZHAO: Today.
LI: Right, this is a new regulation, made today.
(Mulan pulls on her reins and tries to ride away, and the men block her path)
MULAN: Let me go.
WANG: We have no problem letting you go.
LI: (chimes in:) Give us back all the game you killed.
WANG: Little Mulan, come down off your horse; we can have a chat.
(Mulan tries to leave again and is blocked again)
ALL THE MEN: We can have a little fun; we can have a little fun.
ZHAO: Little Mulan, don’t be shy, we won’t hunt you . . . just snatch you.
WANG: Little Mulan, little rider, if you’re looking for a man, you’ve got me
right here.
(Mulan, outraged, tries to go again and is blocked this time by a pitchfork in her face)
MULAN: If you still won’t let me go, I will have to be rude.
LI: Little Mulan, don’t get upset, I haven’t married yet.
(Mulan pulls on her horse, both angry and smiling)
MULAN: Haha. Looks to me like you’ve all got a trick or two.
ZHAO: Have you only just realized that we men of Li village are all well versed
in both literary arts and martial skills?
(Close-up of Mulan)
MULAN: Well, that part I just saw was the literary arts, right?
ZHAO: That’s right.
MULAN: What about the martial skills?
ZHAO: As for martial skills, well, you couldn’t handle it.
MULAN: How about we compare shooting skills?
 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 1 57

(Zhao grabs his horse whip and walks over to Mulan as he speaks)
ZHAO: You want to challenge me in archery? Great! (Draws arrow) Do you see
that [bird] flying in the sky?
MULAN: That is a wild goose.
(Zhao uses his horse whip to point at the goose)
ZHAO: I can shoot it with one arrow. If I say I will pierce its eye, then I will
not pierce its mouth (demonstrates with arrow tip on Mulan throughout this speech); if I
say I will pierce its mouth, then I will not pierce its leg; if I say I will pierce its
middle, then I will not pierce its back (whacks her on back with arrow to punctuate the
last point).
(Everyone laughs together)
MULAN: Sounds like your archery skills really aren’t anything special; you
should use just one hand, with the opposite shooting.
ZHAO: One hand? What kind of style is that?
MULAN: Take a look (demonstrating); open up the bow this way, lift up the ar-
row (stretching her arm behind her back), bring your other hand behind your back, and
shoot that wild goose down from the skies.
(Li takes an arrow in hand to try, without success)
ZHAO: You shoot first and let us see.
LI: Right, if you succeed, we will let you go. If you don’t find your mark, you
and everything with you will rest here and your mommy will have to ransom you.
MEN: Good!
MULAN: Good. You have spoken, good sirs.
(All the men grab their bows and arrows and try to copy Mulan’s position)
LI: A team of wild horses cannot make us go back on this word.
MULAN: Each of you, take a look (points upward). Wild geese are coming. I will
shoot the first one in the row. (As all the men stand apart, looking up, Mulan whips her
horse harshly and rides off, to the men’s dismay.) Good-bye, all of you.
(Zhao angrily watches her go off )
58 Ouyang Yuqian

ZHAO: We were tricked by this chick!

LI: That’s right!
(Close-up on the plentiful game that Mulan has caught, hanging from her sides. Pan over the city
walls. We see her riding her horse against the slanting sun rays, accompanied by a group of young
children, singing.)
CHILDREN:
The sun comes out and fills the land,
The village children laugh. Ha! Ha!
Come on, come on, quick, come on.
Together we will hunt and admire the flowers.
(Mulan sings along with them, innocently:)
The sun comes out and fills the land,
With hard work we soon will copy her well.
If robbers and thieves come we will not fear:
All together we’ll send them back home.
The sun comes out and fills the land,
In front of me lies my home,
Come on, come on, quick, come on,
Together we’ll go ahead and share a cup of tea.
(A voice from offscreen interrupts:)
MOTHER: Mulan! Come back home!
(Mulan stops and addresses the children)
MULAN: My mother is calling me. She is certain to be mad at me for coming
back late. Today I can’t treat you to a cup of tea. Another day we will go together
for a hunt, all right?
CHILDREN: All right.
MULAN: Well then, see you tomorrow! See you tomorrow!
CHILDREN: See you tomorrow!
(The children leave)
(Mulan’s mother stands at the house gates waiting for Mulan. Mulan dismounts from her horse.)
 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 1 59

MULAN: Mom.
MOTHER: Running wild all day long . . . how did you ever remember to come
home?
MULAN: (holds up her catch) Mom, look!
MOTHER: I am looking. I wonder if what I’m seeing is or isn’t a girl!
(Mulan furrows her brow)
MULAN: Mom, because Daddy was feeling better, I wanted to go out and
catch some game to bring home, for him to get his appetite back.
MOTHER: Because you’ve been gone all day, your daddy has spent the day in
a foul mood. Quickly sneak in from the back door and change out of those
clothes before you go in to see Daddy.
(Mulan hugs her mother)
MULAN: My wonderful Mommy!
MOTHER: All right, all right, quick, go! Take your kill and hide it, too.
(Mulan sneaks quietly around the back, leading her horse. She reaches the back door and ties up her
horse, then goes to the well to get a drink of water for the horse. Then she picks up the game and
sneaks through the back door. As she sneaks in, her father walks in to the kitchen.)
MULAN: Daddy.
FATHER: This girl spends her whole day running wild outdoors (mother and little
brother enter). Look at you!
(At this time, her mother and younger brother come over)
BROTHER: Sister!
(The younger brother is Shulan; he runs over to his elder sister and tries to see what she is hiding
behind her back. Mulan tries to shoo him away, but he pulls on her arm, revealing the goose.)
BROTHER: Daddy, look at how much she got!
ELDER SISTER: (from offscreen:) Little Sister is back.
(Mulan’s elder sister walks in and, seeing their angry parents, looks afraid. Mulan’s father ad-
dresses her mother, muffling his anger.)
60 Ouyang Yuqian

FATHER: I was frequently away at war. You see, look at how you’ve brought up
your daughter.
MOTHER: But she also has never done anything bad; it’s just that she loves to
hunt, that’s all. Who asked you to teach her how to shoot from the time she was
a little girl, filling her heart with a love of playing in the wild? How dare you
scold her now?
MULAN: (crying) It’s only because Daddy was ill and with a poor appetite that
I went out specially to hunt these for Daddy to eat.
(Father’s anger subsides somewhat, and [he] gestures at the animals)
FATHER: These were all shot down by you?
MULAN: Of course they were all shot by me.
FATHER: I can’t believe it.
BROTHER: I believe it. Sister is better at hunting than Daddy!
(The elder sister quickly wags a finger at him and prevents him from saying more. Mulan gives
Shulan a loving look.)
FATHER: In the future you can’t go out anymore.
MULAN: All right.
FATHER: Hurry up and change your clothes.
MULAN: All right. (She starts to walk away)
FATHER: Come back. (He addresses her as if giving orders) I am punishing you with
three days of weaving a bolt of silk. You can’t come out until it is woven perfectly.
(Mulan bows angelically)
FATHER: Understand?
MULAN: I understand, Daddy.
FATHER: (hearing a sound) Who’s coming?
(Mulan looks outside. An official messenger has arrived, delivering a document. Mulan’s father
greets him at the door.)
MESSENGER: Is this the home of the honorable Hua?
 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 1 61

FATHER: Just lowly me.

MESSENGER: (taking out the document) So it is you. There is an official dispatch
for you.
FATHER: Thank you, brother.
(He takes the letter and, from his chest pocket, takes out some silver to give the happy messenger a
tip. Mulan, delighted, takes aim with her bow and arrow and shoots the messenger’s hat off, just
as he receives the coin. He cowers in terror. We can hear her little brother laughing. Mulan’s father
picks up the hat and pulls out the arrow, and there are two small holes in the hat. The messenger
is very upset, and Mulan’s father quickly pushes more coins into his hand.)
FATHER: Just a little something for you.
MESSENGER: (weighing money in his hand, smiles again) You are too kind. (He ex-
amines his hat in wonder) What a good marksman! Good-bye, good-bye!
(After he leaves, Mulan’s father angrily rushes into the house, grasping the arrow. The family scur-
ries away, and Mulan is the last to attempt to exit.)
FATHER: You little good for nothing . . .
MULAN: You didn’t believe that I was a good shot, so I wanted to give you a
little demonstration.
(Father moves to strike her with the arrow, and she runs out. Alone in the room, he looks at the
arrow and smiles to himself, appreciatively. Then he looks at the envelope in his hand. On it is
written “For the honorable Hua to break the seal.” )
FATHER: Something definitely is . . . something definitely is happening on the
borders, and I am needed again to join the army (he tears the letter open with the tip of
the arrow in his hand).
(Interior. Mother and father are sitting alone together at the table in candlelight. Father is holding
the envelope in his hand.)
FATHER: Joining the army this time, it’s not certain that I will return alive. You
have to take care of all matters of the household.
MOTHER: You are so old, and you haven’t recovered fully from your illness.
How can you bear the difficulties of the battleground?
(Cut to Mulan listening from her room, where she is weaving at the loom)
62 Ouyang Yuqian

MOTHER: How can you tell me not to worry?

FATHER: (sadly) Our country takes care of the troops for a thousand days in
exchange for calling on troops when it needs them. Now that the country is in
trouble, every civilian must go to war.
(Mulan has stopped her weaving and is pressed up against the wall, listening intently)
FATHER: How could I live off the country’s support and just stay at home?
That wouldn’t do. I am not concerned about myself, but I only worry that there
is no one to take care of things if there are problems at home. If only Eldest
Son had not died, things would be different. But we have two girls . . . (camera
pans over sleeping younger son) and with Shulan still so young, how could he take my
place to join the army to prevent this old man from dying in some other land?
(Mulan continues to eavesdrop)
MOTHER: Eh, I just don’t understand why they would come and attack us for
no reason.
FATHER: They are bandits—what else is there to say?3
MOTHER: Truly, we have been married for twenty odd years . . . you were
hardly ever at home . . . and the whole family relies on you . . . we might as well.
. . . (Starts sobbing)
FATHER: Don’t be sad.
(Mother stops crying. They suddenly hear a sigh from the other room.)
FATHER: Who is sighing out there?
MULAN: It’s me.
FATHER: It’s the middle of the night; what are you doing up sighing?
MOTHER: That child grows bigger by the day and is still not married . . . this
is one of the things that weighs on my mind.
(The sighing continues, and the parents cross the threshold. Mulan is still sitting crying, and her
parents go in to talk to her.)
FATHER: Child, why are you sitting here sighing, instead of working on your
weaving?
3
This and the line before it are not in the Wenxian script.
 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 1 63

MULAN: Because of you.

FATHER: Because of me? Is it because I scolded you with a few harsh words
today that you are angry?
MULAN: You should have scolded me; why should I be angry about that?
FATHER: Then what is it?
MULAN: Because in the other room you told Mother that you have to rejoin
the army. I heard everything.
(Father and Mother exchange looks)
MULAN: I think you can’t go.
FATHER: How can I not go?
MULAN: In your lifetime, you’ve been through dozens of battles. At your age,
you should be at home, enjoying old age. (She says bitterly:) This year, you were
also very ill. How could your body handle the icy wind and snow from the
north? With Older Brother dead, and Little Brother still young, and Elder Sis-
ter about to marry . . . the whole family is relying on your guidance. As I see it,
you mustn’t go.
FATHER: A soldier’s orders are firm like mountains, how can one not go? For-
tunately, I am not that old, and I can still exert myself on behalf of my coun-
try. It’s more glorious to die on the battleground than to die at home. (He starts
to cough)4
MULAN: (resolutely) Father, I think . . .
FATHER: What do you think?
MULAN: I think I will go in your place to war.
(Father, upon hearing this, jumps up)
FATHER: What? You go in my place?
MULAN: Yes.
FATHER: How could that be?

4
The section beginning with “and I can still” and ending with the coughing is not found
in the printed screenplay.
64 Ouyang Yuqian

MOTHER: Are you joking? How can a girl go to fight a battle? Go to bed!
(Mulan continues to stand there)
MULAN: No. Father taught me, from the time I was a young girl, in the mar-
tial arts; what use is that if I stay here at home? It would be better for me to go
in Father’s place to war. It would be first of all filial, and second of all it would
be loyal, and when I return victorious people will realize: a girl, too, can bring
glory to her home. “Dying on the fields of sand . . .” (Father listens in disbelief ) “is
my heart’s desire.” Father, please allow me to do this.
FATHER: I do appreciate your filial heart, but how can I let my daughter take
my place under a false name?
MULAN: I can dress up like a man.
MOTHER: Bah! Everyone in and out of the village knows that you are a girl!
MULAN: Mother, Father, just tell everyone that I was always a boy and that,
fearing I would not survive childhood, you dressed me up to pretend I was a girl.
Now that I have grown up, I have changed back into a man and will take Father’s
place in the army.
FATHER: The officials will not accept that.
MULAN: Father is old and recently has been frequently sick. All he needs to
do is explain the reasoning, and I will perform my martial arts moves to let them
see . . .
(Father seems to be slowly giving over to her argument)
FATHER: Eh . . .
MOTHER: This won’t do. This won’t do.
MULAN: (getting on her knees in front of her parents) Father, Mother, allow me to do
this.
FATHER: (resting his hand on her head) You are quite courageous. I cannot bear to
stand in your way. But, going to battle is not good fun. When it comes to that
time, you may regret it.
MOTHER: Pah!
MULAN: I may be young, but my conviction is deep. No matter the difficulty,
I will not regret it.
 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 1 65

FATHER: Good. (He raises her to her feet) Mother, go get my armor and let her
put it on to see if it fits.
MOTHER: (shakes her head ) I am not going.
FATHER: Then I shall go.
(We see Mulan in military dress, practicing with spear and sword. Father looks happy and mother
turns her back to them. Mulan walks up to her father.)
MULAN: Father, what do you think?
FATHER: Looks to me very much like a very young man. But, what about your
voice? (Mother covers her mouth and laughs, and Mulan looks downcast) Well, let’s go to
bed; we’ll talk about it tomorrow.
(Mulan practices deepening her voice to resemble a man’s)
(Fade out)
(We see Mulan sitting gazing out her window)
MULAN: (in a deep voice, recites:) “Wanting to serve this country with one’s life,
facing up to the dagger, cut off from loved ones.” (Outside, a rooster crows) Kill!
 Act 2

Characters:
FATHER

MULAN

MOTHER

WARD COMMANDER

BROTHER

SISTER

OFFICER HAN

LIU YING

ZHANG XU

YIN CI

MOTHER (OF ZHANG XU AND YIN CI)

(Father enters, and we hear Mulan speaking offstage)

MULAN: (in her new, man’s voice:) General Hua, Mrs. Hua, I have a report for
you.
FATHER: Who’s there? Please, come in.
MULAN: (bursting in, in full military dress) I am Hua Mulan, paying respects to
General Hua and his wife. (Parents laugh) Mother, Father, does my voice sound
like a man’s?
FATHER: It really does . . .
MOTHER: It may sound like it, but I really can’t abide this.
(From outside comes a voice, accompanied by the strike of a gong to announce the date of departure)

66
 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 2 67

WARD COMMANDER: Trouble rises on the borders! Everyone must come

to join the ranks. Those who have been called must go forth in the next two
days. If you miss the final date, martial law will deal with you. (Goes on repeating,
accompanying with gong:) Trouble rises on the borders! Everyone must come to join
the ranks. . . .
(Mulan looks nervous, and the ward commander’s voice fades away)
MULAN: Good, I am going to go to a few market towns to buy a few travel-
ing items.
FATHER: Good.
(Mulan walks out, clearing her throat and practicing her man’s voice as she goes)
MOTHER: With her dressed up like this . . . she resembles our eldest son too
much (cries into her sleeve).
(Mulan walks into the marketplace, leading her horse, and picks up some bells)
(Back inside the house, her mother is readying her luggage, and her father stands in front of the
window. Her sister and younger brother walk in.)
SISTER: The food is ready.
FATHER: First bow to our ancestors.
(The family goes together to the altar. Mulan lights a stick of incense at a candle and bows before
the altar. She kneels before the altar.)
(At the dinner table)
FATHER: A toast to favorable winds on your journey! Come back victorious
after dousing the barbarians’ fires.
MULAN: Thank you, Father, for teaching me the military arts. It will allow me
to serve the country with loyalty and to help me fulfill my filial duty to you.
Truly two perfect goals. This is the time to thank you; please do not worry about
me (drinks a cup to her father).
MOTHER: Best wishes for your complete safety on this journey! I have never
been separated from you once in your life.
MULAN: Mother, please don’t worry about me, and thank you for permit-
ting me to go. You have helped me to achieve my ideals and let me be a girl able
to be useful to our country. When I come back victorious, we will all have the
68 Ouyang Yuqian

comfort of being together again. Mother, just wait and you will hear good news
(drinks a cup to her mother).
SISTER: Best wishes, Little Sister, and much success to you.
MULAN: Many thanks for your kind words. Take care of the home and serve
Mother and Father. For those things I rely on you (drinks a cup to her sister).
BROTHER: (also raising a cup to her) Sister, if you aren’t able to beat those guys,
just write a letter home to me, and I will come right away to help you.
MULAN: Terrific, terrific! Listen to Mother and Father and study hard, and
you will be able to serve your country well (drinks a cup to her brother).
(Outside, the ward commander continues beating his gong and calling out. We see soldiers sadly tak-
ing their leave of their families while the messenger continues to call the summons to the soldiers.)
(We see Officer Han taking leave of his new bride sadly)
WARD COMMANDER: Those who are joining the army, we depart today.
(Liu Ying takes leave of his wife and baby)
LIU YING: Daddy is going off to war now. Daddy is going off to war now.
(He clowns around for the baby. He wipes a tear from his eye.)
(Two soldiers, Zhang Xu and Yin Ci, are bidding good-bye to their mother. The mother first turns
to Xu and says:)
OLD WOMAN: Little Xu, be careful out there with your bad temper.
XU: I’ll pay no attention to anything, and pay attention only to killing.5
OLD WOMAN: Little Ci, you are always too lazy, always loving to sleep. When
you go off to war, don’t be as you are at home.
CI: Mother, don’t worry. I will not sleep until I have won the war (starts to yawn).
(Ward commander calls out again: “Those who are joining the army, we depart today . . .” )
(Mulan and her family are outside their home saying their good-byes)
MULAN: I’ll go now.
FATHER: Get on your horse.

5 The second half of the sentence, beginning with “and,” does not occur in the screenplay.
 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 2 69

MULAN: (to her mother:) Your daughter’s joining the army is a glorious thing.
You should not be sad; you should be happy.
FATHER: That’s right, we should be smiling to encourage her.
MULAN: Mother, smile. (Mother smiles, with great effort) Take care of your health,
both of you. I am off.
(Mounts horse)
FAMILY: Take care.
(The two old people weep. Mulan bows her head and cries.)
FATHER: Take care, child (as Mulan rides off ).
(Fade out)
 Act 3

Characters:
MULAN

OFFICER HAN

LIU YING

LIU YUANDU

TEAHOUSE OWNER AND DAUGHTER

ZHANG XU

YIN CI

(On the road)

(Mulan goes forward on the road. Soldiers follow and then pass her, eyeing her. As each one passes
her by, they each turn their head to appraise her. Though she is not afraid or embarrassed, she is
very aware of them. Han and Liu ride by; the former thinking of his wife, the latter thinking of
his children.)
HAN: I just brought home my new wife only sixteen days ago.
LIU: While you’re gone your wife will surely find a nice young man to take care
of her. But I . . . I have two plump and fair young children . . .
(Han is just about to curse out Liu when he notices Mulan coming from behind. Mulan approaches
from behind and passes them. They stare at her with great interest. They wait for Mulan to pass
by, gesture at her, and start to discuss her.)
HAN: Look, that fellow is quite fair.
LIU: Not only very fair, but a very tender morsel, too!
HAN: You haven’t touched him; how can you tell he’s tender?
LIU: What are you making eyes about?
HAN: I wonder what road this fellow is taking?

70
 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 3 71

LIU: Let’s watch him, and we’ll go too and look for a little trouble.
HAN: Good.
(They hurry to follow. Mulan enters a teahouse to rest; there are already several other soldiers there
doing the same, seated on stools. There is a young hero, named Liu Yuandu, also sipping tea. He
notices Mulan enter. Mulan also notices Liu Yuandu. Soldiers Han and Liu arrive and notice her.
They go over to where she is sitting and lean toward her, circling her and hovering behind her. The
tea serving girl brings Mulan a bowl of tea.)
MULAN: (accepting the drink) Thank you.
(The serving girl glances at Mulan and giggles, runs over to her mother and points out Mulan.
The mother scolds her blushing daughter. Han uses his horse whip to tap Mulan on the shoulder.)
HAN: Little brother, where are you from?
(Mulan turns her head to look at him and slowly stands up)
MULAN: I’m from Haozhou.
LIU: Where are you going?
MULAN: I’m going to Yan’an.
(Han speaks in a mincing voice)
HAN: What are you going to do there?
MULAN: I’m going to join the army.
LIU: It’s several thousand miles from here. How are you going to get there?
MULAN: Why wouldn’t I get there? (Turning her head toward Han)
HAN: There are robbers on the road there.
MULAN: I have my sword.
LIU: In the forest wild animals lie in wait . . . wolves and tigers!
MULAN: I can protect myself with bow and arrow.
(Several men have gathered behind Liu and Han to listen)
HAN: I advise you not to talk so big.
LIU: A little chicken like you! You would be a delicious tidbit for a wolf. (The
men laugh, with the exception of Liu, who stands up angrily)
72 Ouyang Yuqian

HAN: Hahaha. You really do look like a little chicken.6 (Mulan turns her head to
the side. Han continues to speak, laughing.)
HAN: Little brother, what is your surname?
MULAN: My surname is Hua.
HAN: You really do look like a flower.7
MULAN: You two, with all the current troubles around us, everyone is going
forth to join the army: this is nothing more than serving one’s country. There
shouldn’t be any countrymen bullying fellow countrymen. This is also the first
time that we have met; how can you talk to me this way? Aren’t you bullying me?
HAN: What a bad temper! How is this joking around considered bullying? (He
playfully swipes at her to hold her hand, and she grabs his arm and twists it behind his back. He
squeals in pain, and the other men laugh at him.) All right, you bastard, hands off!
(Mulan walks off, without a care)
HAN: Stop. Don’t run off!
LIU: Sorry, we would like the honor . . .
(Mulan has already gone out the door. She turns around and addresses them.)
MULAN: OK, come and get me!
(The two rush over to her. Liu Yuandu comes out to stop them.)
YUANDU: Take it easy, take it easy. I just saw plainly that it was you two who
were the bullies. I say you should forget about it; you shouldn’t take grievances
between you onto the battlefield. (He walks toward Mulan) You go on your way,
you don’t need to continue on with people like these.
HAN: Where did we dig up this guy? I advise you to stay out of private mat-
ters. This sword does not heed any man.
(Liu Yuandu draws his sword, and Mulan stops his arm)
MULAN: Brother, they won’t give up. Just let me confront them. (She removes
some pebbles from her jacket) And I’m not going to use my sword or spear, just these

6 “Little chicken” (xiaoji 小雞) is homophonous with the word for prostitute or woman of

easy virtue, xiaoji (nü) 小妓（女); see also note 1.

7 Mulan’s surname, Hua 花, means “flower.”
 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 3 73

few little stones. I’ll let them see that I am not to be bullied. (To the other soldiers:)
Come on.
LIU: Good! Come on.
(They charge, with swords raised. Mulan throws the pebbles at them. Han’s sword drops to the
ground, his hand in pain. He cries out in pain. The same happens to Liu. They try to kick at
Mulan and are struck by the pebbles in their legs. Mulan mounts her horse.)
MULAN: Sorry, and good-bye.
(She leaves an admiring crowd behind her. Yuandu also gets on his horse. The teahouse girl looks at
Mulan admiringly.)
(The two tie up their horses at the next camp by the banks of the Yellow River. Mulan dismounts
from her horse, and Liu Yuandu does so beside her. Mulan greets him. The two of them strike up
a conversation as they walk toward the boarding house.)
YUANDU: Those two guys were really hateful!
MULAN: (laughing) Thanks so much for sticking up for me.
YUANDU: It was nothing. Your martial skills are really impressive.
MULAN: You embarrass me.
YUANDU: May I ask your surname?
MULAN: (Answers in a very friendly manner:) I’m surnamed Hua. My name is
Mulan. May I ask your name?
YUANDU: I am surnamed Liu, and my name is Yuandu. I am from Peiliang,
and you?
MULAN: I am from Haozhou. Are you going to Yan’an as well?
YUANDU: Yes, are you?
MULAN: Yes, I am. My father is old and very ill, so I am taking his place to
join the army.
YUANDU: Loyal and filial, both! How admirable!
MULAN: In matters of military campaigns I know very little, so I hope that I
can learn from you.
YUANDU: Hardly. Let’s take our rest at this inn here.
MULAN: Good.
74 Ouyang Yuqian

YUANDU: Young man (to the stable boy about his horse), more hay.
SERVANT: Yes.
(They enter the gates. They hear the approaching soldiers, who notice them. Liu and Han arrive
and see Mulan there.)
HAN: This must indeed be an apparition!
LIU: Or else a warrior spirit!
(Mulan and Yuandu hear this and enter the inn, laughing. A large pot of boiling water is being
prepared for the men to wash their feet.)
INNKEEPER: Please sit, please sit.
(Men are all washing their feet. They groan as they wash their feet. Mulan alone doesn’t wash her
feet. Zhang Xu notices Mulan and nudges Ci. They begin to circle her. Liu and Han try to get
their attention and hiss for them to go over. Xu and the other men, hearing them, turn their heads
and look over at Han and Liu. Mulan puts her hands in her clothes, and Liu and Han fear that
she might have more pebbles in there. They call over Xu and others who walk over.)
CI: What are you calling us over for?
HAN: That fellow is no softie. We have already suffered at his hands.
SERVANT: (bringing bucket) For you to wash your feet, sir.
MULAN: Leave it here.
(Yuandu quickly finishes washing his feet)
YUANDU: Brother Hua, I’m done washing up, come on over.
MULAN: You’re too polite, too polite (she picks up her bucket and goes into a private
room).
CI: (very surprised) What? He even has to go behind closed doors to wash his
feet? (He is shushed by Soldier Liu) What?
LIU: He is a warrior spirit.
CI: A warrior spirit?
(The moon shines on the Yellow River. Nighttime. We hear the sound of an erhu8 accompanying
a singing voice. The sky is filled with stars. An old man carries a little girl, who sings a Henan song.

8
A two-stringed, bowed musical instrument.
 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 3 75

Several people can be seen in the lamplight. Liu Yuandu and Mulan stand together outside beside
the Yellow River.)
YUANDU: May I ask Big Brother’s position in the army?
MULAN: I took my father’s position, and that is of troop commander.
YUANDU: I am also a troop commander. We are of the same class, but con-
sidering Big Brother’s military skill, you will certainly advance quickly in rank.
MULAN: (smiling) Thank you for your kind words. So long as I can fight on
behalf of my country, position does not matter to me.
(Yuandu looks at her, nodding. The night watchman strikes the hour. Both yawn.)
YUANDU: Let’s go to bed; tomorrow we have to continue on the road.
MULAN: You go first.
YUANDU: It is a rare thing for the two of us to have just met, but to feel like
we are old friends. Who would have thought, one from Peiliang and one from
Haozhou, suddenly in the same place. This must be predestined.
MULAN: We men would be friends anywhere; I would have met you wherever
we went. Hahaha. See you tomorrow.
YUANDU: Tomorrow.
(He leaves for the inn, and Mulan watches him go and then stands alone, looking troubled. Sounds
of water. She imagines her parents looking over her.)
INNKEEPER: Is there still someone out there? I am about to lock the doors.
(Mulan walks in)
(Interior. Mulan walks around the room and sees men asleep on their beds. As she would have to
lie down with the men, she sits at the table instead. In the distance we hear the sounds of dogs bark-
ing and the song continuing. She props her head up and tries to sleep.)
(Fade out)
 Act 4

Characters:
MULAN

OFFICER HAN

LIU YING

YIN CI

LIU YUANDU

MARSHAL

MILITARY COMMANDER

DEFEATED BARBARIAN GENERALS

BARBARIAN GUARDS

MARSHAL’S GUARD

WALL GUARD

76
 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 4 77

(Desert. All men are on horses and battling. Mulan stands out in battle, sweat rolling down her
face.)
(Snow falls. We see flying flags and hear the sounds of drums and trumpets. Mulan’s armor is
covered in snow. She dismounts her horse and enters an inn.)
(Interior. Mulan walks in, passing a room where five other soldiers are seated around a table.)
HAN: We’re already been at the border and, without realizing it, it has already
been three years. There hasn’t been a single achievement. Now take a look at
that Hua. We all joined the army together. He moved up in rank upon coming
and is now the commandant.9 I think he’ll soon be promoted to chief com-
mandant.10 One more jump and he will be military commissioner.11 Not only
that, it seems to me that he has become beautiful.
LIU: That goes without saying. Everyone has exerted themselves in battle. Since
coming he has won every battle; it’s no wonder the general admires him.
CI: That guy is really strangely enchanting, almost as if he were a woman. I re-
ally don’t know where he learned his military arts; how he manages to defeat the
enemy is really puzzling.
HAN: It’s a pity he’s a man; if he were a woman . . .
LIU: What would you do?
HAN: (lightly) Why, I really wouldn’t be able to take it! (Everyone around him laughs
at him, and he stands up)
(Liu Yuandu has entered, and everyone else stands)
YUANDU: Where is Commandant Hua? Do you know?
CI: Commandant Hua has gone inside after returning from the field.
(Mulan is inside grinding ink to write a letter. She writes, “Dear Mother and Father . . .” She is
writing a letter home when Liu Yuandu calls her.)
YUANDU: Commandant Hua, are you in your room?

9 Xiaowei 校尉, a prestige or merit title for a military officer.

10 Jingwei 京尉.
11 Jiedu shi 節度使.
78 Ouyang Yuqian

MULAN: Brother Yuandu, please come in.

(Yuandu enters. He approaches Mulan.)
YUANDU: Writing a letter?
MULAN: Tomorrow someone is going to Haozhou.
YUANDU: Sorry to bother you.
(Mulan walks toward the fire and then back)
MULAN: Not at all. Do you have some news?
(Mulan faces the fire, and Yuandu walks over)
YUANDU: We’ve received a secret dispatch. They are preparing an attack.
MULAN: Of course they are; they have suffered a few setbacks but will not
give up.
YUANDU: But our military commander will not believe it.
MULAN: Looking at the circumstances, I think the blame lies with the mili-
tary commander. His motives are very selfish.
(The two drink tea and contemplate)
YUANDU: True, but because of the victory in several battles, they will not
consider this.
MULAN: I have a plan for attack . . . take a look at how this is written . . . here
is an old battle map of my father’s. In the past few battles, I have relied on this
map. I don’t know whether the military commander will trust my map; if not,
I will die of anger!
YUANDU: Ah! But the most immediately important is to know where exactly
the enemy troops are. We just need more evidence and the commander will surely
be unable to protest.
MULAN: Good, we will go together to see the marshal.
YUANDU: What is your plan?
MULAN: We will summon up our courage and tell him that we wish to go out
to spy on the enemy. Let’s go.
 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 4 79

YUANDU: Don’t you have to finish your letter?

MULAN: The country is at risk—what are one or two letters to home?12
(The marshal is sitting on a tiger-skin seat. The military commander enters.)
MARSHAL: Commander, have a seat.
COMMANDER: Yesterday those two barbarian generals were questioned, and
they truly have surrendered. They would like to meet with Your Honor.
MARSHAL: Good, let them come in.
(The two enemy generals come in humbly)
COMMANDER: Yes. The marshal’s goodness and worth are known to all. (He
goes to door and shouts:) The marshal will now see the defeated generals.
MAN: Yes!
(The defeated generals enter and kowtow to the marshal )
DEFEATED GENERALS: Your Honor.
MARSHAL: The two of you may rise. (They rise, giving thanks)
FIRST DEFEATED GENERAL: We minions have offended the heavenly lord.
Your Honor’s benevolence is so great, we are already ten thousand times blessed,
and now we are honored with an audience.
MARSHAL: I am truly elated that you abandoned your leader (the men grin in-
gratiatingly), but I have heard that your kingdom’s barbarian leader is planning to
send forth troops to attacks us. Is there truth in this? (The military commander gives
the defeated generals a significant look)
SECOND DEFEATED GENERAL: Our wretched kingdom, since having
suffered so many defeats, is already without any power to launch an attack. That
report of a coming attack is nothing but gossip.
MILITARY COMMANDER: It was just idle chatter.
MARSHAL: Please, Commander, take good care of these two.
(Mulan and Liu Yuandu speak to the marshal’s guard outside the marshal’s quarters)

12 The last two sentences do not appear in the Wenxian script.

80 Ouyang Yuqian

MARSHAL’S GUARD: The marshal is currently speaking to the two surren-

dered generals.
YUANDU: Who brought them in?
MARSHAL’S GUARD: They were brought in by the military commander.
MULAN and YUANDU: Oh no!
(The military commander leads the two surrendered generals out from the marshal’s chambers to
his own quarters)
MILITARY COMMANDER: Please come in.
(The three enter the military commander’s rooms, and they look around to make sure no one is
around. They speak quietly to the military commander.)
FIRST DEFEATED GENERAL: Our kingdom’s khan has presented you with
tens of thousands of gold pieces asking you to explain matters to the marshal.
What need is there for concern? From now on, both our kingdoms will remain
in peace.
COMMANDER: I showed good judgment.
(Mulan and Yuandu drag the marshal’s guard who guards his door toward them to discuss matters)
MULAN: What if it is just a false surrender? Then what?
MARSHAL’S GUARD: (looks to both sides, then replies:) I also do not believe them.
Please, the two of you wait a while, let me think something up. Let’s wait until
the military commander and those two have left, then we can go to the marshal.
YUANDU: All must use all their might to rescue us from danger.
MARSHAL’S GUARD: This is what we should do. (He walks over to the entrance
and looks inside) The commander is coming (Mulan and Yuandu quickly conceal them-
selves. The commander and the two surrendered generals leave, and the guard returns and brings
Mulan and Yuandu toward the gated entrance of the marshal until he calls him in. He goes in and
kneels before the marshal, who is being served tea and is reading a report). Honorable Mar-
shal, Hua Mulan and Liu Yuandu have some secret matters they wish to see you
about.
MARSHAL: What other secrets can they have? You go ask them.
MARSHAL’S GUARD: They would like to speak about it to the marshal in
person.
 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 4 81

MARSHAL: Fine, call them in.

MARSHAL’S GUARD: Yes (He rises and goes over to the door, gesturing for the two to
come in).
(The marshal pleasantly watches them come in and sends the servant out girl with the tea)
YUANDU and MULAN: Your Honor.
MARSHAL: What is it?
MULAN: (Yuandu nudges Mulan to speak) We have heard from a secret report
that the barbarian kingdom is planning an attack and that their army is soon
to come.
MARSHAL: This is all just gossip.
YUANDU: But there really is an army; it is not just gossip.
(The marshal still does not believe them)
MARSHAL: Well then, do you know where this large army is?
MULAN: (after exchanging looks with Yuandu) Since their movements have been
completely secret, we thought that we would request that you order us to go our-
selves to spy out their ___location.
MARSHAL: (very confidently) The military commander interrogated the two sur-
rendered generals already, and we found that there would be no attack.
YUANDU: What if those two were just falsely surrendering? Wouldn’t that
be a great mistake?
MARSHAL: (very disgruntled) Fine, let’s not talk about this anymore. Go ahead,
you are dispatched on a fact-finding mission!
MULAN and YUANDU: Yes, sir! (They leave)
(Mulan enters her chambers with Yuandu)
YUANDU: With the two of us going out to explore like this . . . won’t people
be suspicious?
MULAN: I think we will need to go in disguise.
YUANDU: In disguise as what?
MULAN: You can disguise yourself as a barbarian hunter.
82 Ouyang Yuqian

YUANDU: And you?

MULAN: I...
YUANDU: Yes, it would be best for you to play a barbarian girl.
MULAN: Nonsense! How can I play a girl?!
YUANDU: Think about it, what would it matter if you played a girl?!
MULAN: I’m only afraid that I won’t be able to look like one!
YUANDU: You?! Even not dressed up you . . .
MULAN: What?
YUANDU: Sorry, don’t get mad . . . I’m going to go and change.
(Yuandu and Mulan are dressed up as a barbarian hunter and girl and are now traveling in the
desert with a camel)
MULAN: Your costume is really quite good.
YUANDU: Certainly it does not compare to yours.
(Mulan stumbles)
YUANDU: Careful!
MULAN: Of course it’s hard to walk, getting about in this getup.
YUANDU: With the way we are dressed, you know what we look like?
MULAN: Friends.
YUANDU: Not like friends.
MULAN: Brother and sister?
YUANDU: Yes, but people would think we are husband and wife.
MULAN: What?! (Stops walking)
YUANDU: Nothing.
MULAN: (slightly angry) This whole trip I haven’t heard you say a single serious
thing; you’ve been making jokes to no end. Let me ask you, are we on a serious
mission or is joking around more important?
YUANDU: Of course work is more important.
 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 4 83

MULAN: Do you just want to be like one of those muddled-up men who want
to get caught out?
YUANDU: Of course not.
MULAN: Now your rank is lower than mine by a degree; I will command you:
we will take separate routes. You go this way, and I will go this way. We will meet
at the designated place. Hurry!
YUANDU: Yes, sir!
(Mulan watches him go, smiling, and then sighs. Finally, she goes bravely in one direction. She
enters the barbarian camps and looks around carefully. Two barbarian guards notice her and
jump out.)
BARBARIAN 1: Hey, where are you going?
MULAN: I am going back to my parents’ home.
BARBARIAN 2: Where is your parents’ home?
MULAN: Just over there, not too far from here.
BARBARIAN 1: Don’t go any further. We’ll go together to see our leader.
MULAN: I’m not going!
BARBARIAN 2: That’s not up to you.
MULAN: I’m afraid.
BARBARIAN 2: Scared or not, you have to go.
BARBARIAN 1: Truly, it is strange to see a young girl here . . . how could we
let you go?
MULAN: Where is your leader?
BARBARIAN 1: Just over there. (He points it out to her, and she turns to look)
MULAN: Is that an army over there?
BARBARIAN 2: Of course.
MULAN: With barracks like that, there must be several thousand troops!
BARBARIAN 1: Several thousands?
MULAN: What, there aren’t?
84 Ouyang Yuqian

BARBARIAN 1: There are at least several tens of thousands! They are defi-
nitely going to destroy the Tang army!
MULAN: What fun!
BARBARIAN 2: What fun? Enough of this, let’s go.
MULAN: With the way I am walking? I can’t run away from you!
BARBARIAN 2: I am afraid you’ll run.
MULAN: You don’t think that I’m all right? (She puts an arm around each man’s
shoulder)
BARBARIANS 1 and 2: Of course we do, of course.
(Mulan acts flirtatiously toward them as she walks between the two of them)
MULAN: It’s better to walk this way . . . isn’t this more fun?
BARBARIANS 1 and 2: Not bad!
MULAN: (sings:)
Two people walk together on one single road, ah,
You come too,
You come too, ah,
What is there for me to fear?
(The two barbarians are smitten by this song, and Mulan takes the opportunity to knock their
heads together. The two fall down, and she quickly pulls out her dagger. She stabs each of them. She sees
that they are dead and quickly steals their clothing. She changes into their clothes and comes out from
the brush. We hear the sound of horse hooves, and she looks in surprise into the distance. A young
messenger rushes toward her on a horse; she checks that she is properly dressed and then runs out.)
MULAN: Hey!
(The messenger stops his horse and, looking at Mulan, sees her as one of his fellow soldiers. She
walks in a barbarian manner and, waving her hands, calls to him. Unaware of her ruse, the mes-
senger goes toward her. From her jacket, she pulls out her pebbles and holds them in her hand. When
the messenger gets closer, she flings the pebbles at him, knocking him off his horse where she quickly
runs forward to kill him. Mulan steals the missive that he has been carrying. Several barbarian
soldiers see her and approach. She jumps quickly on the messenger’s horse and rides off. She rides
back to her barracks, wearing the barbarian clothing and riding the barbarian horse. She calls up
to the wall.)
 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 4 85

MULAN: Open the gates!

(The Tang army barrier guards mistake her for a barbarian and ready their arrows. She is nearly
struck by an arrow.)
MULAN: Stay your arrows! I am Commandant Hua!
(The barrier guards are unsure whether to believe her)
GUARD 1: Why would Commandant Hua be wearing barbarian clothes? Eh,
you say you are Commandant Hua, what identification do you have?
(Mulan takes her papers out and puts them on an arrow, shooting them upward)
GUARD 1: This is really Commandant Hua; quick, open the gates.
(Mulan rides in)
 Act 5

Characters:
MILITARY COMMANDER

SERVANT

MULAN

MARSHAL

(The military commander signals to the surrendered barbarian generals. There are singing and
dancing girls. The military commander drinks wine with the surrendered generals, all smiles. His
servant enters in a hurry.)
SERVANT: Sir, Hua Mulan has returned from his exploratory mission and has
gone to see the marshal.
COMMANDER: What? He didn’t come to see me first; how could he go di-
rectly to the marshal first?! Fine, let me go listen to what he has to say.
(The two surrendered barbarian generals stand up too and exchange worried looks)
(The marshal sits on his tiger-skin-covered seat, and Mulan stands before him)
MARSHAL: You came back today?
MULAN: Yes.
MARSHAL: What did you discover in your exploratory mission?
(The military commander listens in from outside)
MULAN: Many barbarian troops are coming; they are all hidden near a strong-
hold in the mountains. There are several hundred thousands of them. Their
mounted troops are already about a dozen miles from our wall. There was a
messenger that I killed . . . he carried this directive (She presents it respectfully to
the marshal ).
MARSHAL: Ah! What do you think?

86
 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 5 87

MULAN: From my perspective, if we stay inside this wall I fear that if some-
thing happens there are too few of us. Further, within the wall, there are too
many enemy agents. I fear that the barbarian soldiers within the wall are fol-
lowing orders from beyond the wall. It seems that we should send our troops
into two detachments outside the wall to attack. We’ll surround them from two
sides and wait for them to come attack the wall. The wall will be empty, and
they will try to turn around. We will then use our troops to break them down.
MARSHAL: Ahhhh.
(The military commander emerges from behind the curtains)
COMMANDER: This is the worst plan. Mulan, you say that there are many
barbarian troops coming. What information are you relying on?
MULAN: I saw them with my own eyes.
COMMANDER: What did you see?
MULAN: I saw plentiful barracks, army horses, and provisions all collected in
a nearby stronghold in the mountains.
COMMANDER: (laughing) I already knew that there were secret troops pur-
posely sent to trick us into coming out from behind the wall. Our fortifications
are strong. If we stay behind the wall to greet them, they will have no recourse.
But if we come out from behind the wall, we will be falling into their trap.
MARSHAL: Here, I have a secret missive, taken from one of the barbarian
troops.
COMMANDER: I, too, have gotten the same kind of letter, saying almost ex-
actly the opposite.
(Yuandu enters and approaches the marshal)
COMMANDER: We can see that their schemes are very elaborate.
YUANDU: Your Honor, I followed your orders and went on an exploratory
mission, and found that the barbarian troops are large, and that they are very
close!
COMMANDER: Liu Yuandu did not wait for the marshal to summon him and
just charged in. Doesn’t he know the correct military rules? See him out!
(Two men come to usher him out, and Yuandu continues to try to speak)
88 Ouyang Yuqian

MARSHAL: Yuandu, get out, first.

COMMANDER: Mulan, you are too young to understand matters and were
tricked by the barbarians. You fell right into their trap and brought back the
wrong message.
MULAN: I am loyally protecting my country from the heavens to the earth.
Please do not slight a good person.13
COMMANDER: I have heard that you can also play a woman; is that right?
Very well, how about you stop playing soldier and go sing the huadan14 instead?
(Mulan looks angry enough to strike at him)
MARSHAL: Mulan, you had better withdraw for now; the commander makes
a good point.
COMMANDER: With these juniors acting out of turn, it really is unseemly.
MARSHAL: It is commonplace that the young are looking to fight; it’s best to
just let them suffer a few setbacks.
(Mulan enters her chambers angrily. Yuandu enters.)
YUANDU: What happened today? I saw that the military commander defi-
nitely was trying to thwart us. I think he must definitely be taking bribes from
the barbarians.
MULAN: I think he must be taking bribes from them.
YUANDU: What can we do now?
MULAN: I think on one hand we have to keep an eye on the military commander
and those two surrendered generals and on the other hand get our men ready.
YUANDU: Ready for what?
MULAN: The way I see it, if a situation arises, you will have to take troops in
secret beyond the gates and conceal yourselves. Within the city I shall stay to
protect the marshal. Ah! See how our good efforts have fallen at the hands of
these spies!

13 This line does not appear in the Wenxian script.

14 Role type of young, flirtatious heroine.
 Act 6

Characters:
MULAN

LIU YUANDU

MARSHAL

MILITARY COMMANDER

MARSHAL’S GUARD

DEFEATED BARBARIAN GENERALS

BARBARIAN ADJUTANT

(Nighttime with wild winds; the winds blow the banners and flags. Mulan is in the tower and
looks up at the sky. A flock of geese passes by. Mulan turns her head and shouts.)
MULAN: Yuandu, come quick!
YUANDU: What is it?
MULAN: Look at that flock of birds; it suddenly arose in a mass and flew over
here. It must mean that the troops are approaching to attack the fortress now.
Go beyond the gate and get ready. (To the other men) Commandant Wang, take a
detachment of men north of the wall. Commandant Li, go west of the wall.
(Barbarian mounted troops speed in. We see troops on foot proceeding forward and the feet of horses
kicking up the sand. There are feet marching forward. Yuandu leads troops into hiding. The com-
mander and the two barbarian generals are conferring. The commander nods his head. Mulan walks
back and forth on top of the walls.15 Liu Yuandu directs his troops to move forward. Fire breaks
out within the walls.)
PEOPLE: Fire! Fire!
MULAN: (to her men) Quick! Get down from the wall to put out the fire!

15 Although unspecified, we may construe the walls as those of the Great Wall.

89
90 Ouyang Yuqian

(A large group of barbarian troops nears the wall. Sound of drums. Arrows and boulders rain
down from the soldiers on the wall. The barbarian troops climb up the wall. We see barbarian
troops falling to arrows.)
(The marshal surveys the situation, and the military commander runs forward)
COMMANDER: Hua Mulan led the men to mutiny. I advise you to punish
him.
MARSHAL’S GUARD: Nonsense! Clearly, it is the barbarians attacking us;
how can you say that Mulan is rebelling?
COMMANDER: Those barbarians were brought here by him. Quick, there’s
still a way out at the north of the wall.
MARSHAL: (disbelieving) The barbarians attacked from the north; how can we
still leave via the north?
COMMANDER: You are not listening to me! You will regret it too late!
(Two soldiers capture someone setting a fire. It turns out to be the first surrendered barbarian gen-
eral. A soldier kneels before the marshal.)
SOLDIER: We caught one of those who started the fire. He says he wishes to
see the military commander.
COMMANDER: (drawing his sword as if to kill the barbarian general) How can this
be?! (Tries to lunge forward, with sword drawn)
MARSHAL’S GUARD: (drawing his sword ) Hold on. Let’s question him before
killing him!
MARSHAL: So, after all, you had falsely surrendered. Why did you do it?
FIRST BARBARIAN GENERAL: Each has his own country—what else do
you need ask?
MARSHAL: Why did you want to see the military commander?
FIRST BARBARIAN GENERAL: Don’t you know? Because he could set me free!
MARSHAL: (turning his head and addressing the commander:) You said others were re-
belling, but it was in fact you who was doing so. (To the capturing soldiers) Take them
all to be executed.
(The marshal’s guard takes the captured general by the collar and pushes him out along with the
military commander. Mulan rushes in.)
 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 6 91

MULAN: Honored Marshal, the barbarians have overcome us and are coming.
Fortunately, we had made preparations, but even so we cannot hold the fort for
long. Please, sir, quickly go to the south of the wall to lead the troops.
MARSHAL: Good. (They leave together)
(At the gates of the district. The marshal mounts a horse. The second barbarian general, hiding
behind a wall, shoots an arrow at him. The marshal is struck, and Mulan goes to him. The second
barbarian general runs away.)
MULAN: Quick! Grab the man who just shot that arrow. (Two soldiers rush after
him. Mulan addresses the marshal.) Please, sir, get on your horse and go first to the
south of the wall. (The marshal does so in spite of the pain)
(People are running away in fear; one looks into the camera and shouts)
MAN: The barbarians are coming!
(Barbarians surge. Mulan and others send off the marshal.)
MULAN: You, take care of the marshal and leave first. I have to turn back and
fight this group.
(The barbarians enter the marshal’s office and empty chambers. The barbarian general laughingly
sits in the marshal’s seat, as his adjutant comes in to report.)
ADJUTANT: Honored leader, within the city the Tang army is paltry; the
greater part of them has left the city walls. I think they are going to block our
way out of the city. We should quickly hurry out of the city walls and continue
the fighting twenty or thirty miles out to finish the battle. Otherwise, I fear that
we will be defeated here.
BARBARIAN GENERAL: (carelessly) You did not say this earlier, and look how
easily we captured the city. If we retreat immediately, what would happen?
ADJUTANT: We didn’t think of this strategy earlier.
BARBARIAN GENERAL: ( furiously) No wonder people said you were dumb
as a dog! Take all the treasures and the good-looking girls out of here. (The bar-
barian soldiers rush around trying to gather as much as they can)
(As the barbarian general tries to get on his horse to leave the city, Mulan hurries over and kills
the general. The rest of the barbarians run off in fear.)
MULAN: (shouting from horse:) Their troops are in disarray! Quick, get them!
 Act 7

Characters:
MULAN

MARSHAL

LIU YUANDU

(The marshal’s camp)

(Mulan stands beside the supine marshal, who is suffering greatly. He reads aloud from a document.)
MARSHAL: I regret that I didn’t listen to you. Let all the people know that I
made a big mistake. My brave generals and officers courageously battled and
were able to defeat danger to bring peace. Even in death I am pleased. (Mulan
sheds tears upon hearing this) I have already reported to the emperor, to appoint Hua
Mulan the new marshal. He is both loyal and brave, and well versed in strategy.
He can easily take on this responsibility. You must all obey his orders; this is my
dying wish. (He takes a deep breath) I ask your forgiveness. (He dies, and all weep)
(Outside the camp everyone kneels in mourning. The marshal’s flag with his surname “Zhang” is
lowered and is changed to “Hua.” Mulan mounts the platform as marshal. Yuandu enters the camp.
The crowds bow to Mulan. Mulan addresses the crowds, with Yuandu at her side.)
MULAN: I have been honored by our former marshal, and, further, the em-
peror orders that I take over as leader. You need not suffer any longer. The peo-
ple need not be oppressed, nor flee from attackers, nor gain favor through nepo-
tism. Spread my words afar.
GATHERED GENERALS: Yes, sir!
(Fade out)

92
 Act 8

Characters:
MULAN

LIU YUANDU

YIN CI

(Tang troops battling the barbarian troops in the snow. Mulan fights bitterly in the snow; Yuandu
fights bitterly in the rain. Mulan kills barbarians. A barbarian on horseback falls in mud, and
barbarians are seen being chased away by Tang troops. Mulan and Yuandu give chase on horseback
and return with smiles of victory. They stand before a memorial stele on which is written “In the
fourth year of the Great Tang, Hua Mulan quieted the barbarian troops.” Mulan rides horse to
high peak, and all the people bow to her.)
GATHERED TROOPS: Congratulations, Marshal. You have achieved success
in battle!
YUANDU: ( from horseback) The marshal is virtuous in arts and war; he pacified
the borders. Eternal glory to him for thousands of years and thousands of eras!
MULAN: This glory belongs to everyone. All I did was give orders.
YUANDU: (smiling) The marshal is too modest.
(Mulan smiles at him. Everyone rides off. There is a party at night; all the people are dancing.
Yuandu and Mulan stand together. Mulan smilingly accepts a cup of wine and drinks a few
mouthfuls. We see a flag reading “Love the people like your children” and “Long Live Peace.” )
(A group of children perform a masked dance. A goat is being roasted. Mulan and Yuandu drink
together. All appreciatively watch a young girl perform a sword dance. Yuandu is drunk.)
(Mulan stands up and leaves; Yuandu quickly finishes his cup and follows her out. Mulan has al-
ready returned to her tent where she has removed her outer coat and has gone into her bedroom,
feeling a little drunk. We can hear a little music from outside. She lies down on her bed, deep in
thought.)
(Yin Ci helps Liu Yuandu go into his tent, holding his arm)
CI: Old Liu, how did you fill your stomach with just a little wine?

93
94 Ouyang Yuqian

YUANDU: I don’t care . . . I’m going to go find the marshal.

CI: I think you had better go to sleep.
YUANDU: I won’t sleep; you go to sleep.
CI: (pulling Liu Yuandu back) OK, I’ll go, but you should be more careful, don’t
bother the marshal.
YUANDU: (hiccups) I know, I know. You think I don’t know my own marshal’s
temper?
CI: Your marshal, that is funny! (Exits, laughing)
(Yuandu drunkenly goes to Mulan’s tent and sits on a rock outside. Mulan hears Yuandu’s
hiccuping outside, and goes out to see him.)
MULAN: What is it? Are you drunk?
YUANDU: Ah, Yuandu is no more.
MULAN: Let me give you some good news.
YUANDU: What happy news?
MULAN: A letter arrived from the capital, saying that the emperor has sum-
moned me to the capital. You will be promoted to remain here as commander
in chief.
YUANDU: Congratulations to you.
MULAN: I congratulate you, too.
YUANDU: I don’t want the promotion!
MULAN: Why not?
YUANDU: I want to spend my life serving you.
MULAN: That’s child’s talk! Go to sleep.
YUANDU: Yes. (Mulan goes into her tent; Yuandu goes but then returns to the rock in front
of Mulan’s tent)
(Mulan from inside the tent sees Yuandu again. He is still sitting on the rock. Mulan laughs and
goes back outside and stands behind him.)
MULAN: Yuandu, what are you doing?
 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 8 95

YUANDU: (standing up quickly) I am keeping watch here.

MULAN: Nonsense! When have I ever asked you to keep watch? I see you are
really drunk!
YUANDU: I am not!
MULAN: Are you homesick?
YUANDU: No.
MULAN: Missing your wife?
YUANDU: I don’t have a wife.
MULAN: Ah, yes, you haven’t married yet . . . so you . . .
YUANDU: What is it, Marshal?
MULAN: You, go to bed, it’s getting late. (We hear the night watch struck)
YUANDU: No.
MULAN: Go to bed. Tomorrow morning I will make a match for you.
YUANDU: I don’t want that.
MULAN: Why not?
YUANDU: I’ve already got one.
MULAN: (a little surprised) Already got one? What is this girl’s surname? Where
is she?
YUANDU: I have her in my heart.
MULAN: Well, why didn’t you marry her? I never said you couldn’t take a
wife.
YUANDU: I daren’t speak to her about it.
MULAN: Why not?
YUANDU: That girl’s temper is very bad, and her status is above mine. If I
don’t address her properly, she may well murder me!
MULAN: (laughing) Can there be such a case on earth?!
YUANDU: Yes, such a case exists on earth; do you think it’s strange?
96 Ouyang Yuqian

MULAN: You really are drunk, talking nonsense, and talking too much. Go
off!
YUANDU: Yes, sir!
(Mulan goes back into her tent, and Yuandu starts off and then stops again. She goes into the tent
still feeling drunk and cannot get over a feeling of melancholy. In front of the table she practices
some sword arts to try to distract herself from these feelings. While she is practicing her sword, she
can hear music from outside. She sings along.)
MULAN: (singing:)
Where is the moon?
The moon is in the chamber.
He shines inside my room,
He shines upon my bed,
Shines upon that shattered battlefield,
Shines upon my sweet ambition.16
When can I enter my beloved’s bosom,
And speak my innermost feelings?
(When she finishes singing, she can hear from beyond the tent Yuandu continuing the song. She looks
outside.)
YUANDU: (singing from the rock:)
Where is the moon?
She shines in her room,
She shines upon her bed,
Shines upon my shattered heart,
Shines upon my endless nights of restlessness.
When will she enter my embrace,
And I can speak my grieving heart?
(As he sings, Mulan comes out to listen)
MULAN: (purposefully) In the middle of the night who is out there singing?
YUANDU: Did the marshal not tell the people that tonight they should sing
until dawn?

16 Huaibao 懷抱 is translated here as “ambition” and below as “bosom” and “embrace.”

 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 8 97

MULAN: Ah, it’s still you! Fine, go ahead and sing.

YUANDU: (drunkenly) Please, Marshal, feel free to give your suggestions!
MULAN: Hahaha, I don’t understand!
YUANDU:
Where is the moon?
The moon is right beside me.
I have seen the moon’s face.
(Mulan is moved by these words)
I brim over with the moon’s light;
I gaze over facing heaven’s edge.
I face heaven’s edge and think . . .
I can’t go crazy, yet go mad,
Turning my head, I see that it is you in the sky.
MULAN: (moved ) Sung very well. We have been friends for twelve years already.
Today I will teach you a song.
YUANDU: (blushes) The marshal is so kind. I could not repay it even with ten
thousand deaths.
MULAN: Nonsense.
YUANDU: Yes!
MULAN: (sings:)
Where is the moon?
The moon is beside you.
You have seen the moon’s face;
You have fallen for the moon’s light.
Knowing that you have gazed, year after year,
Knowing that you have thought, day after day.
You needn’t be anxious or hurried,
Turn your head, and there your Chang’e will have come down.
(The two sing together:)
MULAN and YUANDU:
You needn’t be anxious or hurried,
Turn your head, and there your Chang’e will have come down.
98 Ouyang Yuqian

(Done singing, Mulan smiles widely)

MULAN: Now you can go to bed.
YUANDU: Yes, sir.
(Yuandu hurries off )
 Act 9

Characters:
EMPEROR

MULAN

LIU YUANDU

(Emperor’s palace)
EMPEROR: Hua Mulan quelled the barbarians and succeeded over the threats
at the borders, and for this I am very pleased. I have appointed Mulan to the
Imperial Secretariat. Liu Yuandu has been appointed commandant of the Assault-
Resisting Garrison.
MULAN: I was without great successes. I dare not accept the honor of the Im-
perial Secretariat. I only wish to return home to see my father and mother.
YUANDU: My skills are limited; from beginning to end I only followed the
orders of Marshal Hua. This appointment is too high; I fear that I am not able
to fulfill Your Highness’ kind appointment.
EMPEROR: (very pleased) Hua Mulan is so filial to his parents, Liu Yuandu so
loyal. I am very pleased! Each one will be given a sword and horse and six months’
leave to return home.
(The crowd cheers “Ten thousand years!” for the emperor, and the curtains are closed around him)

99
 Act 10

Characters:
MULAN

LIU YUANDU

MR. WANG

MR. ZHAO

FATHER

MOTHER

SISTER

BROTHER

(Mulan’s home. Mulan and Yuandu arrive on horseback. Mulan waves to everyone from her horse.
Everyone greets her with smiles. The hunters Wang and Zhao are also there.)
WANG: Marshal, Marshal, do you still remember us? (Mulan, smiling, nods her head
and goes on. Wang continues:) That is my old friend.
ZHAO: Oh yes, I am also his old friend. We’re old friends.
(Mulan reaches her house. Father, mother, sister, and brother come out to greet her, as well as other
neighbors.)
MULAN: Father, Mother! (She gets off her horse and goes in with her parents)
(She and the others enter the rooms. Mulan bids the two older people rise and she bows before them.
The parents are smiling and crying simultaneously. Mulan turns to her sister and bows.)
MULAN: Sister, all these years you were burdened. (Her sister already has a child.
Mulan rubs her younger brother’s head.) Brother, you have grown so tall!
FATHER: Go inside and change your clothes and rest a bit; we can talk later.
(Mulan’s mother goes inside with her, and her father addresses the crowd outside)

100
 Mulan Joins the Army (1939), Act 10 101

FATHER: Everyone, please sit down in here.

(Mulan goes with her mother to her old room, draws the curtains, and wipes the dust off the mirror)
MOTHER: There’s so much to say I don’t know where to begin.
(In the reflection in the mirror we see Mulan transformed back into a girl with flowers in her hair
and women’s clothing. Her mother presents her with a large handful of calling cards.)
MOTHER: I don’t know how many people have come to talk to you about a
match; look at all the cards that have come for you. What are we to do?
MULAN: (girlishly) I have already chosen.
MOTHER: Already decided? What kind of person is it?
MULAN: Mom, first listen to his voice and then look at him, OK? (Turns to the
window and calls out:) Liu Yuandu!
YUANDU: Here!
MULAN: (laughingly) What do you think?
MOTHER: Loud and clear.
MULAN: (happily) I’ll take you to go take a look at him and see if he will do,
OK?
(She hurries to drag her mother out)
MOTHER: Slow down; I can’t be pulled along like this.
MULAN: OK, Mom, I understand.
(Liu Yuandu is standing drinking tea when Mulan brings her mother out to point him out)
MULAN: Brother Yuandu. (He turns around) This is he. (To the gathered men)
Everyone, please be at ease.
(Han looks at her in surprise. Liu Yuandu looks muddled. Ci and Xu look shocked. Mulan gig-
gles and rushes out.)
FATHER: What is going on here? (Mother whispers in his ear) Ah, I see what this
17
is about.

17
The interaction between the mother and father occurs only in the Wenxian script and not
in the film.
102 Ouyang Yuqian

(Mulan in bridal dress sits in a candlelit chamber. Yuandu joins her, dressed as the groom.)
YUANDU: Where will you be hiding yourself tonight?
(Mulan flirtatiously looks at him and smiles at her bridegroom. She falls into his embrace.)

Translated by Shiamin Kwa

APPENDICES
 Appendix 1
Summaries of Selected Pre-1949 Plays

Yong’en
A Couple of Hares (Shuangtu ji)
Written by Yong’en. Not listed in earlier bibliographies. The fourth play of
the Four Plays of Ripple Garden (Yiyuan sizhong).
This play was composed during the Qianlong period (1736–1795). The
“original incident” is found in the yuefu folk song “Poem of Mulan” of the
Northern Dynasties period, and in Xu Wei’s The Female Mulan Joins the Army in
Place of Her Father (Ci Mulan tifu congjun) of the Ming. This play was written by
expanding on Xu’s play. It has forty scenes and consists of two parts.
During the Northern Wei there lives a student by the name of Wang Qingyun
(style Sixun), who hails from Quni. He has been engaged since childhood to
the daughter of Chiliarch Hua of the same district. Because he has failed the
examinations, he feels frustrated and depressed, and therefore leaves home to visit
friends. Suddenly, he sees an apparition of Guanyin, who in the blink of an eye
changes into a Diamond Warrior, but he cannot figure out what that might mean
despite all his efforts.
Chiliarch Hua’s name is Hu, and his style is Sangzhi. His wife is lady Jia.
Their eldest daughter is Mulan, who has just turned sixteen. She has studied
the martial arts with her father and is well-versed in all techniques. Mulan has
a younger brother and a younger sister, but they are still little children. Mulan
keeps two hares, one male and one female, but it is impossible to figure out which
one is which. One day, as she is spinning by the door, she suddenly sees an ap-
parition of Guanyin in the clouds, who then changes into a Diamond Warrior.
Guanyin announces to Mulan that she will be “greatly recognized.” Mulan reaches
the following understanding:

A woman’s shape is transfigured into the body of a man

And a man will later become a woman!

105
106 Appendix 1

The great king of Black Mountain, Bao Zipi [Leopard Skin], is plundering
the region of the Yellow River, causing great hardship to the common people.
The khan sends out military registers, hoping to draft five thousand crack troops
in Hebei. The district magistrate recommends Hua Hu for service. At the be-
hest of the district magistrate, the two battalion commanders Mo Qianzhu and
He Rugu, carrying the arrow of command of Xin Ping, the commander in chief
for the campaign against the west, go to the house of Chiliarch Hua Hu to of-
fer his congratulations and to appoint Hua Hu as the commanding general for
the region. It just so happens that Hua Hu is not at home. When Hua Hu re-
turns home and learns of his military appointment, he is very concerned. Hua
Hu is over sixty years of age, his strength is failing, and he cannot obey the or-
der. When Mulan sees how advanced in years her father is, she decides to change
from her female dress to male attire and to join the army in place of her father.
Mulan tells the family servant:

If I do not become the most exceptional woman of my age,

I will have lived this life in vain!

Mulan eagerly makes her preparations by buying a sword and lance and a fine
horse. The neighbors bring wine and food to the Hua home to see her off. The
servant informs Hua Hu of Mulan’s decision and preparations. Hua Hu is both
surprised and ashamed, and he strongly urges Mulan to abandon her decision
to join the army. But Mulan has already made up her mind and swears she will
go, so Hua Hu can do nothing else but accept her decision. In male attire, Mu-
lan joins the army as the son of Hua Hu. He Rugu and Mo Qianzhu fail to see
through her disguise, and when they see the apparition of Guanyin changing
into a Diamond Warrior, they do not understand its meaning. Mulan swears an
oath, which goes:

My loyalty and filiality depend on this day;

My valor and courage can be compared to those of any man!

When Wang Qingyun learns that Mulan has joined the army, he is filled with
admiration, so he loves her only the more, and he makes up his mind to wait un-
til Mulan returns home from the campaign in order to marry her. Hua Hu urges
Student Wang to find another wife, but the latter is unwilling to do so, and Hua
Hu realizes that Student Wang is an extraordinary man.
Vanguard Commander Niu He is a greedy and lustful man, who is equally
interested in men and in women. As soon as he has fallen in love with the
 Summaries of Selected Pre-1949 Plays 107

handsome features of Hua Hu (the assumed name of Mulan), he wishes to have

sex, but he is met with an absolute refusal and therefore carries a grudge against
Hua Hu.
When the troops have been camping at Gubeikou for half a year, Com-
mander in Chief Xin Ping has still not arrived. The Hua family sends a servant
to the army to take Mulan padded clothes and a letter. When Commander in
Chief Xin Ping arrives, he orders the troops to advance. Vanguard Commander
Niu He is greatly defeated and only escapes with his life when Hua Hu single-
handedly comes to his rescue. The commander in chief demotes Niu He and
elevates Hua Hu to the rank of vanguard commander.
Xin Ping deploys his troops and officers and orders Hua Hu and his troops
to trick the enemy by feigning defeat. The Great King of Black Mountain indeed
is taken in, and when the troops lying in ambush rise on all sides, he suffers a
great defeat with many losses. Niu loses his life on the battlefield.
When Bao Qianjin, the younger sister by a different mother of the Great
King of Black Mountain, hears how handsome Hua Hu is, she falls in love with
him. She then orders her elderly maid to change into male dress and go to Hua
Hu’s tent in order to deliver a secret letter, in which she promises to collaborate
on the inside for a common attack on Black Mountain. At this moment the two
armies have already been locked in struggle for eleven years. Just when Xin Ping
is filled with worry because he still has not been able to subdue the enemy, it is
reported that Hua Hu requests an audience. Hua Hu reports Bao Qianjin’s plan.
Xin Ping follows Hua Hu’s advice. Without hesitation he grabs this opportu-
nity and inflicts a great defeat on the enemy. When Hua Hu attacks, he captures
alive Bao Zipi and his younger brother Bao Jiuguan. The army returns victori-
ously, having accomplished its mission after a total of twelve years.
When the Son of Heaven of the Northern Wei gives out awards on the ba-
sis of merit, Xin Ping is appointed chancellor, and Hua Hu is appointed secre-
tarial court gentleman. The other officers also receive their rewards. Hua Mulan
declines any official appointment as she wishes to return home to wait on her
parents. The Son of Heaven admires Hua’s filial piety and awards the hereditary
rank of vice general to the Hua family.
Wang Qingyun learns from a border report of Mulan’s merit in battle and
visits the Hua family to offer his congratulations.
Hua Mulan takes her leave of Xin Ping and leaves a letter with him in which
she explains how she had served in male guise for twelve years. When Xin Ping
reads the letter after she has left, he is filled with even greater admiration for
Mulan. He reports the matter to the emperor, and the latter shifts her appoint-
ment to Wang Qingyun. Wang Qingyun becomes a secretarial court gentleman,
108 Appendix 1

and Hua Mulan becomes a lady of the first rank. Hua Hu receives a second rank
noble title, and lady Jia becomes a lady of the second rank.
On the way back home, Mulan sees the couple of hares she had kept since
childhood running toward her to welcome her. Her younger brother whets a
knife and slaughters a pig and a goat to prepare a welcoming meal for his elder
sister. When Mulan meets with her parents and siblings, sadness and joy inter-
mingle. She gives five hundred taels of silver to He Rugu and Mo Qianzhu.
Mulan changes into female dress, and when she comes out to see them, they are
utterly flabbergasted: they had been together for twelve years but never realized
that Mulan was a girl.
The Hua family receives the imperial edict: they are covered with glory and
everyone is filled with joy.
This play is preserved in a wood-block edition printed by the mansion of Prince
Li [Yong’en] of the Qianlong period.
Summary by Zhang Guofeng, in Li Xiusheng, 1997, pp. 554–5.

Chen Xu (1879–1940)
Hua Mulan (1897–1914)
Hua Mulan from Shangqiu has lost her mother at an early age. Her father, Hua
Hu, served at court in a military function and reached the rank of chiliarch. But
because he had submitted a critical memorial that displeased the emperor, he
was dismissed, whereupon he returned to his home village. He is still alive but
is already more than fifty. Mulan has a little brother called Yao’er and a little
sister called Munan, but both of them are still very young. Because the family
is very poor, they rely exclusively on Mulan, who weaves night and day in order
to provide for the family’s needs.
When the khan crosses the border on a southern campaign, the emperor
issues an edict summoning soldiers to block the enemy. The officials and village
heads check the population registers, and every able-bodied male will have to
join the army. When Hua Hu falls ill, Mulan weaves a piece of brocade that very
night and orders Yao’er to go to the market and sell it, so that they will have the
money to cure the father’s disease. Yao’er runs into their neighbor Lin Shou, a
sixty-year-old seller of herbs, who is getting ready to join the army; he gives the
medicine to Yao’er.
The military rolls list Hua Hu’s name, but Yao’er keeps that information from
his father. Hua Hu is filled with desire to protect the country and display his
 Summaries of Selected Pre-1949 Plays 109

loyalty, so he can only hand the books he has written on military matters to Mu-
lan, hoping that she will study them and teach them to her brother and sister.
Murong Yude, the richest man in Shangqiu, has been smitten by Mulan’s
beauty. In order to be able to execute his plans, he wants Hua Hu removed so
he can lay his hands on Mulan. He sends a letter to the authorities in which he
recommends Hua Hu for a command in the army. Hua Hu is appointed as com-
mander of infantry and cavalry. Twelve missives are sent down, and the village
head calls on him to depart for war. Mulan dresses herself as a man and puts
on the armor her father used to wear; she studies the military books and prac-
tices the martial arts, until she is prepared to join the army in place of her father.
She passes an inspection by Hua Hu, who sees that she has a full understand-
ing of military matters, and accepts Mulan’s request that she join the army in
his place. He also practices the military arts at home with his daughters and his
son. On horseback Mulan wields bow and arrow, sword and lance, and all kinds
of weapons, displaying her extraordinary abilities. Hua Hu submits a memorial
to the throne, stating that his son Mulan will substitute for him and lead the
army into battle. The emperor issues an edict in which he grants his permission
and appoints Mulan as commander in chief for the pacification of caitiffs.
Heading the troops drafted in Shangqiu, she is to depart for Yanshan.
Cen Jian and other “good fellows of the green forests,” infuriated by the dis-
parity of riches and the corruption in official circles, want to volunteer “to serve
the king.” In order to stock up on supplies, having learned that Murong Yude is
the richest man in the area and spends money like water, they go and rob him
that night. With five thousand strong men and supplies worth a hundred thou-
sand cash, Cen Jian and Guan Tianxiong volunteer to join the army and place
themselves under the command of Hua Mulan.
Mulan takes pity on the elderly in the army because of their suffering and
orders that all people forty years and over be allowed to leave. By this action she
wins great popular support. Mulan takes her leave of her father, brother, sister,
and neighbors. On the parade grounds she organizes her troops, and, following
an inspection of infantry and cavalry, she divides her troops into twelve battal-
ions and gives the order to depart for the north. During the twelve years of her
campaign, reports of Mulan’s victories arrive without interruption, and her
family members and the neighbor Lin Shou are overjoyed. Mulan sends a letter
from which her relatives learn that her troops are victorious wherever they arrive,
that she has already crossed the Yellow River and reached Yanshan, and that she
will return with her troops once she has defeated the enemy for good.
From Zuo, 2005, pp. 122–3. This summary is based on the text of the sixteen-scene play pub-
lished in Shenbao in 1914. A number of acts were published as early as 1897.
110 Appendix 1

Mei Lanfang and Qi Rushan

Mulan Joins the Army (1917)
Hua Mulan hails from Yan’an. Her father’s name is Hu, and she has one sister
and one brother. Her younger sister’s name is Muhui; her little brother is still a
toddler. Mulan has an extremely filial character. She loves martial arts; when later
she is instructed by Hu, her knowledge is doubled.
At this time the world is in chaos. Chinese and barbarians are at war with
each other. Battles are fought continuously, with no end in sight. Right then the
Turks rebel, and the court orders He Tingyu to lead the troops in a punitive
campaign. The village head collects the soldiers on the register to go to the front
and join the fighting, and Hua Hu’s name is also listed in the register. But Hu
is advanced in years and without strength, incapable of carrying a lance.
Mulan sees how worn with age and decrepit her father is—he definitely is
incapable of storming ahead and joining the battle. But to serve as a soldier
is a duty of the people, and when it comes to exerting oneself on behalf of the
state, there is no distinction between men and women; instead, each should ex-
haust his or her natural function. If one fearfully hides oneself away, accepts the
dispositions of one or two powerful people, only loves one’s village and only
cares for one’s children, refusing even to make an effort as light as pulling out a
hair, then on what can the state rely with this type of people? But if the state
collapses, there will be many things that will turn out to be impossible, even
though one would like to enjoy one’s private pleasures within the circle of the
family! Mulan considers that, even though she is a woman, her only solution in
these troubled times, now that her father is too old and her brother too young,
is to go on the campaign as a substitute for her father. This is not a contrived
emotion or a false ambition—she hopes to achieve the reputation of a filial
daughter and also to make some contribution in order to stimulate those weak-
spined men who cling to life. She thereupon requests permission from her par-
ents to go and fight as a substitute for her father.
She serves in the army for twelve years and never displays her original nature.
Repeatedly she establishes great merit. When the army returns victoriously, she
refuses an official appointment and goes back. Upon her return home, she goes
to her own room, discards the military outfit, and once again is a girl!
This summary appeared in Gujin xiju daguan (Zhongwai shuju, 1921), and was reprinted
in Dong, 2003, p. 118. A summary of the same play, based on a preserved manuscript titled
On Campaign in Place of Her Father (Daifu zheng), was printed in Zeng, 1989,
pp. 358–9.
 Summaries of Selected Pre-1949 Plays 111

On Campaign in Place of Her Father (Daifu zheng)

When the Turks conduct a raid across the border, He Tingyu is appointed as
commander to repulse the enemy, but in successive battles he is defeated again
and again. He urgently dispatches people to the region of Yan’an to draft troops.
A certain Hua Hu, who lives in Shangyi Village, is listed in the military regis-
ters. Because this man is quite advanced in years, his daughter Hua Mulan de-
cides to take on the false guise of a male and to join the campaign in place of
her father.
As soon as Mulan approaches the battlefield, she sees a general falling down
from his horse and immediately rushes forward to save him, to realize only when
she comes up close that it is Commander in Chief He Tingyu. During the cam-
paign Mulan repeatedly establishes great merit, and very soon she is promoted
to the rank of general.
One night, as Mulan is making the rounds, she notices that the birds above
the enemy camp are flying up in fright. She deduces from this that the enemy is
preparing a surprise attack that night. She has her troops hide themselves in an-
ticipation, and the ambushed Turks suffer a decisive defeat. The Turks do not
dare violate the border again, and He Tingyu returns to court victorious. He
praises Mulan’s merits, and she is appointed secretarial court gentleman. Mu-
lan does not accept her appointment, refusing her office and returning to her
home village.
After twelve years of separation from her family, she and her relatives are
finally reunited. Because Mulan did not accept her appointment, the court
now orders He Tingyu to reward her with rich gifts. When He Tingyu arrives
in Shangyi Village and goes to see Mulan, she comes out to greet him in changed
dress. Only now does he realize that she is no man. Even more surprised and
impressed, he hurriedly returns to the court to ask for appropriate titles and
rewards.
The above summary is based on a copy kept at the Beijing Municipal Drama
Research Institute. For the original incidents, see chapter 56 of the Historical Ro-
mance of the Sui and the Tang.1 The text was composed and performed by Mei Lan-
fang and Qi Rushan.

1 This appears to be a mistake. The play more likely derives from A Couple of Hares by Yong’en.
112 Appendix 1

A revised version of this script was produced by the modern playwright Ma Shaobo.

Mulan Joins the Army

During the Northern Wei, the Turks conduct a raid across the border. Com-
mander in Chief He Tingyu leads his troops to meet the enemy. Because their
military strength is weak, he drafts the officers and troops who had already re-
tired from the ranks and tells them to hurry to the border regions and together
stop this foreign humiliation. The name of a certain Hua Hu is listed in the mil-
itary registers, and when he receives the summons to join the army, his daughter
Mulan is weaving at the door. The military missives arrive one after another, and
Mulan is deeply concerned that her father, too advanced in years and burdened
by illness, lacks the strength to go on a campaign. Moreover, the family lacks a
man of suitable age to be drafted. She thereupon decides to join the army in place
of her father. Hua Hu initially is unwilling to give his permission and only as-
sents once Mulan has persuaded him with gentle words. Mulan thereupon takes
on the false guise of a male and uses the name of her younger brother Muli.
Crossing the Yellow River and fording the Black Stream, she hurries toward the
border. When Mulan and her men arrive on the battlefield, Commander in
Chief He Tingyu is surrounded on all sides by Turkish troops. Only when
Mulan and her troops join their forces with He’s troops do they succeed in
breaking through the double encirclement, and Mulan repeatedly establishes
great merit. After twelve years, He Tingyu and his men finally succeed in crush-
ing the Turks. On the eve of the army’s return, Mulan requests permission to
return home and nurse her wounds. When she arrives back home, her father’s
hair has already turned white as frost. When they see each other again, joy and
sadness are intermingled. He Tingyu is ordered by the king of the Wei to re-
ward Mulan with titles and gifts—he also intends to give his daughter as bride
to Mulan. When He Tingyu arrives at the Huas’, Mulan comes out to see him
in changed dress. Only then does he realize that she is a girl.
[This summary is based on the] edition printed by the Baowentang in Beijing.
Revised by Ma Shaobo. Performed by Du Jinfang and Li Huifang of the Zhong-
guo jingju yuan.
For another adaptation of the same play produced and printed in the early 1950s as A New
Mulan Joins the Army (Xin Mulan congjun), see Zeng, 1989, pp. 360–61.
 Summaries of Selected Pre-1949 Plays 113

Pifu
Joining the Army: On the Road (1932)

A One-Act Play with Arias

Mulan is on her way to join the army in place of her father and is traveling along
the high road with a family officer. As the family officer gazes on Mulan, he is
overcome by emotions and heaves a sigh:

This country for these last few tens of years;

These mountains and rivers for thousands of miles. . . .
The Xiongnu have taken up arms,
And if one day their troops cross the border,
They may well, carried on by their victories, arrive at the Phoenix Gate!
Rarest of all is this woman who campaigns in place of her father,
Shaming to death all those many men!

While Mulan is walking along with the family officer she is also observing the
great landscape, and she is deeply moved. The family officer asks her: “Young
lady, you are an upper-class girl and have spent your life hidden away in the in-
ner apartments. Now you arrive here, in this world of ice and snow. Just look:
the earth has cracked and the rocks are broken, and all plants and trees have
shriveled. How can you bear this?” Mulan replies: “Since ancient times those
who live in the inner apartments would not leave the gate, but how can the past
be a model for the present now that the country is in chaos? Look at these rivers
and mountains like embroidered brocade—in the blink of an eye they may turn
into foreign territory. So why talk about ‘upper-class’? I am afraid I will then be
trampled like all others!”
While they are talking the hour of dusk, when tired birds return to their
nests, arrives. The two of them come to a village, where they find some empty
rooms to stay for the night. When the family officer sees how desolate the place
is, he warns Mulan that there might be evil people around, so they’d better move
on. But Mulan does not agree with him: “We who join the army should see
it as their first duty to remove bullies and bring peace to the common people,
so why should we fear evil people?” Mulan goes to sleep, and the family officer
keeps watch. When he discovers Wang Qiang and Chen Xiang, two robbers who
steal from the rich to give to the poor, he loudly calls the alarm. Mulan wakes
up and confronts the robbers. She steps up to them and advises them in loyal
words: “Now the country is in chaos, the king employs robbers and capable men.
114 Appendix 1

If you are willing to risk your life on the battlefield, burn your mountain strong-
holds and follow me in joining the army. . . . Sacrifice yourself for the sake of
the poor! How can you bear to bring harm to your compatriots, relying on your
martial skills and sharp weapons that kill people?” The two robbers Wang Qiang
and Chen Xiang are moved by Mulan’s sincere and loyal words and declare: “Sir,
you are a man who is determined to save the country. How would we dare dis-
obey your good words? Allow us to be your grooms, so we can pay you back for
your enlightening advice.” So on the road to joining the army, she acquired two
more heroes.
Summary based on text in Wenyi zhanxian 30 (17 October 1932), in Dong, 2003, p. 569.

Ouyang Yuqian
Mulan Joins the Army (a Guiju) (1942)
The interregnum between the Sui and the Tang. Hua Mulan from the Hua fam-
ily village in Yan’an Prefecture, while out hunting, passes by the Zhang family
village. When some young bullies create trouble for Mulan, they are defeated by
her. (Scene 1)
Grasping the opportunity of a civil war between the Sui and the Tang, Khan
Hali raises a million troops to invade the Central Plain, aiming to clean out the
Jiangnan area. (Scene 2)
At noon, Mulan enters [her home], carrying the game she has shot. Her mother
tells her to weave silk, but Mulan’s thoughts are on saving the country and sav-
ing the people. The village head brings the military order telling Hua Zhifang
to join the army that very day as he has been drafted, in order to block the ad-
vance of the foreign country. Mulan’s father has fought in the army all his life,
and he is also advanced in years and beset by illness, so Mulan proposes that it
would be best if someone replaces him. As her little brother is still too young,
Mulan dresses as a young military officer and requests to join the army in place
of her father. Her father teaches her how to use the lance. (Scene 3)
An inn on the bank of the Yellow River. Hua Mulan and other people on their
way to join the army are drinking wine. When Wang Si and Zhou Pao try to
take advantage of Mulan because she is still so young, Liu Yuandu is filled with
indignation. Mulan hits an “iron horse”2 hanging from the eaves with a stone

2
Windchimes.
 Summaries of Selected Pre-1949 Plays 115

pellet, and all are overawed by her skill. Wang Si and Zhou Pao ask to become
her students, and with Liu Yuandu they plan to travel together to Yan’an to join
the troops. Wu Cheng arrives at the inn escorting the prisoners Li Yuanhui,
Huang Sheng, Zhang Biao, and Zhao Rulong. While he himself drinks merrily
he doesn’t care whether these condemned men live or die. Mulan steps up to
him and intervenes, and she also gives money to provide the prisoners with food.
She also urges them to fight the enemy. When the others have fallen asleep, Liu
Yuandu and Mulan make small talk, but she does not allow him to raise per-
sonal matters. (Scene 4)
Khan Hali leads his barbarian troops on an attack across the Great Wall. When
he learns that the commander in chief of the border passes has died, he con-
tinues toward the Central Plain. (Scene 5)
When Mulan and her companions run into scattered troops and refugees, they
learn that the commander in chief has died. Wu Cheng wants to kill the pris-
oners and run for his life, but Mulan saves the prisoners. The prisoners volun-
teer to follow her to the border pass to fight the enemy, but Liu Yuandu suggests
that they return to the pass in the second line of defense to collect the dispersed
soldiers. Mulan lays out their strategy, and all swear to follow her even into death!
(Scene 6)
The barbarian troops march toward the second pass. (Scene 7)
At the pass of the second line of defense, Liu Yuandu has collected five thou-
sand troops, and Li Yuanhui has brought in the army supplies. All agree to ap-
point Mulan as general. Mulan gives her orders to her troops in preparation for
the enemy attack. The barbarian troops are foiled by the “empty city trick”;
when they do enter the gate, they are surprised by the soldiers lying in wait.
Mulan hits Khan Hali with a pellet on his left thigh, but he manages to escape.
(Scene 8)
Mulan’s parents are concerned about Mulan. Mulan has a letter-goose3 deliver
a letter, in which she tells them that she has led the troops in battle, and the em-
peror has appointed her as commandant to guard the border passes. (Scene 9)
The enemy has increased its troops. Mulan increases discipline, as she wants her
army to win the final battle. When Mulan and Khan Hali meet on the battle-
field, he hits Mulan in her thigh with an arrow after a treacherous shot. Liu
Yuandu and Li Yuanhui save Mulan from danger. (Scene 10)

3
A messenger bird.
116 Appendix 1

When Mulan and her companions arrive in front of a hill, Mulan wants them
to return and fight the enemy, so she uses all her strength to pull the arrow out,
whereupon she faints. Liu Yuandu returns to block the pursuing enemy, while
Li Yuanhui dresses Mulan’s wound. Khan Hali and his troops search for Mulan;
but, he is led away from her by Zhang Biao and his fellow prisoners. Despite her
wound, Mulan observes the battle, and by beating the drum she boosts morale,
fighting off the enemy. (Scene 11)
Mulan sleeps in her tent, where two maids are waiting on her. Liu Yuandu and
Li Yuanhui, who both have been wounded, come to see her. Ever since he dressed
her wound, Li Yuanhui has been aware of the true situation, and these last few
days his mind has been in a daze, so he leaves under the pretext of doing the
rounds of the camp. Liu Yuandu does not understand why Mulan only wants
to be served by maids and does not allow him to come close. But when he hears
Mulan’s sighs in her tent, he realizes that she is a woman in male disguise, and he
becomes even more loyal to her. When Mulan wants tea, he enters, bringing her
some tea, but Mulan tells him that in the future he is not allowed to enter her
tent unless called for: he’ll be beheaded if he goes against that order! (Scene 12)
The local elders arrive with gifts for the troops. Mulan urges her officers to
protect the state. It just so happens that the enemy troops are tired and short
on supplies, so Mulan orders the army to counterattack. (Scene 13)
The barbarian soldiers long for home and their morale is at a low. A spy reports
that Hua Hu has died and the Tang troops are retreating. Khan Hali orders his
troops to pursue and kill them. Mulan, in the disguise of a blue-faced devil, meets
Khan Hali on the battlefields. She leads him to a dead-end valley, where he is
thoroughly defeated. (Scene 14)
Khan Hali leads his troops as they flee for their lives. Mulan leads her troops in
pursuit. (Scene 15)
Soldiers and civilians celebrate their victory over the enemy, and Mulan proposes
to inscribe the commemorative stele with the four characters Zhonghua shengli [China
Victorious]. (Scene 16)
In front of Mulan’s tent. After twelve years of battle, Wang Si and Zhou Pao
have become somewhat disappointed. When Mulan, having had some wine, re-
turns, she is overcome by loneliness. Liu Yuandu feigns drunkenness to test her
feelings, by saying that he is in love with a girl but does not dare speak to her.
Mulan tells him not to act improperly—in due time a Chang’e will descend from
the sky for him. (Scene 17)
 Summaries of Selected Pre-1949 Plays 117

Wang Si and Zhou Pao meet with Li Yuanhui. Li Yuanhui wishes to spend the
rest of his life on the border. (Scene 18)
Mulan’s family welcomes her back home. A matchmaker arrives to arrange a
marriage for Commander in Chief Hua. Wang Si and Zhou Pao also ask the
matchmaker to arrange matches for them. (Scene 19)
Mulan is making her toilette in front of the window and narrates to her father
how she conducted affairs. Mulan’s father brings Liu Yuandu in and tells him
that the commander in chief wants to arrange a marriage for him. From behind
a curtain Mulan tells him that she wants her cousin to become his wife, but Liu
Yuandu refuses. When Mulan appears from behind the curtain, she asks him
whether he recognizes her. Only then does he recognize Mulan. Mulan and Liu
Yuandu are married and become a happy couple. (Scene 20)
From Dong, 2003, p. 1260. The summary is based on the edition of the play in Ouyang, 1980,
vol. 2.
Translated by Wilt L. Idema
 Appendix 2
Mulan in Three Novels of the Qing Dynasty

The story of Mulan is not only narrated in a cluster of chapters in the hundred-chapter His-
torical Romance of the Sui and the Tang, but also gave rise to two independent novels.
Each of the following summaries is translated from the Zhongguo tongsu xiaoshuo
zongmu tiyao.

Chu Renhuo
Historical Romance of the Sui and the Tang

Synopsis of Chapters 56–61

Liu Wuzhou [a Chinese contender to the throne after the fall of the Sui] strikes
an alliance with Heshana Khan of the Turks [Western Tujue] to invade Jinyang
and Kuaizhou. The khan conscripts an army. Hua Hu’s name figures in the con-
scription list, but he is already old, so his daughter Mulan dresses up in male
garb and joins the army in his stead. Among Liu Wuzhou’s men is a valiant
general, Yuchi Gong, who fights fiercely against Qin Shubao [a valiant general
of Li Shimin, the future Tang Taizong], but neither side wins a decisive victory
over the other. The two men engage in a strength contest. Yuchi Gong uses Qin
Shubao’s mace to strike three times at a large boulder, breaking it in two, but
Qin Shubao achieves the same effect on another boulder with only two strikes
of the mace. Liu Wuzhou suspects that Yuchi Gong has ulterior motives, and
he demotes him to Jiexiu to be in charge of fodder. Xu Shiji manages to defeat
Liu Wuzhou with a stratagem, and Liu Wuzhou seeks refuge with the Turks, but
he is killed by Heshana Khan. Yuchi Gong switches his allegiance to the Tang.
Heshana Khan is defeated by Dou Jiande’s troops. Just at the moment of ex-
treme danger, Hua Mulan comes to his rescue and manages to save him, but is
captured herself by Dou Xianniang [Jiande’s daughter]. Among the other pris-
oners is also Qi Guoyuan, who comes from Luo Cheng’s headquarters carrying
a letter in which Luo Cheng asks Qin Shubao to ask Shan Xiongxin to act as a
matchmaker and arrange a wedding between Luo Cheng and Dou Xianniang.
However, Qi Guoyuan has been captured on his way by the khan and made into

119
120 Appendix 2

a cavalry soldier. Dou Xianniang, hearing that Mulan is a filial daughter who
has joined the army in place of her father, is filled with admiration for her and
retains her as a personal attendant. She also gets hold of Luo Cheng’s letter.
Later, the prince of Qin, Li Shimin, defeats Wang Shichong and captures Dou
Jiande and Shan Xiongxin. Wang Shichong is discarded as a commoner. Dou
Xianniang and Mulan go to meet Li Shimin carrying knives in their mouths, to
show their wish to be executed instead of their fathers. Empress Dowager Dou
commends the girls’ resolution. She acknowledges Dou Xianniang as a niece and
bestows lavish honors upon Mulan, sending them back home. Dou Jiande is also
pardoned. He shaves his head and becomes a monk. Shan Xiongxin is executed.
Qin Shubao, Xu Shiji, and Cheng Yaojin each slice a piece of their thighs to roast
as a sacrificial offering to Shan Xiongxin. Moreover, Qin Huaiyu [Qin Shubao’s
son] and Shan Xiongxin’s daughter Ailian are betrothed.
Dou Xianniang goes back home and attends the burial of Empress Cao, mov-
ing her residence to the side of the grave. Mulan also returns to her home prov-
ince, after being entrusted by Dou Xianniang to deliver a letter to Luo Cheng.
When Mulan returns home, she finds out that her father has passed away, and
that her mother has remarried. When the khan hears of this, he selects Mulan
for the imperial harem. Mulan then entrusts her sister Hua Youlan with the de-
livery of Dou Xianniang’s letter to Luo Cheng. Thereupon, Mulan slits her throat
and dies. Hua Youlan, who has donned male clothes to carry out her mission,
reaches Youzhou. Luo Cheng soon recognizes her true gender and tries to sleep
with her, but Hua Youlan resists firmly. Eventually, she and Dou Xianniang will
both marry Luo Cheng. Shan Ailian and Qin Huaiyu also get married.
Zhongguo tongsu xiaoshuo zongmu tiyao, 1990, p. 423.

Anonymous
The Story of the Loyal, Filial, and Heroic Mulan.
Also known as The Story of the Wondrous Maiden Mulan (Mulan qinü zhuan).
Also known as The Complete Story of the Wondrous Maiden Mulan
(Mulan qinü quanzhuan).
(thirty-two-chapter novel; c. 1800)

Synopsis
The novel tells the story of a Zhu Ruoxu, who lives in Shuanglong Garrison [zhen],
Xiling District [xian], Guangzhou Prefecture [fu], Huguang province, during the
 Mulan in Three Novels of the Qing Dynasty 121

Sui dynasty. Zhu is by nature extremely filial and of peaceable disposition. Because
Yang Su, prince of Yue, and Yuwen Huaji, the grand mentor, have arrogated
power to themselves, Zhu repeatedly fails to qualify for the prefectural exami-
nation. Only when Yang Tingchen is appointed as magistrate of Xiling is Zhu
summoned for a personal interview, as a result of which he is selected as the top
candidate in the district and sent to the prefecture for further selection. How-
ever, the prefectural magistrate Wang Jiu has long been on bad terms with Yang
Tingchen, so he has the latter arrested on the false charge that he has recklessly
selected bogus scholars. When Dou Zhong, a fellow candidate [of Zhu’s], sees
the accusation, he is enraged and raises a rumpus in the courtroom. Dou Zhong
happens to be the brother of Dou Jiande, military commissioner of Kaifeng,
and Dou Jianwen, attendant gentleman of the left in the ministry of personnel
of Heir Apparent Shaobao. When Wang Jiu gets to hear the full story, he is left
with no choice but to let Zhu go to the capital as a candidate.
Li Jing of the Li family village in Jingzhao Ward [xiang] is poor but upright.
One day, while on his way to Luoyang to visit some relatives, he encounters a
dragon god and marries two dragon maidens. The dragon maidens, seeing that
Li Jing is of utmost sincerity and uncalculating mind, hand down to him the
secret texts on the technique of “evading stems” [dunjia]. Afterward, Li Jing, hav-
ing failed to win over Wu Yunzhao, throws in his lot with Yang Su. Yang Su’s
concubine Hongfu elopes during the nighttime with Li Jing, and the two of
them subsequently seek refuge in Taiyuan. Li Jing spends five years in Taiyuan,
during which he devises three plans on behalf of Li Shimin and then returns to
Chang’an. He pays a visit to Yang Su, bringing with him a fine steed and a be-
jeweled sword to ask for forgiveness. Yang Su has Li Jing build a following of
clients.
While going to the capital, Zhu passes by the temple of the Goddess of
Smallpox. The goddess enlightens him through the combined teachings of Dao-
ism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, and Zhu loses interest in pursuing an offi-
cial career. He reaches the capital just at the time when Yangdi has murdered his
father and killed his brother. He goes to visit Li Jing and acknowledges him as
his teacher. Li Jing hands down to him the secret texts on the evading stems tech-
nique, whereupon Zhu takes leave to return to his hometown. At Zhuxian Gar-
rison he meets with Yuchi Gong, from Mayi District in Shandong, who sells his
writing skills for a living. The two become sworn brothers, and Zhu recommends
Yuchi Gong for appointment and sends him to the capital to meet Li Jing.
In Chang’an Li Jing recommends Yuchi Gong, Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling,
Qin Jing, Chu Suiliang, Cheng Zhijie, Changsun Wuji, and others to Li Shimin.
As a result, Yuchi Gong serves as military adviser, Wei Zheng assists as preceptor
to the emperor, and Fang Xuanling serves as assistant in the establishment of
122 Appendix 2

schools. Thus, the Taiyuan administration improves with each passing day. When
Yangdi travels south to Yangzhou, lingering there and forgetting to return, all the
noblemen of the empire take possession of their provinces and commanderies.
Li Jing then secretly returns to Taiyuan.
Zhu, after returning to his hometown, practices meditation every day with
monks, nuns, and Daoist adepts. As a result, his granddaughter Zhu Mulan, who
is not yet ten years old, is thoroughly versed in all the doctrines of the Three
Teachings, Mind-to-Mind Transmission, and the Sublime Dharma. At that time,
Grand Mentor Wu Jianzhang is killed for disobeying a decree. His son Yunzhao
leads an army to attack Nanyang, but he is defeated by Han Qinhu. He then
becomes a monk and assumes the Dharma name “Sangwu” [Mourning for the
Self]. Zuiyue [Drunken Moon], the abbot of Guanyin Monastery in Shuang-
long Garrison, invites Sangwu to preach the Dharma in his monastery. At that
time, Mulan, who is just ten years old, is fully able to sustain a conversation with
Sangwu. When Zhu is about to die, he hands down to Mulan the occult books
on the “evading stems” technique. After his death, the house is burnt to ashes
by a fire. The household is entirely supported by the two women’s and Mulan’s
needlework.
Soon after, the Sui dynasty comes to an end and the Tang dynasty is estab-
lished. Yuchi Gong, duke of Guo, carries out the imperial order to build the walls
of Wuchang. The project has just finished when he is again ordered to repair
Xiling Monastery. Yuchi Gong, to show gratitude for Zhu’s assistance, recom-
mends that Zhu’s son Tianlu be put in charge of the local battalion [difang qianhu].
He also recommends Tianlu’s brother Tianxi as prefect of Changsha, and Yang
Tingchen’s son Yan as prefect of Wuzhou. Mulan practices horse riding,
archery, and military training every day in addition to spinning and weaving.
With the guidance of Sangwu, Mulan masters all seventy-two weapon techniques.
A thousand-year-old fox spirit teases Mulan, but she injures one of its legs with
the precious sword presented to her by Sangwu, and the fox spirit disappears.
Taizong plans to wage a campaign against the Turks. He appoints Yuchi Gong
as generalissimo, and Li Jing as army supervisor. Yuchi Gong conscripts soldiers
in Huguang for the northern campaign, and he promotes Zhu Tianlu to be in
charge of the cavalry. However, Zhu Tianlu suddenly falls ill, so Mulan dresses
up in male garb and joins the army in her father’s stead, fulfilling her duties both
as a filial daughter and as a loyal subject. Mulan meets Yuchi Gong and Li Jing,
and together they reminisce about the past. Mulan is enfeoffed as general of
Wuzhao. The great army is soon deployed. On their march [to the frontier],
they pass by Wutai Mountain. There, Mulan pays a visit to Sangwu’s friend, the
Daoist Jingsong, who presents her with a wise camel. This is like adding wings
to a tiger.
 Mulan in Three Novels of the Qing Dynasty 123

When the Chinese army reaches Jiebei Pass, Ebao, who is in charge of guard-
ing the pass, immediately sends the signal for help. The king of the Turks ap-
points Xiehe as generalissimo, and Kanghe’a as army supervisor to fight against
the enemy. Mulan takes Wulang [Five Wolves] Pass with a stratagem and captures
Li Chen, who is in charge of guarding the pass, and Xiehe.
The war continues like this for ten years, during which the Tang army is only
able to take one pass and two commanderies. Taizong issues a decree to demote
Yuchi Gong and Li Jing to commandant [houjue] in order to urge the army to
fight a more successful campaign. The king of the Turks also issues an edict, to
recruit worthy advisers. The thousand-year-old fox spirit that had been injured
by Mulan has now transformed into the great immortal Dushou, who is ap-
pointed as army supervisor. Through his magic arts he repeatedly defeats the
Tang army. However, Mulan is able to defeat his sorcery with the magic talis-
man of the Daoist master Tieguan [Iron Cap], and [she] breaks into Yumen
Pass. The generalissimo of the Northern Barbarians is killed, and the vice gen-
eral is captured. The king of the Turks declares himself a subject of the Tang
and surrenders to China.
Mulan returns in triumph. Passing by Wutai Mountain, she once again per-
forms obeisance to the Daoist master Jingsong. Jingsong invites Mulan to see
the Confucian master Wu Dagao, who expounds to her the doctrine of Confu-
cius and Mencius, the principles of humaneness, justice, rites, and wisdom, the
virtues of filiality, brotherly love, loyalty, and trust. Thereupon, Mulan is awak-
ened to the truth. After returning to court, Mulan receives titles of nobility,
and she is appointed as attendant gentleman of the left in the Ministry of War.
When Mulan is summoned to the capital, she submits a memorial to express
her true feelings, in which she reveals that she is a woman and does not wish to
move to the capital. Taizong then enfeoffs Mulan as princess of Wuzhao and
confers on her the imperial surname Li. He also bestows titles upon her parents
and brothers. Later on, Mulan’s parents both pass away, and she engages in earnest
self-cultivation while also raising and educating her small brothers. Taizong once
again summons her to the capital, but Mulan sends a second memorial to express
her feelings, in which she begs the emperor to allow her to observe mourning
for her parents and take care of her brothers.
Later, Taizong pays heed to the malicious rumors spread by Zhang Chang-
zong and Xu Jingzong, to the extent that great chaos will surely come from those
who carry the surname Wu, that is to say, the Wuzhao general Mulan. Therefore,
Taizong summons Mulan to the capital for the third time with the intention of
killing her. Mulan submits a third memorial to express her feelings, in which
she expresses her loyalty and chastity, and to prove her sincerity she cuts open
her chest with a sword [and dies].
124 Appendix 2

Taizong is filled with remorse. He changes Mulan’s title to “chaste and

heroic” princess and inscribes her memorial arch with a plaque that reads “Loyal,
Filial, Courageous, and Heroic.” Mulan is buried at the foot of Mulan Moun-
tain. After Wu Zetian has ascended the throne, she bestows the title of Empress
Zhaolie on Mulan.
Zhongguo tongsu xiaoshuo zongmu tiyao, 1990, pp. 673–4.

Zhang Shaoxian
An Extraordinary History of the Northern Wei:
The Story of a Filial and Heroic Girl.
(forty-six-chapter novel; 1850)

Synopsis
The novel tells of He Hu, chief bandit of Black Mountain during the reign of
Tuoba Gui (386–409) of the Northern Wei. He Hu gathers 100,000 people in
order to usurp the power of the Northern Wei. The counselor in chief Wulühe
personally sponsors the grand commander in chief Xin Ping to be appointed as
generalissimo and the vice commander in chief Niu He to be appointed as van-
guard. Together, they lead an army of twenty thousand, which sets forth to ex-
terminate the enemy. They also carry the imperial order to draft commoners into
the army to take part in the campaign.
In the Hua family village of Hebei commandery, Hua Hu, a former battal-
ion head, has long lived in retirement. His elder daughter, Mulan, who is just
seventeen years old, has been betrothed to Wang Qingyun, the son of Assistant
Instructor Wang from the same village. However, the wedding has not yet taken
place. Hua Hu’s younger daughter, Munan, is only nine years old, while his
son, Jiao’er, is only five. The district head puts Hua Hu’s name at the top of the
conscription list and orders him to join the army without the slightest delay.
Mulan, knowing that her father has attempted several times to put an end to his
life, is in constant distress night and day. She then orders her maid to buy clothes
and a horse in order to join the army in her father’s stead. Her parents will not
hear of it, but when Mulan takes out her sword in order to slit her throat, they
give their consent. Mulan therefore joins the army, assuming the name of her
father and, together with Mo Qianzhu and He Rugu from the same comman-
dery, she crosses the Yellow River and reaches Gubeikou.
 Mulan in Three Novels of the Qing Dynasty 125

Mulan displays great prowess while performing military exercises on the train-
ing field. She is appointed as commandant by the generalissimo Xin Ping, and
she leads a battalion of five thousand commoners and soldiers coming under the
command of the vanguard Niu He to take Mao’erling. Niu He underestimates
the enemy’s strength, and his camp is raided during a nighttime sortie led by the
bandit leader Gaixiong, which results in great losses. Luckily, Mulan comes to
Niu He’s aid with her troops, and she also manages to take Xishan through a
stratagem. Niu He, to conceal the losses suffered by his army, does not reward
Mulan for her achievement. He Rugu and others are indignant at this injustice,
but Mulan manages to appease them using a trick.
The generalissimo Xin Ping personally visits the place where the camp is
located. Niu He falsely reports that the military plans have been leaked. He slan-
ders Mulan as intractable and refractory. Mulan, seeing that the generalissimo
does not mention her military accomplishments, knows that Niu He is envious
of her ability and sagacity and secretly sighs over her sad fate.
The generalissimo Xin Ping personally visits the strategic ___location occupied
by the bandits and investigates their stronghold. He manages to capture Gaixiong
and to take Gao Pass from the enemy with a stratagem. The bandit leader of
Xiaohong Mountain, Zhao Rang, is set on avenging Gaixiong. He goes to battle
against the Wei army with his female cousin Lu Wanhua but is defeated every
time by Mulan.
The army supervisor Sun Siqiao concentrates solely on defending his position,
always refusing to attack. Thus, six years pass by without the slightest progress.
The Wei ruler issues an order urging Xin Ping to advance the army. Xin Ping
consults with all the generals on how to proceed. Niu He suggests the strata-
gem of offering amnesty and recommends sending Hua Hu as emissary; in fact,
his true intention is to “kill with a borrowed sword.” Xin Ping therefore pro-
motes Mulan as assistant commander and acting vice general in charge of carry-
ing the amnesty proclamation. Sun Siqiao keeps her as a hostage and orders Zhao
Rang to give his cousin Lu Wanhua to Hua Hu as a concubine in order to keep
him at bay. Mulan has no choice but to agree for the sake of expediency, but
eventually her secret is discovered by Lu Wanhua. Mulan declares her true feel-
ings, and Lu Wanhua, who had long harbored the intention of returning to the
Chinese side, expresses her willingness to surrender to the Northern Wei. The
two girls become sworn sisters and make a vow to both marry Wang. With a strat-
agem, Lu Wanhua lets Mulan escape from the bandits’ mountain stronghold.
She also works to sabotage from within Zhao Rang’s plan to feign surrender,
and as a result Zhao Rang is killed by firearms. When the Xiaohong Mountain
stronghold is taken, Sun Siqiao is captured and killed. Lu Wanhua takes this
126 Appendix 2

chance to seek refuge among the bandit lairs of Black Mountain in order to act
as a mole. Mulan is hit in the course of the battle, and she spits blood; she re-
mains at Xiaohong Mountain to recover.
Xin Ping personally leads the campaign against Black Mountain. The bandit
leader’s wife Miao Fengxian has extremely lethal flying cymbals, with which she
kills Niu He at the foot of his horse and injures many high generals. Xin Ping is
left at his wit’s end. Mulan, who has by now recovered from her injuries, is able
to counter the flying cymbals with the magic arrow given to her by Li Jing, the
heavenly king who bears the pagoda [in his hand]. As a result, Miao Fengxian is
stabbed to death. He Hu crosses the Black River and flees. Xin Ping appoints
Hua Hu as vanguard to chase after him. Mulan crosses the Black River by means
of a wine jug and goes straight to Black Mountain.
Since Xin Ping has not been able to quell the bandits for seven years, the Wei
ruler plans to dispatch an army supervisor to urge the advance of the army. Fol-
lowing Wulühe’s advice, he orders examinations in order to recruit new officials.
Wang Qingyun places first with great honors, and he is sent as army super-
visor. When Mulan and Wang Qingyun meet, they both are bashful. Wang
Qingyun observes the topographical configuration of Black Mountain, and he
writes a memorial to ask that the “red coat big cannon” be sent in order to at-
tack the enemy. These weapons take over two years to be manufactured in the
arsenal of the Ministry of War. As soon as they are completed, they are imme-
diately sent to Black River. Twelve years have already passed since Mulan joined
the army. Black Mountain is bombarded, and He Hu flees for his life, but Mulan
manages to capture him, while Lu Wanhua leads the bandits to surrender.
Hua Mulan calls back her troops and, together with Mo Qianzhu and He
Rugu, returns to her hometown, where she is reunited with her family. Mulan takes
off her military garments and resumes her feminine appearance. When she comes
out to meet Mo and He, the two are awestruck. The story is immediately spread
across the whole of Pingyang. When it reaches the ears of the Wei emperor, he
summons Mulan to court. Mulan has joined the army in place of her father, fight-
ing outside of the Great Wall for twelve years, and while doing so she has not only
remained loyal and filial, but she has also managed to return with her chastity in-
tact. For all these reasons, Mulan can truly be considered the foremost hero among
women. Thereupon, she is granted the title of “chaste and filial lady of first rank.”
Lu Wanhua is granted the title of “loyal and righteous lady.” Wang Qingyun is
appointed minister of personnel. A date is chosen, and the wedding is celebrated.
Zhongguo tongsu xiaoshuo zongmu tiyao, 1990, pp. 699–700.
Translated by Maria Franca Sibau
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 Glossary

A
An Lushan 安祿山
B
Beiwei qishi guixiao liezhuan 北魏奇史閨孝烈傳
Bu Wancang 卜萬蒼
C
Chang’e 嫦哦
Chen Xu 陳栩
Chen Yunshang 陳雲裳
Cheng Yaojin 程咬金
chou 丑
Chu 楚
Chu Renhuo 禇人穫
Chu Suiliang 禇遂良
chuanqi 傳奇
Ci Mulan tifu congjun 雌木蘭替父從軍
Congjun daoshang 從軍道上
cuan 攛
D
Daifu zheng 代父征
dan 旦
Dianjiangchun 點降唇
Dou Jiande 竇建德
Dou Xianniang 竇線娘
F
Fang Xuanling房玄齡
G
Guanyin 觀音
Guiju 桂劇
Gujin yuelü 古今樂錄
Guo Maoqian郭茂倩

133
134 Glossary

H
Han 漢
Han Xin韓信
Heshana Khan 曷娑那可汗
Hetian 和田
Hua Hu 花弧
Hua Mulan 花木蘭
huadan 花旦
Hunjianglong 混江龍
Huo Qubing 霍去病
J
jingang 金剛
Jishengcao寄生草
L
lao 老
Li Jing 李靖
Li Liuyi 李六乙
Liang Shanbo梁山伯
Liu Bang (Han Gaozu) 劉邦（漢高祖）
Liu Wuzhou 劉武周
Liu Yuandu 柳元度
Loulan 樓蘭
M
manzi 蠻子
Mei Lanfang 梅蘭芳
Meng Jiangnü 孟姜女
Meng Jiao 孟郊
Mulan congjun木蘭從軍
Mulan qinü quanzhuan 木蘭奇女全傳
Mulan qinü zhuan 木蘭奇女傳
Mulan shi 木蘭詩
Munan 木難
N
Nezhaling 那吒令
O
Ouyang Yuqian 歐陽予倩
P
Pifu 丕夫
 Glossary 135

Q
Qi Rushan 齊如山
Qin Shubao 秦叔寶
Qin Xiu 秦休
Qingjiang yin 清江引
Qiu Jin 秋瑾
Queta zhi 鵲踏枝
S
Shan Xiongxin 單雄信
Shi Siming 史思明
Shua haier 耍孩兒
Shuangtu ji 雙兔記
Sisheng yuan 四聲猿
Sui Tang yanyi 隋唐演義
Sun Quan 孫權
suona 嗩吶
T
Tang Taizong 唐太宗
Tianxiale 天下樂
tie 貼
Tiele 鐵勒
Tiying 緹縈
Tujue 突厥
Tuoba 拓跋
W
wai 外
Wang Shichong 王世充
Wang Wei 王維
Wang Xizhi 王羲之
Wei 魏
Wei Qing 衛青
Wei Yuanfu 韋元甫
Wei Zheng 魏徵
X
Xianbei 鮮卑
Xiang Yu 項羽
Xiao Shi 蕭史
Xiaohuan 小鬟
xiaosheng小生
136 Glossary

Xin Mulan congjun 新木蘭從軍

Xin Ping 辛平
Xinhua Film Company 新華影業公司
Xiongnu 匈奴
Xu Shiji 徐世勣
Xu Wei 徐渭
Xue Rengui 薛仁貴
Y
Yang Su 楊素
Yao’er 咬兒
Yin Ci 殷慈
Yiyuan sizhong 漪園四種
Yong’en 永恩
Youhulu 油葫蘆
Youzi yin 遊子吟
Yuchi Gong 尉遲恭
Yue Fei 岳飛
Yue opera (Cantonese) 粵劇
Yue opera (Zhejiang) 越劇
yuefu 樂府
Yuefu shiji 樂府詩集
Yuwen Huaji 宇文化及
Z
zaju 雜劇
Zaqu geci 雜曲歌詞
Zhang Liang (Zifang) 張良 (子房)
Zhang Shankun 善琨
Zhang Shaoxian 張紹賢
Zhang Xu 章須
Zhongxiao yonglie Mulan zhuan 忠孝勇烈木蘭傳
Zhu Yingtai 祝英台
The legend of Mulan—the daughter who disguises herself as a man, dons her father’s
armor, and heads off to war in his place—remains one of the most popular Chinese
folktales despite (or because of) its lack of supernatural demonstrations or interventions.

This volume offers lively translations of the earliest recorded version of the legend and
several later iterations of the tale (including the screenplay of the hugely successful 1939
Chinese film Mulan Joins the Army), illustrating the many ways that reinterpretations of this
basic story reflect centuries of changes in Chinese cultural, political, and sexual attitudes.

An Introduction traces the evolution of the Mulan legend and its significance in the
history of Chinese popular culture. Annotation explaining terms and references
unfamiliar to Western readers, a glossary, and a comprehensive bibliography further
enhance the value of this volume for both scholars and students.

“Idema’s scholarship . . . [and his] ability to translate popular texts into comparably
idiomatic English are outstanding achievements.”
—Hugh R. Clark, Ursinus College

Shiamin Kwa received her Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations at
Harvard University.

Wilt L. Idema is Professor of Chinese Literature, Harvard University.

Also available from Hackett Publishing Company

Idema, The Butterfly Lovers: The Legend of

Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai: Four Versions, with Related Texts

Idema, Filial Piety and Its Divine Rewards: The Legend

of Dong Yong and Weaving Maiden, with Related Texts

Idema, The White Snake and Her Son: A Translation of

The Precious Scroll of Thunder Peak, with Related Texts

West and Idema, Monks, Bandits, Lovers,

and Immortals: Eleven Early Chinese Plays

ISBN-13: 978-1-60384-196-2
90000

9 781603 841962
FnL1 00 0000