Hua Mulan

The heroine of the poem is given different family names in different versions of her story. The Musical Records of Old and New states Mulan's given name is not known and therefore implies Mulan is her surname.[8] As the Ballad of Mulan is set in the Northern Wei dynasty when northern China was ruled by ethnic Xianbei, ancestors of the Mongols, there is some belief that Mulan was not ethnic Han Chinese but Xianbei, who had exclusively compound surnames.[8] Mulan may have been the sinified version of the Xianbei word "umran" which means prosperous.[8]

According to later books such as Female Mulan, her family name is Zhu (朱), while the Sui Tang Romance says it is Wei (魏). The family name Hua (花; Huā; 'flower'), which was introduced by Xu Wei,[4] has become the most popular in recent years in part because of its more poetic meaning.

In Chinese, her given name (木蘭) literally means "magnolia."

Mulan's name is included in Yan Xiyuan's One Hundred Beauties, which is a compilation of various women in Chinese folklore. There is still a debate whether Mulan is a historical person or just a legend, as her name does not appear in Exemplary Women which is a compilation of biographies of women during the Northern Wei dynasty.[9]

Though The Ballad of Mulan itself does not expressly indicate the historical setting, the story is commonly attributed to the Northern Wei dynasty due to geographic and cultural references in the ballad.[8] The Northern Wei dynasty was founded by the Tuoba clan of ethnic Xianbei who united northern China in the 4th century. The Tuoba Xianbei rulers were themselves nomads from the northern steppes and became partially sinified as they ruled and settled in northern China.[8] The Tuoba Xianbei took on the Chinese dynasty name "Wei", changed their own surname from "Tuoba" to "Yuan", and moved the capital from Pingcheng, modern day Datong, Shanxi Province in the northern periphery of Imperial China, to Luoyang, south of the Yellow River, in the Central Plain, the traditional heartland of China.[8] The emperors of the Northern Wei were known both by the sacred Chinese title, "Son of Heaven", and by "Khagan", the title of the leader of nomadic kingdoms. The Ballad of Mulan refers to the sovereign by both titles. The Northern Wei also adopted the governing institutions of Imperial China, and the office of shangshulang (尚書郎) the Khagan offered Mulan is a ministerial position within the shangshusheng (尚書省), the highest organ of executive power under the emperor.[10] This offering indicates Mulan was trained in the martial arts and literary arts as she was capable of serving as a civilian official charged with issuing and interpreting written government orders.

The Xianbei in China also retained certain nomadic traditions, and Xianbei women were typically skilled horseback riders.[8] Another popular Northern Wei folk poem called "Li Bo's Younger Sister" praises Yong Rong, Li Bo's younger sister, for her riding and archery skills.[8] The Ballad of Mulan may have reflected the gender roles and status of women in nomadic societies.[11]

The Northern Wei was engaged in protracted military conflict with the nomadic Rouran, who frequently raided the northern Chinese frontier to loot and pillage.[8] Northern Wei emperors considered the Rouran to be uncivilized "barbarians" and called them Ruanruan or wriggling worms.[12] According to the Book of Wei, the dynasty's official history, Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei launched a military expedition in 429 against the Rouran by advancing on the Black Mountain and then extending northward to the Yanran Mountain.[8] Both locations are cited in The Ballad. The Black Mountain corresponds to Shahu Mountain (殺虎山), located southeast of modern-day Hohhot in Inner Mongolia. Yan Mountain, the shorthand for Yanran Mountain (燕然山), is now known as the Khangai Mountains of central Mongolia.[12] The Northern Wei sought to protect the frontier by establishing a string of frontier garrison commands across what is today Inner Mongolia.

Mural of Hua Mulan enlisting; in the Dalongdong Baoan Temple in Taipei, Taiwan.

Mulan sighs at her loom.[13][14] The Khagan is mobilizing the military, and her father is named in each of the conscription notices from the emperor. Her father is old and her younger brother is just a child, so she decides to take her father's place. She buys a fine horse from the eastern market, saddle and stirrup from the western market, bridle and reins from the southern market and a long whip from the northern market.

She bids farewell to her parents in the morning and leaves for the Black Mountain, encamping by the Yellow River in the evening, where she cannot hear the calls of her parents due to the rushing waters; only the sounds of the barbarians' cavalry in the Yan Mountains. She advances ten thousand li to battle as if flying past the mountains. The sound of the sentry gong cuts through the cold night air, and the moonlight reflects off her metal armor. A hundred battles take place, and generals die.

After the ten-year campaign, the stout veterans return to meet the Son of Heaven, enthroned in the splendid palace, who confers promotions in rank and prizes of hundreds of thousands. He asks Mulan what she would like. Mulan turns down the high-ranking position of shangshulang in the central government, and asks only for a speedy steed to take her home.

Her parents, upon hearing her return, welcome her outside their hometown. Her elder sister puts on her fine dress. Her younger brother sharpens the knife for the swine and sheep. Mulan returns to her room, changes from her tabard into her old clothes. She combs her hair by the window and, before the mirror, fastens golden yellow flowers. Her comrades are shocked to see her. For 12 years of their enlistment together, they did not realize that she was a woman.

In response, Mulan offers a metaphor: "The male hare has heavy front paws. The female hare tends to squint. But when they are running side-by-side close to the ground, who can tell me which is male or female?"[15][16]

• Mulan Joins the Army (1917 play) starring Mei Lanfang
• Mulan Jr., a one-act stage musical based on the 1998 Disney animated film Mulan
• The Legend of Marissa Inouye (2013 dance production) by the Hong Kong Dance Company

• Hua Mulan Joins the Army (1927 film) – a silent film released by Tianyi Film Company and directed by Li Pingqian.
• Mulan Joins the Army (1928 film) – Mingxing Film Company production, directed by Hou Yao. The film was unsuccessful, in part due to the Tianyi film that was released the previous year.
• Mulan Joins the Army (1939 film) (original English title Hua Mu Lan), available on YouTube with English subtitles – popular Chinese film made during the Second Sino-Japanese War, directed by Bu Wancang and written by Ouyang Yuqian.[17] The film also created a large spark of popularity, in terms of literature.[18]
• Lady General Hua Mu-lan (1964 film) – Hong Kong opera film.
• Saga of Mulan (1994 film) – Film adaptation of the Chinese opera based on the legend.
• The Secret of Mulan – A 1998 direct-to-video animated film by Hong Ying Animation, in which the characters are anthropomorphic animals and insects, where Mulan in this film, is portrayed as anthropomorphic centaur-like Butterfly caterpillar.
• Mulan (1998 film) – Disney animated feature, and the basis of many derivative works. Disney's version of the Mulan character has subsequently appeared in other media and promotions, mainly as part of the Disney Princess product line.
  • Mulan II (2004 film) – A direct-to-video Disney animated sequel, set a couple of months after the events of Disney's 1998 film.
  • Mulan (2020 film) – Live action film from Disney that is a remake of the 1998 animated film.[19]
• Mulan, Rise of a Warrior (2009 film) – Chinese live action film.
• Matchless Mulan (无双花木兰) (2020 film) – Chinese live action film.
• Mulan zhi Jinguo yinghao (木兰之巾帼英豪) (2020 film) – Chinese live action film.
• Hua Mulan (刘楚玄) (2020 film) – Chinese live action film.
• Kung Fu Mulan (木兰：横空出世) (2020 film) – Chinese CGI animation film.

Mulan Joins the Army songbook, Hong Kong, early 1960s

• A Tough Side of a Lady (1998 series) – Hong Kong TVB drama series of Mulan starring Mariane Chan as Hua Mulan.
• Hua Mu Lan (1999 series) – Taiwan CTV period drama serial starring Anita Yuen as Hua Mulan.
• Jamie Chung portrays Mulan in the second, third and fifth seasons of the U.S. TV series Once Upon a Time (2012–2013).[20]
• Mu Lan 巾幗大將軍 (2012) – China production with Elanne Kong starring as Mu Lan
• The Legend of Hua Mulan 花木蘭傳奇 (2013) – CCTV production starring Hou Meng Yao, Dylan Kuo, Liu De Kai, Ray Lui, Dai Chunrong and Angel Wang. It consists of forty-nine episodes.
• Star of Tomorrow (2015) - a Hunan TV children's program which features all-child casts performing classic Chinese tales, produced a two-part adaptation of Hua Mulan in 2017, based largely on the Disney film and featuring Chinese versions of well-known songs from Mulan and other Disney films.

• Maxine Hong Kingston re-visited Mulan's tale in her 1975 text, The Woman Warrior. Kingston's version popularized the story in the West and may have led to the Disney animated feature adaptation.[21]
• The Legend of Mu Lan: A Heroine of Ancient China[22] was the first English language picture book featuring the character Mulan published in the United States in 1992 by Victory Press.
• In the fantasy/alternate history novel Throne of Jade (2006), China's aerial corps is described as being composed of all female captains and their dragons due to the precedent set by the legendary woman warrior.
• Cameron Dokey created 'Wild Orchid' in 2009, a retelling of the Ballad of Mulan as part of the Once Upon A Time series of novels published by Simon Pulse, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
• In the comics, Deadpool Killustrated (2013), Hua Mulan, along with Natty Bumppo, and Beowulf are brought together by Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (using H.G. Wells' time machine) to stop Deadpool from killing all beloved literary characters and destroying the literary universe.
• Reflection by Elizabeth Lim was published in 2018 as an installment in Disney Press' Twisted Tales series. This is an alternate ending to the Disney film in which Mulan must travel to Diyu, the Underworld, in order to save her captain.
• In The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas (2019), Mulan has trained in the martial arts since childhood in preparation for a hereditary duel. When she goes to war in her father's stead, she is shocked to discover her team's captain is also her opponent in the duel.
• Mulan: Before the Sword, written by Grace Lin (2020) and published by Disney Press, is written as a prequel to the Disney live action movie released in the same year.

• I am Hua Mulan, by Qin Wenjun, illust. Yu Rong (2017)[23] – in Chinese
• The Ballad of Mulan by Song Nan Zhang (1998) – in English

• Kingdom Hearts II - Mulan is an optional party member in the Land of Dragons
• Smite – Mulan is a playable character
• Civilization VI - Mulan is a summonable hero in the Heroes and Legends game mode