The interpretation of ‘Ode to Mulan’ : reception between East and West

Abstract

An ‘Ode to Mulan’ was composed between the 5th and 6th Centuries CE by an ‘unknown’ author at a time when China was divided between the North and the South. The Ode/ballad was passed on from one generation to another and was told over and over again through plays, songs, paintings, books and films. The story deals with a brave girl with the name of Mulan who is in search of self-definition and in the process enlists in the army instead of her sick father. She disguised herself as a man in order to help save the country from its enemies.

This dissertation delves deeper on the historical and cultural context of Mulan in China from when the first version was written to modern-day China and Mulan as interpreted in the West. As different authors interpret ‘Ode to Mulan’, they add new values and personal touches, Although many authors used the same roots of the story, differences from one text/film to another will be observed, most especially when the story travelled overseas.