Ancient Mongol warrior women may have inspired legend of Mulan

Enlarge / Skeletal remains from a husband/wife burial (wife is on the left). Airagiin Gozgor site, Orkhon Province, Mongolia. (credit: Christine Lee)

The story of Mulan, a young woman who disguises herself as a man to fight for China's emperor, has become one of best known and most beloved narratives worldwide, thanks in no small part to Disney. The Mouse House's 1998 animated film, Mulan, grossed $304 million worldwide and earned Golden Globe and Oscar nominations. The forthcoming live action version-delayed due to the pandemic-looks to exceed that performance when it is finally released. (It is currently slated for July 24, 2020.)

It's long been thought that Mulan was based on actual female warriors of the Xianbei, an ancient nomadic people from modern-day Mongolia and northeastern China. Now, anthropologists believe they may have found physical evidence of such warrior women in skeletal remains found in that region.

The Chinese legend of Mulan first appears in several ancient texts, eventually becoming a folk song, "The Ballad of Hua Mulan," transcribed sometime in the sixth century. It tells the story of a young woman in the Northern Wei era, spanning 386-536 CE, although some details were added later, around 620 CE, during the Tang dynasty. She takes her father's place when each family is required to provide one male to serve in the emperor's army. Hua Mulan serves for 12 years with none of her fellow soldiers ever suspecting her true gender. Later versions of the legend appeared in the late Ming dynasty, followed by a 1593 play by Xu Wei, and the Sui Tang Romance, a 17th century tragic novel by Chu Renhuo. In that, Mulan has a younger sister and bonds with a fellow female warrior named Xianniang.

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