Some Confucian classics including Lunyu and Daxue mention
that a person’s zhong (loyalty) towards his or her family and country is as important as
filial duties. Defeating the invaders in order to prevent the country or promotion in
military rank which Mulan does can be typical examples of practicing the principles of
country and family loyalty.
In addition, feminine characters which Confucianism requires can be found in the
person Mulan according to Ballad of Mulan. In the end of Ballad of Mulan there are two
famous but contentious sentences: “The he-hare’s feet go hop and skip, the she-hare’s
eyes are muddled and fuddled. Two hares running side by side close to the ground, how
can they tell if I am he or she”. These two lines lead to two kinds of explanations about
Mulan especially in western modern arts. One is that Mulan is a feminism and these two
words are sarcastic comments toward traditional Chinese society and Confucianism
teaching because these two words express the belief about gender equality that women
are as good as men. The other one is that these two words she says show the individual
awaking of her and all she does are supposed to achieve self-actualization. This kind
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These two explanations can be considered as misunderstanding about the personality of
Mulan and traditional Chinese society influenced by Confucianism teaching. For the
former opinion, these two lines can’t be regarded as the evidence of “Feminist Mulan”
but only humorous formulation towards her former battle companions who surprised at
Mulan’s woman identity. In the former part of Mulanci, Mulan gets a reward from Khan
(the son of heaven) and the chance of being a Shangshu (official position in imperial
court) but she turns down and changes back into a normal woman. She can telling the
truth to her colleagues that she is a woman only after she goes home. These two parts
shows about Mulan’s attitude towards herself and the role set for women in