Hua Mulan - Bedtime Stories for Kids

Hua Mulan is a famous traditional Chinese character. She is a legendary heroine of Chinese history. Mulan is also named in Yan Xiyuan’s One Hundred Beauties though there is still argument whether Mulan is a historical person or just a legend. This is because her name is unable to be found in Exemplary Women, which is a compilation of female biographies in the Northern Wei dynasty.

The story about Hua Mulan who joined the army in replacing her old father has been adapted to various recreation works from movies, cartoons to plays in not only China but also the world. Recently, in 2020, Walt Disney produced a live action adaption for Hua Mulan with the main cast of Yifei Liu- a Chinese movie star.

According to legend, Mulan replaced her aged father in the army by disguising herself as a man.
Fighting as a real man, Mulan gained a lot of victories and was honored by the King. The King awarded her with a high position in his central government, but she refused. She retired, came back to her hometown and reunited with her family. She revealed her gender much to the surprise of her comrades.

From the legendary life of Mulan, we can learn several valuable lessons:

The first lesson is Mulan's "filial piety." Although she is a daughter, not only did she care about her father’s life, but also wishes to help the old father fulfill his wish. The fact that she volunteered to join the army on behalf of her father showed that she deeply understood her father's ideal of loyalty to the country, from which she was ready to shake off all the worries of a daughter's position, to fulfill her father's wish to serve the nation.

The second one is bravery opens doors of opportunities. When Mulan cuts her hair to disguise herself as a man, we can all see how brave she is. By this transformation, she will take on a great task that can potentially cost her a life. Only the love for her family and her father could drive her to do that. In life, sometimes all we need is the courage to act on things we believe. And maybe the doors of opportunity that have been closed will even open to us.

Mulan was able to protect her family and was recognized and honored by the Emperor. These were the gains for her bravery.

And the greatest lesson is that life is much worth- living when we know how to sacrifice our benefits for others, especially for our loved ones.