Ming dynasty

The Ming dynasty marks one stage in the long literary afterlife of Mulan: by the late Ming, her story was appearing in plays and novels, part of a tradition of retelling that continued into the present.

Place in Mulan’s Literary History

Mulan’s first known mention is traced to a folk song, though whether she was a historical person remains uncertain. Her story, about a girl taking her father’s place in war, became a source of hope for soldiers in the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries. The Ming dynasty belongs to a later phase of that history, rather than to the story’s earliest known origins.

Retellings in the Late Ming

By the late Ming dynasty, in the 1590s, Mulan had appeared in plays and novels. These works were part of a continuing process in which storytellers added to and reshaped her story, creating versions with romance, tragedy, and humor.

Continuing Tradition

The late Ming examples illustrate how Mulan endured through successive forms of storytelling rather than remaining fixed in one account. Her appearance in plays and novels links an earlier folk tradition to the many later reinventions that have kept the character in circulation.