Mulan Legend
01 · Historical Records
The Mulan legend is a figure legend widely current among the people; the anonymous folk song Mulan Shi of the Northern Dynasties tells the story of Mulan joining the army in her father's place to guard the frontier. It is said that after returning from the wars Mulan was unwilling to hold office at court, retired to her native place, lived to eighty and died without illness, and was buried by imperial grant before the mountain of her native village.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
For more than a thousand years this legend has circulated among the Chinese people without decline. Mulan's native place is not definitively recorded, and there have been disputes in every age; at least there are the claims of Bozhou in Anhui, Yucheng in Henan, Huangpi in Hubei and Yan'an in Shaanxi. The Ming Zou Zhilin's Lives of Chivalrous Women says that Mulan was a woman of Shaanxi who served in her father's place on the frontier for twelve years without anyone knowing she was a woman, and on returning wrote a poem on frontier service. The Huayuantou village below Wanhua mountain in Yan'an, on the west side of the Yellow River, is said by the people to be one of Mulan's native places. Here too is the Running-Horse Ridge where she practiced riding and archery. To remember this legendary heroine, a Mulan cemetery has now been restored, passing Mulan's name from generation to generation. The Mulan legend lodges the reverence of millions for Mulan and is the best affirmation and praise of her love of family and country and her ambition to serve the nation. The Mulan legends of the Yan'an area are attached to local hills and place names, plain in plot, with a distinctive regional character.
Mulan's Native Place at Huayuantou Village
The village below Wanhua mountain in Yan'an said to be Mulan's native place.
The Running-Horse Ridge
The place where Mulan is said to have practised riding and archery.
The Mulan Cemetery
The cemetery restored in the Yan'an area to commemorate Mulan.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Mulan legend circulates in the Yan'an area of Shaanxi; the Ming Zou Zhilin's Lives of Chivalrous Women calls Mulan a woman of Shaanxi, and the Huayuantou village below Wanhua mountain in Yan'an is said by the people to be one of Mulan's native places. There is also the Running-Horse Ridge where Mulan is said to have practiced riding and archery, and a Mulan cemetery has been restored.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Mulan Legend · Mulan Legend.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Salvaging, excavating and protecting the Mulan legend has a certain positive significance for inheriting the traditional culture and spirit of the Chinese nation and strengthening national pride and national cohesion.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Chen Shiyun 05-2001
- Ye Weizhang 05-2002
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。