Mulan Joins the Army / Maiden in Armour

The film, described as a musical comedy, was directed by Richard Poh (Bu Wancang) and stars Nancy Chan (credited as Chen Yunshang) as the title character, a young woman who disguises herself as a man in order to take her father’s place in the army. The success of the movie was evident by the record-breaking running time of 83 days. The screenplay by Ouyang Yuqian, was produced in Shanghai by the Hwa Cheng Studio (華成製片廠), a subsidiary of the Xinhua Film Company.

Mulan is a mischievous girl who is also skilled in martial arts and archery as her father has raised her. After a day of hunting, she tricks some village people from the Li village into letting her go after setting up a ruse for an impossible archery challenge. Upon returning, she learns that her father has been conscripted for the war effort and decides to go in his stead.

On the day of departure, Mulan is followed by two conscripts who take an interest in her. They question her designation and origin among other things before another conscript intervenes but Mulan puts an end to it with a show of humiliation. She stops at an inn and coincidentally sees the latter conscript who introduces himself as Yuandu Liu.

For the next three years, Mulan and Yuandu work together to protect the border from the barbarian army. Yuandu reports to Mulan of a secret assault but says the commander is in denial after becoming complacent leading him to underestimate the enemy. Mulan and Yuandu manage to get approval of a reconnaissance mission to prove the assault. Yuandu and Mulan split up, having disguised a barbarian hunter and women respectively, to find the location of the army. Mulan is eventually stopped by two barbarian guards who she deceives into disclosing their army numbers. After acquiring further proof by dispatching a barbarian messenger she returns and reports directly to the Marshal her findings. The commander, who has been bribed by the enemy generals, refutes her claims saying it is all a decoy. Frustrated and persistent, Mulan continues to make preparations in secret and on the day of the attack, they manage to strategically reclaim their city as the commander is found guilty of being a traitor and is executed.

Returning to the Imperial capital, Mulan is offered a position in the Emperor’s court. She turns the position down, asking only to return to her home. Returning to her feminine persona, she then marries Yuandu. After her heroic achievements and brave service to the State, Mulan finally reveals her life as a woman while Liu symbolically restores the conventional male role.