Dark dynasty behind the ‘real’ Mulan, where girls as young as 13 were married off, forced into prostitution and crippled
A CRUEL, distant dynasty where girls as young as 13 were forced into marriage and sold off for sex... it sounds an unlikely inspiration for a Disney classic.
Yet the centuries-old legend of Mulan reveals the violent reality of life for women in China's dark ages, with children intentionally crippled and wives honour-bound to follow their husbands into death.
Hailed as a feminist masterpiece, Disney's 1993 adaptation of the story follows a brave Chinese woman who posed as a male soldier to save her father's life.
The tale stems from a folk song called "The Ballad of Mulan", set during wartime in the Northern and Southern dynasties (420 to 589AD).
One man from every Chinese household is drafted to join including Mulan's father, Hua Hun, who is sick and old and will undoubtedly die on the battlefield.
Mulan tricks the army into believing she is a man and goes to war in her father's place, facing certain death if she is discovered.
With the live-action remake of Mulan set to hit out screens next Thursday, we dive into the brutal world of the 'real' warrior woman, whose true existence remains a mystery to this day.
Wives follow husbands into death
In the original story, Mulan remained at war for 12 years, before finally revealing that she is a woman to her brothers-in-arms and returning home to her family.
But if she hadn't taken her father's place, the young woman faced a potentially worse future at home.
If he had died in the war, her mother would have likely chosen to become a "chaste widow", vowing never to remarry in order to not lose her house, which by law belonged to her dead husband.
It was also common for chaste widows to kill themselves after the death of their husband.
To save her family from a life of poverty, Mulan would have had to marry well, as women could not earn money of their own.
Married off to a stranger at 13
In Disney's version of events, Mulan is a misfit, so much so that a matchmaker tells her she will never bring honour on her family because no man will want to marry her.
She is also shamed for being "too skinny" to bear sons, not being able to pour tea and failing to recite "The Final Admonition" properly (an ancient scroll that says women must "fulfill their duties calmly and respectfully").
This isn't far off from real life for women in China at the time.
Women were seen as servants from birth.
Had she not escaped to the war, Mulan would have been trained to obey her father and know her place, before eventually being married off to a stranger who would become her new master.
If Mulan's husband had been rich or powerful, he would also have been within his right to take on a concubine, without any objections from his doting wife.
The mistress could even be invited to live in the family home.
Crippled and forced into prostitution
The average person's life expectancy was very low, so young girls were expected to produce children as soon as possible once married, regardless of whether their bodies were ready for it or not.
It was not unusual for their children to die soon after being born, with infant and child mortality rates sky-high.
And if a wife failed to produce any sons, her husband was also within his right to divorce her, leaving her destitute.
How a woman was treated by her husband would depend on her stature and wealth, with those of lower stature sometimes forced to work in fields to help support the family or become prostitutes.
Many women were also physically beaten and lived with severe disabilities from having had their feet bound as children, a common practice for young girls as smaller feet were considered more attractive.
Tragic road to suicide
Mulan's societal status is never mentioned in the 1993 film but towards the end she becomes a national hero after defeating Shan Yu, leader of the Huns, and is praised by the emperor who offers her a place in his court.
In true Disney fashion, she also falls in love and gets together with her captain, Li Shang.
But in the"Sui Tang Romance" a musical version of the story, first released in 1695, Mulan doesn't get her happy ending.
The Emperor is is overtaken, and Mulan is sent home, where she finds out that her father has died and her mother has remarried.
Mulan is told that she must become a concubine, which means she will never get the life she deserves.
Left with no alternative, the soldier kills herself - in one adaptation, her heart is even sent to the ousted emperor.
The dark twist is nothing like the happy Disney story, but a shocking glimpse into the unforgiving world behind the legend.