my womanly intuition tells me otherwise

Most of us are familiar with the story of the legendary Hua Mulan, a free-spirited courageous and adventurous young lady who takes her father's place on the battlefield and sneaks off to army to masquerade as an undercover soldier. Through the amplification of her historical existence through various depictions i.e Disney's feature cartoon, taiwanese drama series, Japanese anime cartoons and Hong Kong opera films, the story behind one of chinese folklore's most popular heroines has become such a household name that is synonymous with good moral virtues reflective of traditional chinese culture.

Most films and television portrayals stick to the familiar themes that run through the story. I have been drilled with an impression of endless positive traits about her character ie. her filial piety by fighting as a replacement for her ailing father, her loyalty to her country, her courage on the battlefield, her wit against her enemies, her perserverance that brought her through the gruel of an intense army training regime, her sacrificial love for her comrades. It makes Hua Mulan a positive inspiration to work towards for every young lady of oriental blood.

Hua Mulan does to some degree, makes me green with envy. I would love to be a Hua Mulan too during those times. Shake off my obligations as a submissive and oppressed female in a chauvinistic society, put on on some heavy metal armour, run away from home against my parent's wishes, join an army boot camp stranded away in the wilderness where I could be surrounded by lads all day, sweating under the sun as we condition ourselves through hours of intense working out to be fighting-fit and lean. An all-expenses paid army boot camp!

And after the war, I'd get to brag about my military accomplishments, including hoodwinking those blind-sighted battalian commanders into thinking I was actually a dude beneath all that steely armour, get crowned as a national hero by the chinese emperor as a magnificent display fireworks explode in the backdrop, and live as a heroine for the rest of my non-fighting days.

Wow, I'd want to be a Hua Mulan now.

Although I don't think the message behind Hua Mulan's story is to encourage young girls to rebel against their parents so that they can run off to sausage-fest to prove that they are better with swords, it does to some degree, subconsciously encourages me to emulate her so that I can live up to society's expectation of being an undisputably loyal, filial and courageous chinese girl who is also unafraid of blades, blood and gore.

Gosh, that actually sounds like a Female Surgeon.
I guess now I see what appeal lies in there ;)

I reckon Hua Mulan must have an extremely tomboyish butch to have survived those endless hours of martial arts training. Considering transexual surgery was unheard of during those days, so she could also possibly been a Hemorrphadite, such that she was able to pass off convincingly as a guy.

My assumption is based on a painful and honest confession with regards to the weaknesses of my own sex.

That is:

I don't think an ordinary petite sized chinese girl would be able to physically outdo a male soldier in combat.......

Because females are limited in terms of physical strength. Broad hips, slim shoulders and higher body fat ratio were never the ideal morphology for combat anyway. Additionally, developing beefy muscles and being gruff and aggressive makes a woman less of a woman. She would strike me more as a man.

And I know that many amongst you would violently disagree........

I would be delighted if you could prove me wrong.

But please refrain from resorting to domestic violence :)

A girl could beats a guy hands down in arm-wrestling. But would this small victory reflect less of her feminity as a woman that makes her more attractive in the first place?

It is incredibly hard to transpose an image of an effeminate lady who would be usually seen pouring brewed tea with delicate grace and precision, onto the battlefield amidst the chaos of clanging armour, grunts of exertion and blood-bath of cruel savagery. I would wish so otherwise, but the reality is, it is hard to maintain each strand of your long wind-swept straight hair in perfect order while busting your enemies or kicking their chops without breaking out a trickle of sweat that would ruin a perfectly spotless powdered face. Hollywood movies often portray female fighters that look lean, mean and effortlessly clean all the time. But how often is this reflective of reality?

So was she a Butch?

Maybe perhaps a Hemorrphadite?

Hua Mulan had to be this one of a kind Angelina-Jolie she-man.

So aside from picking most of the admirable traits of this female legend to learn from, the fierceness of being a warrior is one quality I would like to exclude from my list. But I guess Miss Hua did not have much of a choice as she had alot to prove being a woman living in those times then. For daring to be a butch when society demanded less of a woman otherwise, she earns my utmost respect.