I Join the Army with Hua Mulan

“Chirp, chirp, the loom goes on. Mulan weaves before the door. No sound comes from the loom, only the girl's sighs. What is the girl thinking of? What is the girl remembering? She is thinking of nothing, remembering nothing. Last night she saw the draft notice: the Khan has called up a great army, and the military rolls fill twelve volumes, each one bearing her father's name. Her father has no grown son, and Mulan has no older brother. She wishes to buy a saddle and horse and take her father's place in the army. “At the eastern market she buys a fine steed, at the western market a saddle and blanket, at the southern market reins, and at the northern market a long whip. At dawn she bids farewell to her parents; by dusk she camps beside the Yellow River. She cannot hear her parents calling their daughter, only the Yellow River's rushing waters. At dawn she leaves the Yellow River; by dusk she reaches the Black Mountain. She cannot hear her parents calling their daughter, only the cries of the barbarian cavalry on Yan Mountain. She travels ten thousand miles to war, crossing passes and mountains as if in flight. The northern wind carries the sound of watchmen's clappers; the cold light glints on her iron armor. Generals die in a hundred battles, while brave warriors return after ten years. “Returning, she meets the Son of Heaven, seated in his great hall. Her merits are rewarded with twelve ranks of promotion and a fortune in gifts. The Khan asks what she desires. Mulan has no need of a minister's post; she only wishes for a swift mount to carry her home. “Her parents hear their daughter is coming and hurry out beyond the city to welcome her. Her older sister hears her younger sister is coming and dresses herself before the door. Her little brother hears his sister is coming and sharpens his knife, ready for the pigs and sheep. She opens the door to her eastern chamber and sits on the bed in her western chamber. She takes off her wartime robes and puts on her old clothes. Before the window, she arranges her cloudlike hair; before the mirror, she applies her yellow flower makeup. She goes out to see her companions, who are all astonished: they traveled together for twelve years and never knew Mulan was a girl. “The male hare kicks up its feet, the female hare's eyes are blurred; the two hares run side by side. How can anyone tell which is male and which is female?”