6. Zhu Guozhen
In the early 17th century Zhu Guozhen, a Ming Dynasty scholar and historian, compiled stories and reports into a work he called A Miniscule Book from the Yongzhwang Studio. One section of the work he titled Women Generals. In it, he described Wei Mulan as a virgin who joined the army of the Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. According to Zhu’s account, Mulan fought in eighteen battles, including those over Nanjing. Afterward, she declined an office with the emperor’s government, and returned home to care for her parents. When Emperor Yang discovered Mulan was a woman, he offered her a position within his own harem. She again declined his offer. He had her kidnaped and brought to his court. Rather than accept his advances, Mulan committed suicide.
Zhu Guozhen’s version of the Mulan legend is often cited as historical evidence of Mulan having been a real person, from which the legends evolved. One reason for its acceptance as factual is his careful presentation of incidents corroborated by other sources. However, sources such as the ballad existed hundreds of years before the incidents described in Women Generals, indicating the legend was already in place long before the Sui Dynasty. He also changed her name from Hua Mulan to Wei Mulan. In Zhu’s version of the tale, a virgin demonstrates filial loyalty. He bestows on her the title of The Filial General, whose honor was such that she preferred death to become unchaste. Most scholars discount Zhu’s work as fictional, at best an anecdotal retelling of a much older legend.