The Study of the Image of Mulan from the Perspective of Gender Performance and Linguistic Semiotics: A Comparative Analysis of Literary Illustrations and Film Pictorials

The theme of "women disguising as men" is an important phenomenon in literature, especially since it is a traditional theme in China's literature. It not only demonstrates the courage and wisdom of women, but also reflects the changes of the times and the progress of society as a mirror. Among the many stories of “disguise”, the story of Mulan is one of the most influential stories in the history of Chinese literature. With the development of the movie industry, the story of Mulan has gone out of the country and set off a wave of "Mulan fever" in the world. Illustrations, movie posters and other visual materials in literary works combine images, colors, words and other forms of multimodal resources to construct meaning. They play an important role in enhancing the visual appeal of the works, assisting in understanding the contents of the works and enriching the emotional expression of the works. Through the analysis of the theory of performance, multimodal discourse analysis theory, and comparing the image of Mulan in China's native illustrations and Disney movie posters, scholars can see a unified vein - the continuous awakening of self-awareness and the deepening evolution of feminism. This study hereby can provide certain guidance for the development of contemporary youth, especially females.