Changing Perspectives on Mulan: A Comparative Study of the Chinese and American Editions of the Picturebook I Am Hua Mulan

Abstract The story of Mulan has been told in China for over a thousand years, where she is honoured as a model of filial piety and loyalty. In the United States, the tale has been retold and transformed into a feminist narrative that celebrates breaking gender norms and pursuing individual aspirations. The Chinese picturebook I Am Hua Mulan (Qin and Yu in Wo Shi Hua Mulan [I Am Hua Mulan], China Children’s Press & Publication Group, Beijing, 2017) portrays Mulan as both resilient and vulnerable, devoted to her dreams while staying attached to her family, blending an appreciation for beauty with heroic ambition. Told through the perspective of a contemporary girl, the book fosters a connection between child readers and Mulan, making the tale resonate anew in today’s context. The American edition (Qin and Yu in I Am Hua Mulan , Reycraft Books, New York, 2019) adapts the book in ways that attenuated the original’s layered portrayal of Mulan and its dual narrative form. It presents a more linear, biographical account of the heroine. Using the differences between the two editions as a starting point, this study examines the Chinese edition’s original design and narrative effects. It further analyses the cultural, commercial, and ideological rationales behind the omissions and adaptations in the American edition. This research adds a contemporary Chinese picturebook to scholarly debates on the Mulan narrative and sheds light on how characters and meanings are reshaped in the process of transnational translation and publication.