''Lady General Hua Mu-lan'' () is a

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Huangmei opera Huangmei Opera or Huangmei tone ( or , pinyin: or ) is a form of Chinese opera originating from Anqing, Anhui province, as a form of rural folk song and dance. It is also referred to as Anhui Opera. It has been in existence for the last 200 years ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

, directed by

Yueh Feng Griffin Yueh Feng (; 1909 or July 29, 1910 – March 3, 1999) was a Chinese film director and screenwriter who worked in the Cinema of Hong Kong. He worked at the Shaw Brothers Studio's for many years and directed nearly 90 films. Early life ...

, depicting the story of

Hua Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary Chinese folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century CE) of Chinese history. Scholars generally consider Mulan to be a fictional character. Hua Mulan is depicted in the '' Wu Shuan ...

Synopsis

Barbarian hordes had invaded and the border towns were overrun. The call went out for able-bodied men to join the army. Hua Mulan returned home from her hunting to find that her frail father had been summoned. Her brother was too young to enlist, so she volunteered to take her father's place but her parents rejected the idea. Determined to convince her father, she conspired with her cousin and elder sister. Dressed as a man, she sparred with her father. Both astonished and impressed, he gave her his blessings to join the army. With her cousin accompanying her, she joined the ranks of army recruits and managed to impress the General in the recruits martial trials. In the 12 years of fighting, she rose through the ranks and attained the status of general. Through this period, she became fast friends with the group of recruits she was with and General Li. The war eventually drew to a close with an ambush and capture of the barbarian king. The Commanding General of the army threw a celebratory feast, after which, he drew Mulan aside to discuss a matter with her. He was especially impressed with her abilities and character and wished to betroth his daughter to Mulan. Unable to reveal the truth about her identity and reluctant to refuse him outright for fear of offending him, Mulan dodged the issue by pretending to be feeling weak from her wound received in the last battle. A few days later, having officially resigned her post, she took leave of her comrades and returned home with her cousin. The Commanding General, however, had not forgotten the proposal and was determined to have Mulan as a son-in-law and served in the government. He sent General Li with some of her comrades bearing wedding gifts to her home. When they arrived, they were shocked and astonished to find that their courageous and heroic comrade turned out to be a lady. General Li agreed to explain to the Commanding General on Mulan's behalf. Before he left, he exchanged betrothal tokens with Mulan, exhorting her to wait for him.

Cast

Huangmei opera dubbing

Ivy Ling Po Huang Yuet-chu (born November 16, 1939), known professionally by her stage name Ivy Ling Po, is a retired actress and Chinese opera singer from Hong Kong. She gained widespread fame during the 1960s for her roles in several popular Huangmei ...

* Kiang Hung - General Li

Characters

* Chin Han as General Li * Yang Chi-ching as Master Hua *

Chen Yen-yen Chen Yanyan (; 12 January 1916 – 7 May 1999), born Chen Jianyan, was a Chinese actress and film producer in the cinema of Republic of China (1912–1949), British Hong Kong and Taiwan. Life Chen was born as Chen Jianyan in Ningbo, China in 19 ...

as Madam Hua *

Ching Miao Ching Miao (; March 15, 1913 – 1989) was a Taiwanese actor born in Shandong, China. He had appeared in over 190 films, mostly in Hong Kong for the Shaw Brothers Studio. He won the Best Supporting Actor for Golden Horse Awards twice, for '' Be ...

as Commanding General

Festivals and awards

The film was screened at the 11th Asian Film Festival in 1964, awarding Best Actress honors to Ivy Ling Po.

Other adaptations

The story of

is well known in Chinese literature. Another musical adaptation of her story is the 1998 animated Disney film ''

Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary Chinese folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century Common Era, CE) of Chinese history. Scholar, Scholars generally consider Mulan to be a fictional character. Hua Mulan is depicte ...

''.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lady General Hua Mu-lan Films about Hua Mulan 1964 films Hong Kong musical films 1960s Mandarin-language films Shaw Brothers Studio films 1964 musical films Huangmei opera films Films set in the Northern and Southern dynasties Films directed by Yueh Feng 1960s Hong Kong films