A woman warrior in alternative voices: Analysing English and French translations of the Chinese classic Mulan Ci (<木蘭辭> “The ballad of Mulan”)

Abstract

“The Ballad of Mulan” (Mulan Ci (<木蘭辭>)) is a widely recited folk poem in Chinese culture. It celebrates the filial piety and courage of the heroine, Mulan, who has joined the army on behalf of her father to defend her homeland. Not only is this story passed down across generations and familiar to the Chinese people, but it is also widely known globally by its various forms of adaptations and translations. This article investigates, from a perspective informed by feminist translation criticism, the representative English and French translations of the Chinese poem conducted by renowned translators. Based on the inadequate translations in presenting the woman warrior’s voice, the article argues that translation is a gendered activity where a translator’s gender cultural presuppositions play a significant role in the translation. It is found that the Western male translators have projected their stereotypical perceptions about the literary image of Chinese women in their interpretation of Mulan and adopted the position of speaking for the female protagonist by making up a faked female voice in their translations. Mulan’s subjectivity as a legendary woman has been reconstructed in the translations due to the absence of the translators’ gender sensitivity in rendering gender-related text.