For the ‘Mulan’, Chinese Taipei’s women’s national team, the 2023 Women’s World Cup is a chance to recapture former glories

In The Ballad Of Mulan, an ancient folk-song written sometime between 386 and 535 AD, a young Chinese woman, Hua Mulan, disguises herself as a man in order to take her father’s place after he was conscripted into the army. Mulan is a legendary figure in Chinese history, with her story included in anthologies of books, songs, and wood-cut prints throughout several dynasties. For those in the western world, her story is most famously depicted in the 1998 animated Disney film. A Ming dynasty painting of Mulan, in the school/style of Qiu Ying. ( Supplied: British Museum ) In the…