Keith N. KNAPP
This paper cutout depicts the legendary figure of Mu Lan, a woman who expressed her filial piety by disguising herself as a man to join the army and serve twelve years in place of her elderly father.
Throughout China’s premodern history, xiao (filial piety) was its most significant social value. It enjoyed such favor because it strengthened both the family’s coherence and the state’s authority. In modern times, despite repeated
