Jia Ling, a Chinese comedian known for her "crosstalk" performances, was at the center of a hot public debate for her controversial interpretation of a legendary heroine, Hua Mulan, on a TV show on June 27.
In Jia's performance, Hua Mulan, a cross-dressing warrior in an ancient Chinese folktale, was depicted as a greedy and silly coward who was tricked into joining the army, a completely different depiction from her normal portrayal as a smart and brave heroine.
Mulan is best known in the West in the eponymous 1998 Disney movie Mulan and as one of the "Disney Princesses."
"We strongly protest against what you did on the show and please apologize to the audience across the nation, especially for people from Mulan's hometown, Yucheng, Henan Province," read a open letter from an institution focusing on the study of Hua Mulan in Yu Cheng.
"This is nauseating and irritating, and she not only distorted Mulan's image but also defiled our nation's culture," said Guo Yifang, an expert on culture and history who wrote a biography of Hua Mulan.
"The show is misleading the young generation and the organizer should feel ashamed," added Guo.
A clip from the show went viral online and has triggered debate from netizens.
An online survey from sina.com on Thursday showed a 74 percent of respondents (totally 13,341 people) opposed Jia, holding that she owed an apology to the public and she had touched the bottom line for the sake of entertainment. But another survey from the same website on Saturday showed that 8117 netizens (70.6 percent of respondents) thought "there's no need to be so serious about a comedy show."
