Yao, Ling, and Chien Po

Yao, Ling, and Chien Po (Simplified Chinese: 阿尧、阿宁、及金宝; pinyin: Ā yáo, ā níng, jí jīnbǎo) are supporting characters in Disney's 1998 animated feature film Mulan. They are a ragtag trio of soldiers who were enlisted in the Chinese army during the war against Shan Yu. Though they were initially hostile towards their fellow soldier, Fa Mulan, they would become some of her closest friends over the course of their mission.
==Background==
According to commentary on the Mulan DVD, the trio essentially represents the entire Chinese army. They presumably were recruited via conscription notice by Chi-Fu, similarly to Fa Zhou. As soldiers in the Chinese army, they are capable of fighting using various methods, including swords, cannons, arrows, and hand to hand combat. Though they each contrast each other in personality, they share a strong familial bond with each other and are nearly inseparable.
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|-|Yao=
Yao (voiced by Harvey Fierstein) is the shortest of the trio and the bruiser of the group. He wears a red uniform and also has one bruised black eye as well as a mustache and thick sideburns. He has a hot temper, which can be cooled by Chien Po's calming chant. He is also sarcastic, referring to Li Shang as "pretty boy" and teasing his macho demeanor. Despite his strength, he can be rather clumsy. Yao initially dislikes Mulan, in part due to a perceived insult (which actually came from Mushu), even threatening to "feed" Ping (Mulan's alias) a "knuckle sandwich" before the formal start of training, but later becomes her friend. Despite Yao's temper, he is incredibly sweet, loyal and cheerful amongst his friends. He even took it upon himself to fill Mulan in on in-jokes during "A Girl Worth Fighting For". Yao is also a natural born leader, as he takes charge of his unit in place of Shang several times throughout the movie.
During training, Yao talks back to Shang, and as a result is picked out as the first to try to retrieve the arrow, deliberately humiliated in front of the other recruits, making him the most aggressive of the bunch. This aspect is furthered by the fact that Yao is constantly seen fighting with others, and his temper is usually the cause of it. Even so, his great strength proves to be beyond impressive, leading to him emerging from his constant scuffles victorious.
In the second film, he wears purple and falls in love with Princess Mei. He is able to impress the princess using his physical prowess. Ting-Ting described Yao as a gorilla, while Mei sees him as a panda bear. He also appears to be fond of Shang's horse because he kisses Shang's steed at one point, much to the horse's disgust.
|-|Ling=
Ling (voiced by Gedde Watanabe) is of medium height and slender build. He is usually seen in a yellow uniform. He appears to be the clown of the group and often has a joke ready. Like the others, he initially hated Ping largely because of "his" role in instigating a massive fight at the camp, with his even sarcastically asking on the first day of training if Ping was hungry (with Yao proceeding to claim in response that he prepared for Ping a "knuckle sandwich" in an unsubtle threat to her). During training he slyly kicks the support from 'Ping's' rocket, resulting in her becoming charred and Chi-Fu's tent (and Chi-Fu) to be incinerated by the wayward rocket. When Mulan proves her worth, he is the first to intend to start over (unfortunately this is during her bathing scene). He nearly discovers her secret, but Mushu bites him on his backside, causing a panic among the trio that allows Mulan to get away.
Contrasting Yao and Chien Po, he is somewhat weaker than the two physically, as he knocks himself out during a block breaking task in training (in his lyric of "I'll Make a Man Out of You", he claims this is because he used to cut gym class at school, something he comes to regret at the moment). Ling is also rather cowardly and accident-prone compared to Yao and Chien-Po. He tries to compensate his shortcomings by feigning bravado, but his ego is teasingly knocked down by Yao more often than not. Ling does grow more capable, though, as, near the end, he is able to use the move to incapacitate one of the Elite Huns.
In the second film, he wears blue and falls in love with Princess Ting-Ting. His talent at telling jokes helps him win over the princess, though it wasn't easy as she hates her pig-like laugh that he claims is adorable when he first hears it. They even share the same "Chopstick-nose-trick" (putting the chopsticks up one's nostrils, then wiggling the nose for a tacky mustache image), though Ling claims that he invented that gag originally and calls it his signature.
|-|Chien-Po=
Chien-Po (voiced by Jerry Tondo) is the largest, in both height and size, of the trio. However, he is also very gentle and cares a great deal about food (especially beef, pork, and chicken). He wears a blue uniform. Some of his character traits appear to have been taken from Buddhist imagery, which makes sense as Chien-Po is the most soft-spoken and zen of the group. When Yao is about to fight Mulan when they first met, Chien-Po successfully calms him down with a relaxing chant. Unfortunately, this did not last long because Mushu counter-insulted Yao when the latter was about to leave Mulan alone. After the camp turns on 'Ping', Chien-Po is the only one of the trio to not try to make life difficult for Mulan, although at no point during the sequence does he show her any support. However, when Yao is about to punch Mulan on the first day of training, he was about to stop him until Shang restored control.
Apart from defending China from the Huns, Chien-Po does not possess a negative bone in his body; when the soldiers tease Chi-Fu's demand for order by asking for food, Chien-Po innocently asks for food as well and shows confusion when the others reveal it to only be a joke.
At times, he seems to demonstrate super-human strength, able to lift and hug Mulan and both his friends combined, as well as pick up his entire army unit while pulling Khan, Mulan, and Shang to safety with no visible effort. This makes him the strongest of the trio, and arguably of all Shang's soldiers—beating out even Yao.
In the second film, he wears green and falls in love with Princess Su. They bond over their shared love of food.
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==Appearances==
===Mulan===
In Mulan, the trio is first seen in the camp where all the new conscripted recruits have gathered to train before joining the Imperial Army. Their interactions imply that they already know each other. While Mushu's advice to Mulan is initially helpful, Mushu insults Yao, who starts a fight believing Mulan said the insult, even after Chien Po calmed him down and convinced him that fighting "Ping" wasn't worth his time, until a wisecrack he said to "Ping" set off Mushu. Since "Ping" earns all the recruits a harsh punishment from their commanding officer, Captain Li Shang, the trio (mostly just Ling and Yao) quickly take a dislike to the disguised Mulan, and continually harass the soldier during their various training exercises under Shang, which in some cases lead to Mulan getting in trouble with Shang, or worse, Chi-Fu, the Emperor's consul overseeing the training at the request of Shang's father and commander of the main Imperial Chinese Army, General Li, but after seeing Ping's determination to complete Shang's initial challenge and succeeding, impressing them to also improve on the parts of the training they struggled on themselves, such as Yao running a gauntlet of flaming arrows, Chien Po crossing a line of narrow pillars over a stream, and Ling chopping a stone block in half with his head, decide to reintroduce themselves the following night in order to make a new start. However, they do so while bathing (making Mulan very uncomfortable as she is forced to hide her gender). Due to some quick thinking by Mushu, the three remain unaware that "Ping" is actually a woman. The trio is able to successfully complete their training, and are called off to war with the rest of Shang's troops thanks to a forged order made by Mushu to force Chi-Fu into having them deploy for combat.
In order to keep up morale on the long march, Ling encourages everyone to begin thinking of girls worth fighting for. Ling dreams of a beautiful girl, pale with eyes like stars. Yao dreams of a girl who will admire his physical prowess, while Chien Po doesn't care what his girl looks like, so long as she can cook well. However, the scene comes to a sharp and bitter close when they come upon a village that has been destroyed by the Huns. The soldiers are sent to search for survivors, but they are unsuccessful. However, Chien Po finds the body of Shang's father, General Li, and sadly brings back the general's helmet as proof, indicating that General Li and the entire elite of the Chinese Imperial Army that had been sent to protect the village were also slaughtered by the Huns, leaving no survivors and the cream of the Emperor's forces completely wiped out, meaning the Imperial City was now dangerously exposed to invasion by the Huns.
Shang's troops begin pursuing the Hun army, and they are drawn into battle after their position is given away by an exploding cannon caused by Mushu, allowing the Huns to ambush them and nearly take out their entire supply of munitions. When Mulan runs with the last cannon in an attempt to destroy the army, the trio follows when they see Mulan being knocked down by Shan Yu's falcon Hayabusa, causing her to drop her match. However, they retreat just as quickly to the safety of a rock formation when they see a large avalanche, started by Mulan's cannon, coming. Yao shoots an arrow, with a rope attached, to save both Shang and Mulan from falling off a cliff with the avalanche. Unfortunately, the rope slips through his fingers. Mulan is able to grab the arrow and shoot it back into Yao's hands. The troops attempted to pull Shang and Mulan up, but struggle until Chien Po comes and picks up the entire unit and pulls them up single-handedly.
The trio is later seen pacing while "Ping" is being treated by the medics, and are visibly shocked when the soldier is revealed to be a woman named Mulan. Nonetheless, the trio attempted to halt Shang's attempted execution of Mulan upon this discovery but was stopped by Chi-Fu, who reminds them that they knew the law. They are in relief when Shang chooses to spare her for saving his life from the avalanche. Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po are then forced to march off to the Imperial City with the rest of their comrades, leaving Mulan in the mountains.
As they reach the city, they are shown to be saddened about leaving behind Mulan because of Chi-Fu's actions against her, despite being welcomed as heroes. When Mulan tries to warn Shang that the Huns survived, he doesn't believe her, so she tells the the trio to keep their eyes open for the Huns. When Shan Yu reveals himself and the Huns leader kidnapped the Emperor, Yao leads a charge to stop him. However he, Ling, Chien-Po and Shang failed as the doors to the palace are barricaded, forcing the army to try to ram the doors down. Knowing they won't reach the Emperor in time, Mulan appears and announces that she has a plan. Ling, Yao, and Chien Po choose to follow her, followed by Shang. Mulan is able to sneak herself and the trio into the palace dressed as concubines. The group is able to take out the Hun guards, as the Huns let down their guard around the "concubines", allowing Shang to rescue the Emperor. Chien Po escapes down a line of lanterns with the Emperor, followed by Ling and Yao. However, they are forced to look on as Mulan and Shang becomes trapped with Shan Yu. After Mulan has defeated Shan Yu, the trio comes to protect her from Chi-Fu's rantings. They are among the people who bow to Mulan as the hero of China. Afterward, once Mulan is given her rewards from the Emperor, the trio gives a group hug, bidding their newfound friend farewell.
===Mulan II===
In Mulan II, Yao, Ling, and Chien Po reside in the same town as Mulan. Following the events of the first film, the trio has been amply rewarded for their part in saving China—Yao was bestowed a plaque with an emblem of his face, while a statue depicting the trio was erected in their village in their honor. Despite having most of their dreams come true since the war, they have yet to find love. They visit the Matchmaker in an attempt to find brides that suit their demands. However, the Matchmaker believes this to be impossible because of their sexist view on women, which is now considered inappropriate after Mulan (a woman) saved China. Meanwhile, Mulan and Shang are given an important peace mission and enlists Yao (whose black eye has yet to heal), Ling, and Chien Po for help. Their mission is to escort the three daughters of the Emperor (Ting-Ting, Su, and Mei) to a kingdom where they are to be married to princes in an attempt to bring unity between the two kingdoms. If the weddings are unsuccessful, the alliance will fall apart, and the Mongols will seize the advantage, attack, and conquer China, succeeding where Shan Yu and the Huns failed.
After an accidental meeting, Yao falls in love with Princess Mei and vice versa. However, Ling and Chien Po remind Yao that Mei is set to be married, thus making their relationship impossible. Eventually, during a rest stop, Ling and Chien Po become smitten with Ting-Ting and Su, creating further problems in the mission. Now, each princess feels the arranged marriage to be a huge burden. This prompts Mei to run away but her sisters stop her. Later on, the group is attacked by bandits and a short battle follows. While saving the three princesses, the bridge they are on breaks, and General Shang and Mulan are left dangling off a broken bridge. Since the rope can only support the weight of one person, Shang sacrifices his life to save Mulan and lets go of her hand, falling into the river. The next day, the heartbroken Mulan decides to marry one of the princes in the princesses' place, not wanting them to abandon their true feelings with Yao, Ling, and Chien Po. Yao, Ling, Chien Po, and the princesses reunite with Shang who reveals himself to be alive. He rushes off to stop the marriage and, with the help of Mushu, Mulan and Shang wed. The princesses are then allowed to marry whomever they please, with the unity between the two kingdoms intact.
===Mulan (2020)===
Yao, Ling, and Chien Po appear in the live action remake. Yao is portrayed by Chen Tang, Ling is portrayed by Jimmy Wong, and Chien Po (simply referred to as "Po" in this remake) is portrayed by Doua Moua. Their characteristics are slightly altered. Yao, while still gruff, is much more jovial; Ling now has a penchant for quoting poetry and Po has lost his calmer persona, but still loves food above all else. They are also seen accompanied by another young soldier named Cricket, portrayed by Jun Yu, who is clumsy, yet skilled with a bow and arrow.
As Mulan arrives at the camp, she notices Yao, Ling, and Po arriving at the camp alongside a human archer, Cricket, who fights alongside Commander Tung's army where Tung enforces a rule that fighting will not be tolerated at the camp just as he tells his troops to fall in line to get themselves cleaned for tomorrow. Mulan approaches Yao, Ling, and Po tackling each other which Sergeant Qiang tells the troops to line up for showers as well telling the troops for someone to volunteer for night guard duty which Mulan volunteers.
The next day, Yao, Ling, and Po train with the other men to ready themselves to fight against Böri Khan and his army while being instructed by Sergeant Qiang. During break, Ling goes into a conversation with his fellow soldiers telling them about a woman whom he is in love with which Mulan tells Yao, Ling, Po, and Cricket that her ideal human is courageous. The following day, Yao, Ling, and Po continue training themselves with the other soldiers using spears to which as they see Mulan using her power of chi, the other soldiers react in shock. At the tent, Yao, Ling, and Po approach Mulan who tell her is she has cleaned herself which that night, Mulan takes a shower on a river to clean herself. Later when Mulan practices focusing on her chi, Yao, Ling, Po, and the other members of the Imperial Army react to Mulan's determination in taking two buckets of water to the top of the summit without spilling any water.
The next day when Tung commands the Imperial Army, telling them that the Rourans are attacking them, Sergeant Qiang plans to lead the army to protect the Mountain-Steppe Garrison from the Rourans, telling his army to take the oath of the warrior pledging fidelity to the three pillars of virtue, devising a strategy to fight against the Rourans by telling Yao, Ling, Po, and the other soldiers to raise their swords as the soldiers chant the virtues of being loyal, brave, and true. Later, as the Imperial Amy arrives at the Mountain-Steppe Garrison, Yao, Ling, and Po have a conversation with Mulan who tells the three that what her father said is that there is no courage without fear, just as she tells the three that they will survive the battle by protecting each other while fighting against the Rourans just as Tung's army becomes the fifth battalion.
The next day, Yao, Ling, and Po fight with the Imperial Army ad they take part in the battle against the Rourans led by Böri Khan which both armies clash together in the battlefield. Throughout the battle when Mulan tricks the Rourans into firing a flaming boulder to hit a snow-capped peak, it causes an avalanche to engulf a large amount of Rourans; Yao, Ling, and Po ended up surviving the avalanche along with several members of the Imperial Army. They and the other members of the army later notice that "Hua Jun" is actually Hua Mulan in disguise, resulting in Mulan being banished from the army.
After Mulan learns of Xianniang warning her that the Imperial City is under attack by the Rourans, Mulan approaches Tung at the Mountain-Steppe Garrison where she warns him that the Rourans have invaded the city even though she was banished from the army, which Tung refuses to believe at first, but after Mulan tells her that they must believe in her, Yao, Ling, Po, Cricket, and the other warriors accept while Tung tells Qiang to hand him his sword. After listening to what Mulan is saying, Tung gains faith in her and agrees to help Mulan save the Imperial City by fighting off Böri Khan and his army which Yao, Ling, and Po follow along. Yao, Ling, Po, and the rest of the Imperial Army fight against the Rourans at the Imperial City while Mulan plans to protect the Emperor. The battle ends after Mulan kills Böri Khan throwing his own arrow at him, resulting in victory for the Imperial Army.
===Other appearances===
Yao, Ling, and Chien Po make numerous cameo appearances in the animated series House of Mouse. They made notable cameos in the episode "Humphrey in the House".
==Video games==
===Kingdom Hearts II===
The trio plays very minor roles in Kingdom Hearts II. The three appear in their homeworld Land of Dragons. When Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Mulan as Ping join the army and head in the line for food, Yao cuts in with Ling and Chien Po following behind. When Sora begins to complain, Yao punches him in the face. A brawl follows between Sora, Donald, Yao, and Ling. When Shang arrives, they all straighten up. Just then, Heartless appears and the trio retreat while Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Ping battle. At the summit, Yao, Ling, and Chien Po complement Sora and the gang on their battle skills, becoming friends in the process. When Shan Yu seizes the Imperial City, the Gang of Three is the only soldiers not to be turned into Heartless. Ling and Chien Po are seen closing the doors to the Emperor's palace to block off Shan Yu while the villain battles Mulan, Sora, Donald, and Goofy. After Shan Yu's defeat, the trio can be found outside the village. They return during the second visit, briefly warning Sora and Mulan about a man in a black hood inside the Emperor's palace.
During the credits, they are seen spying on Mulan and Shang (who are trying to have a romantic moment) in the bamboo thicket until they are discovered.
==Disney Parks==
===Disneyland Resort===
Yao, Ling, and Chien Po made brief appearances in the park during the promotional Mulan parade that ran during the original film's initial release. In the parade, however, the trio donned their woman disguises in from the film's climax.
===Walt Disney World Resort===
The trio makes a brief appearance in Disney's Hollywood Studios' version of Fantasmic!
===Hong Kong Disneyland===
The trio can be seen during Mulan's segment of the Disney in the Stars castle show.
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
*In Chinese, Yao means need to/want to/going to. In Mandarin, Ling is Ning which means "peaceful". Chien Po (in Wade-Giles) means "gold gem".
*The trio was collectively known as the "Gang of Three" by the production team that worked on Mulan.
*Having Yao dress in drag towards the end of Mulan is fitting for a character voiced by Harvey Fierstein, who is famous for his drag queen performances.
*Ling's singing voice in Mulan was provided by Matthew Wilder, who also worked as the lyricist for the movie's songs.
**Gedde Watanabe tried to perform his own singing, but couldn't hit the right notes. However, Watanabe did provide Ling's singing voice in Mulan II.
*Fierstein, Wilder, and Tondo recorded "A Girl Worth Fighting For" together, which is rare for an animated film, as voice actors usually record their lines separately.
*In School of Secrets: Lonnie's Warrior Sword, Yao is said to have a daughter named Yin-Min, who befriends Lonnie—the daughter of Mulan and Shang.
*Ling is the only human character (besides Mulan and Li Shang) in the Mulan franchise to see Mushu, despite mistaking him as a snake.
==Variants==
*Yao, Ling, and Po (2020)
de:Yao, Ling, und Chien Po
fr:Yao, Ling et Chien Po
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