Captain Li Shang is Mulan's love interest and a well trained soldier ("Shang" is his first name while "Li" is his last name). Though he and Mulan (pretending to be a man named Ping to take her father's place so he doesn't get killed in battle) don't get along at first, Mulan refuses to give up training and is quickly able to par on Shang's equal terms.
Mulan begins to fall in love with him and when Shang is nearly killed by the avalanche Mulan makes to defeat Shan-Yu's army, he admits he owes Ping a debt of honor. When Ping is injured he laters finds out Ping is really a woman dressed as a soldier and she admits her name to being Mulan.
Though she was sentenced to die for her dishonor, Shang's debt allowed him to spare her life and they leave her behind. Once she sees Shan Yu emerge from the snow along with his strongest Huns, she heads to the Imperial City to warn Shang, who refuses to listen until Shan Yu reveals himself and kidnaps the emperor. Mulan gets them inside, with Shang now believing in her.
Shan Yu nearly beats Shang to death after his soldiers are defeated but goes after Mulan who tells him she was responsible for the avalanche. Shang gets outside after Mulan and Mushu defeat Shan-Yu by launching him towards fireworks.
In the second film, Li Shang proposes to Mulan and despite some questioning to whether he has a heart, mostly caused by Mushu, Mulan sees he truly loves her by sacrificing himself to keep a bridge that was on its side from collapsing further by letting himself fall so Mulan could get to the other side. Shang is revealed to be alive and with help with a redeemed Mushu stops the wedding between Mulan and the eldest son of the neighboring country and marries them.
Being the son of a general and later becoming a Captain, Shang is well-trained in martials arts, which he taught his recruits, including Mulan who surpassed him. He is voiced by BD Wong with Donny Osmond doing his singing voice.
Trivia
- He has a tendency of being too "by-the-book," often putting his duties above his feelings, compared to Mulan.
- He's disparagingly called "pretty boy" due to his dashing good looks and muscular physique. Also, despite his military skills, he's somewhat lacking in social skills, as he has trouble telling Mulan that he has a feelings for her.
- According to the audio commentary on the special edition DVD of Mulan, Li Shang is considered to be kind of a dork, despite being good-looking and muscular, due to his inability to talk to Mulan. An example of this would be after Mulan defeats Shan Yu and he says, "You fight good," in a nervous way.
- Shang is the second Disney prince to have his upper torso exposed, the first being Aladdin, but is the first to entirely remove his upper clothing by taking them off.
- He's the first Disney prince to not share a romantic kiss with the heroine (not counting the sequel).
- He's the third Disney prince to wield a sword, the first being Prince Phillip and the second being Aladdin.
- He's the third Disney prince to have a less significant role than the sidekick to the princess. The first being the Prince from Snow White and the second being Prince Charming from Cinderella.
- He's the second Disney prince to have his own horse, after Prince Phillip, who had a horse named Samson.
- Shang is the fourth Disney prince to not be of royal descent, the first being Aladdin, the second and third being John Smith and John Rolfe, respectively (both of whom were the love interests of Pocahontas), and the fifth being Flynn Rider (whose real name is Eugene Fitzherbert).
- Shang is also the third Disney prince to marry a girl who isn't of royal descent, the first being Prince Charming, the second being Prince Adam, and the fourth being Prince Naveen.
- Since neither Mulan nor Shang are of royal descent, that makes them the only non-royal Disney couple in the Disney princess franchise.
- Shang is also the third Disney prince to marry a girl who isn't of royal descent, the first being Prince Charming, the second being Prince Adam, and the fourth being Prince Naveen.
- Shang is also the third Disney prince to have his speaking and singing voices done by two different people, the first being Prince Charming from Cinderella and the second being Aladdin.
- He's possibly ambidextrous, as he tends to a lot with his left hand as well as his right hand. If he is, he's the first, and so far only, Disney prince to be ambidextrous.
- Although he's great at martial arts, he's a clumsy dancer and appears to be somewhat clumsy in the second movie, much like Mulan herself.
- He appears to be a speed reader in the second movie.
- Although Shang never seems to be in pain when things happen in fights (such as the arrow stabbing him), he wiggles around highly disturbed by worms in his shirt.