page_title: Hua Mulan
section_title: Ballad of Mulan
hierarchical_section_title: Hua Mulan / Plot / Ballad of Mulan
caption_attribution_description: English: Iron statue of Mulan and her Father in Xinxiang, China.
context_page_description: Hua Mulan was a female warrior from the Northern and Southern dynasties period of Chinese history, originally described in the Ballad of Mulan. In the ballad, Mulan, disguised as a man, takes her aged father's place in the army. Mulan fought for twelve years and gained high merit, but she refused any reward and retired to her hometown.
  The historic setting of Ballad of Mulan is in the Northern Wei, whereas a later adaptation has her active around the founding of the Tang c. 620. In 621, the founder of the Tang dynasty emerged victorious over Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande. The latter sired Dou Xianniang, another female warrior who became Mulan's laotong in Romance of Sui and Tang.
  The story of Hua Mulan has inspired a number of screen and stage adaptations. The Hua Mulan crater on Venus is named after her.
context_section_description: The Ballad of Mulan is set in the Northern Wei era (386–535). The poem starts with Mulan sitting worriedly at her loom, as one male from each family is called to serve in the army to defend the Tuoba realm from Rouran invaders. Her father is old and weak, and her younger brother is just a child, so she decides to take his place and bids farewell to her parents, who support her. She is already skilled in fighting, having been taught martial arts, sword fighting, and archery by the time she enlists in the army. After twelve years of fighting, the army returns and the warriors are rewarded. Mulan turns down an official post, and asks only for a camel to carry her home. She is greeted with joy by her family. Mulan dons her old clothes and meets her comrades, who are shocked that in the 12 years of their enlistment together, they did not realize that she was a woman.
caption: Statue of Mulan being welcomed home, in the city of Xinxiang, China.
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