Hua Mulan (花木兰) is a heroine who joined an all-male army,described in a Chinese poem known as the Ballad of Mulan (木兰辞).The poem was first written in the Musical Records of Old and New (古今乐录) from the 6th century,the century before the founding of the Tang Dynasty; the original work no longer exists,and the original text of this poem comes from another work known as the Music Bureau Collection (乐府诗),an anthology of lyrics,songs,and poems,compiled by Guo Maoqian (郭茂倩) during the 12th century.The author explicitly mentions the Musical Records of Old and New as his source for the poem.Whether she was a historical person or whether the poem was an allegory has been debated for centuries — it is unknown whether the story has any factual basis.
The time setting of the story is uncertain.The earliest accounts of the legend state that she lived during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534).
The poem is a ballad,meaning that the lines do not necessarily have equal numbers of syllables.The poem is mostly composed of five-character phrases,with just a few extending to seven or nine.
The story was expanded into a novel during the late Ming Dynasty (1368–1644).Over time,the story of Hua Mulan rose in popularity as a folk tale among the Chinese people on the same level as the Butterfly Lovers.It is one of the first poems in Chinese history to support the notion of gender equality,but has also been interpreted by authors such as Maxine Hong Kingston (The Woman Warrior) to represent Chinese culture as sexist.In 1998,Disney released an animated movie entitled Mulan based on the story.
花木兰是中国文学作品中的一位代父从军的巾帼英雄,其真实性不详.花木兰最早出现于南北朝一首叙事诗《木兰辞》中,该诗约作於北魏,最初录於南朝陈的《古今乐录》,僧人智匠在《古今乐录》称：“木兰不知名.”[1],长300余字,后经隋唐文人润色.明代文学家徐渭将《木兰诗》改编的《雌木兰替父从军》,剧中自称“妾身姓花名木兰,祖上在西汉时,以六郡良家子,世住河北魏郡.俺父亲名弧字桑之,平生好武能文,旧时也做一个有名的千夫长.”自此木兰的父亲叫花弧,姐姐叫花木莲,弟弟叫花雄,母亲是花袁氏.清代《曲海总目提要·雌木兰》也说：“木兰事虽详载古乐府.按明有韩贞女事,与木兰相类,渭盖因此而作也.木兰不知名,记内所称姓花名弧及嫁王郎事,皆系渭撰出.”
祖冲之《述异记》、李亢《独异志》都提到木兰姓花.一说木兰本姓朱,清康熙年间的《黄陂县志》：“木兰,本县朱氏女,生于唐初,……假男子代父从军,……至今其家犹在木兰山下.”焦竑在其《焦氏笔乘》中也说：“木兰,朱氏女子,代父从征.今黄州黄陂县北七十里,即隋木兰县.有木兰山、将军冢、忠烈庙,足以补《乐府题解》之缺.”又有木兰姓魏的说法[2][3],一说木兰姓韩[4].另据《新唐书》载：“少女木兰,姓任”.
花木兰的籍贯也是众说纷纭.《大清一统志》称是颍州谯郡城东魏村人（今亳州市谯城区）.姚莹的《康輶纪行》称是甘肃武威人.刘廷直在《木兰碑》中称木兰是直棣完县人.《商丘县志》载木兰为商丘人.后人创作了很多有关花木兰的戏剧作品,现代还将花木兰搬上电影银幕.
根据《木兰辞》的描述,北朝可汗徵兵抵御北方民族入侵,女子花木兰之父亦在受召之列；木兰不忍见其年迈的父亲从军受苦,又没有年长的兄弟可以代替老父,她於是自己乔装成男人,购买各种装备,代父从军.
多年后战事结束,木兰因军功彪炳得到可汗召见；可汗虽授以高官厚禄,木兰却只请准予解甲返乡.木兰获准返乡后,回复女性装扮,昔日同袍才惊觉原来木兰实为女子.
