Hua Mulan (Chinese: 花木蘭) is a legendary woman warrior from the Northern and Southern dynasties period (420–589) of Chinese history, originally described in the Ballad of Mulan (Chinese: 木蘭辭; pinyin: Mùlán cí). In the ballad, Hua Mulan 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 Hua Mulan is in the Northern Wei (386–536). Over a thousand years later, Xu Wei's play from the Ming dynasty places her in the Northern Wei, whereas the Qing dynasty Sui Tang Romance has her active around the founding of the Tang c. 620. In 621, the founder of the Tang dynasty was victorious over Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande, the latter was the father of Dou Xianniang, anotherfemale warrior who became Mulan's laotong in the Sui Tang Romance.
