Abstract
Hua Mulan was a heroine of ancient times, written about in Chinese literary works. However, her family name was not "Hua"; "Hua Mulan" was the popular name for her in later operas and plays. Textual research has shown that Hua Mulan's family name was Wei, that she lived during the Sui dynasty [581-618—Trans.], and that her home was in Beiweizhuang village of Yingguo, thirty-five kilometers south of Yucheng county in today's Henan province. When soldiers were being recruited during the Sui dynasty, Mulan disguised herself as a man and joined up in her father's place to fight for her country and people. She won merit on the battlefield and returned in triumph. When Yang Di, the Sui emperor, heard about this, he was overcome with admiration and wanted to bring Mulan to the royal palace as his concubine, but Mulan refused and killed herself. Since this matter was bad for the emperor's reputation, no one dared to eulogize her in writing during the Sui Dynasty, and her exploits were only recorded among the populace in the form of a folk song. This song spread among the people, and was later rewritten and polished by literati, eventually becoming the "Ode to Mulan."
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