Hua Mulan is a heroine who took the place of her father and joined the army, described in a famous Chinese poem known as the Ballad of Mulan. It is unknown whether the story has any factual basis. The poem was written during the Northern Wei dynasty，and first recorded in the Musical Records of Old and New from Southern and Northern Dynasties.
According the description of the Ballad of Mulan, the khan of Northern dynasty ordered to recruit for the army to ward off incursions by the Rouran nomads. Her father need to perform obligation.
Howere,her father is so old that he could not bear suffering from the bitterness, and she hasn’t an elder brother to go and fight. So Mulan decided to disguised herself into a man to join the army instead of her father.
Many years later, the battle was over. In view of her military exploit , the Khan of Northern dynasty offered Mulan a high official position, but she turned down the position to return to her family. She made up herself after coming back home. When her former comrades visited her at home, they were shocked to see her dressed as a woman.
Hua Mulan has been highly respected as a filial daughter by the Chinese people for hundreds of years, even though her story might be no more than a legend. In 1998, her story was adapted for an animated cartoon in a Disney amusement center in the United States, to the acclaim of all over the world.
花木兰是中国著名古诗《木兰辞》中描绘的一位代父从军的巾帼英雄，其真实性不详。该诗约作于北魏，最初录于南朝陈的《古今乐录》。
根据《木兰辞》的描述，北朝可汗征兵抵御柔然民族的入侵，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，她于是自己乔装成男子代父从军。
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。木兰返乡后，回复女性装扮，昔日同袍才惊觉原来木兰实为女子。
千百年来，花木兰被作为一个孝顺的女儿受中国人的尊敬，尽管可能这只是一个传说。1998年，美国迪士尼公司将花木兰的故事改编成了动画片，受到了全世界的欢迎。