The Ballad of Mulan ( 木兰辞) appeared in the Northern Wei, a dynasty that reigned northern China from the fourth to sixth centuries CE ( Wang,2021 ). This ballad consists of 392 Chinese characters, it narrates a folktale of Mulan, a young woman who joined the army and heroically fought for ten years while disguised as a man to replace her father ( Li,2014 ).
During the Northern Wei dynasty in China, the military system only recruited males, and the citizens had to feel obligated to serve the country. The following quotes from the Mulan ballad can help explain the main story:
Mulan was informed that “ the Khan is calling many troops, the army list is in twelve scrolls. on every scroll there’s Father’s name ”. Because there was “no grown‑up son and no elder brother” in Mulan’s family, and Mulan’s father was not healthy enough to contribute to the army, thus she decided to “ serve in the army in Father’s place”. Afterwards, Mulan finally reunited with her family after ten years of service in the army. The warriors who traveled with Mulan “had never realized that Mulan is a girl”- this becomes the most dramatic scenario of Mulan’s story which is highlighted in different versions of this story.
