In The Ballad Of Mulan, an ancient folk-song written sometime between 386 and 535 AD, a young Chinese woman, Hua Mulan, disguises herself as a man in order to take her father's place after he was conscripted into the army.
Mulan is a legendary figure in Chinese history, with her story included in anthologies of books, songs, and wood-cut prints throughout several dynasties. For those in the western world, her story is most famously depicted in the 1998 animated Disney film.
