The Ancient Legend of Hua Mulan,In Chinese legend Hua Mulan was first described in an ancient poem c

The Ancient Legend of Hua Mulan,In Chinese legend Hua Mulan was first described in an ancient poem called The Ballad of Mulan in the 6th century shortly before the Tang Dynasty.  According to the legend Hua Mulan lived in a village in Northern China either between 581 to 618 AD during the Sui Dynasty or  386 to 534 AD, during the Northern Wei Dynasty.  The legend states that Mulan’s father raised her in the martial arts, teaching her archery, fencing, horsemanship, and military strategy along with weaving and embroidery from her mother.  When a band of raiders from the north crossed the border into China, the emperor drafted her father into the army.  Unfortunately he was old and enfeebled, but Hua Mulan had a plan.Disguising herself as a man Hua Mulan enlisted in the army in her father’s stead.  She served twelve years in the military, receiving numerous honors and even becoming a high ranking general.  When the emperor wanted to award her with an official position within the imperial court, Hua Mulan declined, instead requesting a new horse and the opportunity to return home.  When she returned home a grand feast was held in her honor, sponsored by the men who served under her command.  They never knew she was a woman, until she attended the feast as her true self.While the Ballad of Hua Mulan may be a legend, there have been several instances of women disguising themselves as men in order to serve in the military, the most notable occurring during the American Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, and the American Civil War.Hannah Snell, Royal Marines, Seven Years WarDeborah Sampson Gannett, Continental Army, Revolutionary WarEleonore Prochaska, Prussian Army, Napoleonic WarsNadezhda Andreyevna Durova, Russian Army, Napoleonic WarsJenny Hodgers, Union Army, American Civil WarLoretta Valasquez, Confederate Army, American Civil War   -- source link

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