Female Warriors

Mulan- 木蘭

Hua Mulan is one of the most legendary women of Ancient China. She was originally described in the poem, the Ballad of Mulan. There is no solid, archeological evidence that Mulan ever existed but her heroics are depicted in various ancient texts. Her story is even taught in Chinese schools today, despite only being in stories. 

In Chinese Hua means "flower" and Mulan "magnolia". The magnolia has been an important symbol of China since ancient times. However information about her roots differ and her family name is uncertain. In the History of Ming her surname is Zhu but in the History of Qing it is Wei. The only solid fact about her is she was a part of Chinese history, sometime between the 4th and 5th centuries, during the Northern and Southern dynasties. 

The first source about Mulan was a folk song from the Northern Wei dynasty (386-557 AD), the aforementioned poem, the Ballad of Mulan. The earliest transcription of the poem is from the 6th century. Unfortunately the original poem has been lost and the text from the poem is a part of a collection of works called, the Music Bureau Collection; a series of lyrics, songs and poems, compiled by, Guo Maoqian, between the 11th and 12th centuries. The next mention comes from a Ming Dynasty play called, the Female Mulan or the Heroine Goes to War in her Father's Place (1593). The latest and most important version of the ballad was included in a novel called Sui-Tang Romance by Chu Renhuo in the 17th century.

Though there are so many different versions of Mulan's story, the plot stays the same. Mulan is washing clothes when she overhears that the army is seeking new recruits. To protect her aging, ailing father, Huan Hu, she decided to take his place in the army. Disguising herself as a boy she was recruited in place of her father, taking with her the family ancestral sword. She fought in campaigns for 10-12 years and gained high merits but refused any rewards and chose to retire to her hometown. During the war she met and fell in love with an officer by the name of Jin Yong. 

The legends say after 10 years on the battlefield Mulan was promoted to general. When Jinyong found out Mulan was a woman the pair became even closer. In time, other men in the army found out about Mulan's true identity. In many versions, Mulan and Jinyong dreamed of marrying in the future. 

After a particularly difficult battle, Mulan decided to go back onto the battlefield in women's clothing so her comrades would know her true identity. Their reactions were that of respect and admiration. They were overcome by her poise and wisdom on the battlefield and she inspired them to win yet another battle. When the war ends, the emperor wants to reward her but she just asks for a horse to ride home. Many accounts say when she arrives home she finds her father has passed on and is devastated. She doesn't feel at all like a hero, instead she has lost the most important person in her life. It is also said, she is haunted by her memories of the war and comes to feel lonely and misunderstood. She commits suicide soon after. 

http://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/ballad-hua-mulan-legendary-warrior-woman-who-brought-hope-china-005084

I am open to suggestions anyone has for women you want to learn more about but for this book I just want to focus on women who fought for their countries, rode into battle and strategized attacks; in short, warriors. I think it would be good to talk about women from all over the world, that don't necessarily remain well known to this day. I will be doing research for women in other fields including math, science, art, politics, literature and royalty in other books.