In the Northern Wei Dynasty (北魏，386-534), there was a legendary female warrior (传奇女战士). She dressed up like a man to take her father’s place in the army, as he was too old to fight. Who is she?

She is Mulan. On July 24, the live-action (真人版) Disney movie Mulan will open in the US.

This is not the first time Disney has made a movie about Mulan. In 1998, its animated film Mulan was a huge success. It made Mulan one of the most popular Disney princesses. And through the film, many people began to learn about and even fall in love with Chinese culture.

Mulan catches people’s hearts with her independence (独立) and courage (勇气). In most stories, the princess is always the one who needs to be saved. But Mulan saves her country and people. She proves (证明) that women can be as good as men on the battlefield (战场). As the film says, she shows us that “the flower that blooms in adversity (逆境) is the most rare (珍贵的) and beautiful of them all.”