木兰文化
花木兰是中国古代传说的四大巾帼英雄之一，最早出现于南北朝的叙事诗《木兰辞》中，后在民间广为流传。北魏太武年间（公元424年至452年），中国北方游牧民族不断南下侵扰，北魏政权规定每家派出一名男子上前线。但木兰父亲年迈、体弱多病，弟弟幼小无法参军，于是木兰替父从军，驻守边关，既要英勇作战，又要隐瞒性别，克服了难以想象的艰难。十多年后，木兰凯旋，皇帝欲加官进爵，木兰却毅然拒绝，返乡孝敬父母，后被唐朝皇帝追封为“孝烈将军”。
现河南省虞城县存有始建于唐朝的木兰祠。祠中设木兰像，并存有元朝《孝烈将军祠像辨正记》碑和清朝《孝烈将军辨误正名记》碑两块祠碑。2007年，中国民间文艺家协会正式命名虞城县为“中国木兰之乡”。2008年，《木兰传说》入选国家级非物质文化遗产名录。
千百年来，花木兰已经成为中华女性杰出代表和民族精神的化身，其所代表的以家国情怀为核心的忠孝节义、勇武仁爱的精神，激励着一代代中华儿女。木兰文化涉及伦理、民俗、宗教、文学、艺术等多方面内容，具有珍贵的历史研究价值。描写和讴歌木兰动人事迹的诗歌、游记、散文等作品广为流传，曾上演过木兰戏的剧种包括京剧、豫剧、越剧、昆曲、秦腔、黄梅戏等20多种。木兰故事在日本、韩国、朝鲜早有流传，并且以多种艺术形式传播到欧美国家。《木兰辞》英译本最早见于1880年由伦敦特鲁伯纳公司和上海别发印书局同时出版的《翰林文稿：中国人智慧生活文录》一书。美国迪士尼电影公司分别于1998年和2004年推出两部《花木兰》动画片，并于2020年推出真人版3D电影《花木兰》。木兰文化的海外传播，融入了世界各国人民对其精神内涵的理解，促进了中外文化交流。
Hua Mulan
Hua Mulan is one of the most known heroines in Chinese folklore. Her name first appeared in a narrative poem, Mu Lan Ci (The Ballad of Mulan), of the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-589) and became a household name later. It was said that during the reign of Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty in the fifth century, the northern nomadic groups constantly invaded southward, and the Northern Wei emperor demanded that each household send a male to fight on the frontline. Having a sick old father and a little brother too young to go, Hua Mulan joined the army in her father's place. She battled gallantly on the frontier while trying her best to hide her female identity. A dozen years later, she came back in triumph. She declined the emperor's offer of promotion and returned home to fulfill her filial duty to her parents.
Hua Mulan was posthumously honored as General of Filial Piety and Military Prowess in the Tang Dynasty (618- 907), and a temple was built to commemorate her. Still standing in Yucheng County of Henan Province today, the temple houses a statue of the heroine and two steles, one established in the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) and the other in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), that record her origin, hometown, time, and military exploits. In 2007, the China Folk Literature and Art Association officially confirmed Yucheng County as the hometown of Hua Mulan. In 2008, the legend of Hua Mulan was included in the national list of intangible cultural heritage.
Through the ages, Hua Mulan has been a representative of outstanding Chinese women and the incarnation of the Chinse ethos. Her loyalty, filial piety, bravery, and courage, all growing out of a deep love for the family and the country, have inspired generations of Chinese. The culture related to Hua Mulan is a valuable asset for historical studies as it involves ethics, folklore, religion, literature, and art. Literary works including poems, travel notes, and prose in honor of the ancient heroine are widely circulated, and her stories have been staged in more than 20 Chinese opera genres, such as Peking, Henan, Yueju, Kunqu, Qinqiang and Huangmei operas.
The stories of Hua Mulan have long spread to Japan and the Korean Peninsular and been taken to Europe and America in a number of art forms. The earliest English translation of The Ballad of Mulan appeared in a book titled Hanlin Papers or Essays on the Intellectual Life of the Chinese published by Trubner & Co. of London and Kelly & Walsh of Shanghai in 1880. In 1998 and 2004, the Walt Disney Company produced two animated movies Mulan about the heroine, followed by a live-action 3D movie of the same title in 2020. The overseas circulation of the stories of Hua Mulan has taken in the foreign audience's understanding of her spirit and promoted cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world.
