According to legend, Hua Mulan lived in the Northern Wei Era which was from 386 to 536 CE. She is first documented in a 6th century heroic poem titled “Ballad of Mulan.” That poem was part of a lost collection titled Musical Records of Old and New. Fortunately, “Ballad of Mulan” was preserved in an 11th century anthology, Music Bureau Collection, compiled by Guo Maoqian, who thoughtfully attributed the poem’s source.