The Ballad of Mulan was originally a folk ballad poem sung during the reign if the Northern Dynasty (386-534) in China. The legend is extraordinary. It tells of a girl named Mulan who disguises herself as a man in order to take her sickly father's place in the army. According to the legend, she fought for twelve years, was promoted to the rank of general, and captured the leader of the foreign tribe, thus quelling the unrest at the frontier . Mr. Zhang's retelling of the legend is a faithful illustration of the original Sung dynesty transcription of the poem-- which itself has been rendered by him in Wei Tablet Style calligraphy in each exquisite illusration. The text is in English and Traditional Chinese characters. At the end of the book a detailed historical note is appended, along with the text of the poem in simplified Chinese characters. This book serves as a great cultural reader for students learning Chinese.Traditional Chinese characters.