Liu Hulan (刘胡兰－, 1932-1947) is a young female hero during the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomindang and the Communist Party. She was born in Yunzhouxi village, in the Wenshui County of the Shanxi province. She joined the Communist Party in 1946 and proceeded to become the secretary of the All-China Women's Federation. She was actively involved in collecting support for the Communisty Party of China from the villagers of Yunzhouxi.
In January 12, 1947, the Kuomindang army surrounded her village. They confiscated the villagers's harvest and gathered all of the villagers into the town hall. The commander of the Kuomindang army asked for those who are members of the Communist Party to surrender themselves. When no one came forward, the commander ordered a traitor to point out the members. Several people, including Liu, were identified as Party members and they were separated from the other villagers. Seeing that Liu was still young, the commander tried to persuade her to change her mind and help him point out who else in the village were Party members. Liu adamantly refused to answer him.
The commander then decided to decapitate other Party members right in front of Liu. However, Liu still refused to give out the names even after all of the members were killed. The commander gave Liu one last chance to renounce her fellow Party members. Instead of answering him, Liu walked up to the decapitation knife and bade farewell to the other villagers.
In 1957, the PRC government built a monument in Wenshui, Shanxi to commemorate her sacrifice. Mao Zedong himself wrote this phrase in regard to her sacrifice, "a nobel life and a glorious death."