木兰当户织

木蘭當戶織

mùlándānghùzhī

phrase

Meanings

1 Mulan weaves facing the doorway
2 (fig., opening image) the female warrior's quiet domestic life before the draft — peacetime textile work by the door
3 (lit.) Mulan — face / at — door — weave

Characters

orchid (木兰 = Mulan, given name)

Examples

《木兰辞》开头是唧唧复唧唧，木兰当户织。

Mùlán Cí kāitóu shì jī jī fù jī jī, Mùlán dāng hù zhī.

'The Ballad of Mulan' opens: 'click-click, click-click — Mulan weaves facing the door.'

她念完木兰当户织，讲起了木兰从军的故事。

Tā niàn wán Mùlán dāng hù zhī, jiǎng qǐle Mùlán cóngjūn de gùshì.

After reciting 'Mulan weaves facing the door,' she told the story of Mulan joining the army.

Tips

history

Second line of 《木兰辞》 (The Ballad of Mulan, Northern Wei / Northern dynasties, 5th-6th c., preserved in the Yuefu Shiji), the foundational text of the Hua Mulan legend: 唧唧复唧唧，木兰当户织。不闻机杼声，惟闻女叹息 (Click-click, click-click — Mulan weaves at the door. Not the loom's clatter do I hear, only a girl's sighs). Memorized by mainland schoolchildren; the source of the Disney Mulan character.

usage

当户 = classical 'facing / at the door' (当 = face toward). 户 here = doorway (of the home loom position). The opening onomatopoeia 唧唧 was traditionally read as the loom's clack, though some commentators argue it represents Mulan's sighing.

Stroke Order

木 mù

兰 lán

当 dāng

户 hù

织 zhī