Tā niàn wán Mùlándānghùzhī, jiǎng qǐ le 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.
