项庄舞剑 in English Xiang4 Zhuang1 wu3 jian4 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) Xiang Zhuang performs the sword dance, but his mind is set on Liu Bang 劉邦|刘邦[Liu2 Bang1] (idiomatic expression, refers to plot to kill Liu Bang during the Hongmen feast 鴻門宴|鸿门宴[Hong2 men2 yan4] in 206 BC (Before Christ))
  • metaphorically an elaborate deception hiding malicious intent

Simplified Characters

项 庄 舞 剑

Traditional Characters

項 莊 舞 劍

Pinyin

Xiang4 Zhuang1 wu3 jian4

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

项xiang4surname Xiang 庄zhuang1variant of 莊|庄[zhuang1] 舞wu3to dance 剑jian4double-edged sword