CHENGYU
项庄舞剑(xiàng zhuāng wǔ jiàn)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- literary
- Source:
- 《史记·项羽本纪》
MEANING
- Literal
- Xiang Zhuang performs a sword dance
- Figurative meaning
- an act that hides a hostile intention
ORIGIN STORY
At the Feast at Hongmen, Xiang Yu's man Xiang Zhuang danced with his sword, ostensibly to entertain — but his real aim was the guest Liu Bang. The phrase is always used with its second half: "意在沛公", the real target is Pei Gong.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“a wolf in sheep's clothing”
EXAMPLES
他夸你时总盯着你的客户，有点项庄舞剑的味道。Tā kuā nǐ shí zǒng dīng zhe nǐ de kèhù, yǒudiǎn xiàng zhuāng wǔ jiàn de wèidào.HSK6
He flatters you while eyeing your clients — a whiff of Xiang Zhuang's sword dance.
对手突然降价，分明是项庄舞剑，意在沛公。Duìshǒu tūrán jiàngjià, fēnmíng shì xiàng zhuāng wǔ jiàn, yì zài Pèi Gōng.HSK6
The rival's sudden price cut is clearly a sword dance aimed at our real customer base.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: Always implies a hidden target; the full saying is 项庄舞剑，意在沛公.
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TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01