劍 jiàn

sword, dagger, saber

DEFINITIONS

  • sword, dagger, saber
  • double-edged sword
  • CL:口[kou3],把[ba3]
  • classifier for blows of a sword
  • variant of 劍|剑[jian4]

WORDS

項莊舞劍，意在沛公 xiàng zhuāng wǔ jiàn ， yì zài pèi gōng lit. Xiang Zhuang performs the sword dance, but his mind is set on Liu Bang 劉邦|刘邦[Liu2 Bang1] (idiom); refers to 206 BC plot to murder Liu Bang, aka Duke of Pei 沛公[Pei4 gong1] and the future Han emperor, during a sword dance at Feast at Hongmen 鴻門宴|鸿门宴[Hong2 men2 Yan4]; an elaborate deception to hide malicious intent
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