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項莊舞劍

简项庄舞剑 · 繁項莊舞劍

Mandarin · pinyin Xiàng Zhuāng wǔ jiàn

lit. Xiang Zhuang performs the sword dance, but his mind is set on Liu Bang 劉邦 Liú Bāng (idiom, refers to plot to kill Liu Bang during the Hongmen feast 鴻門宴 Hóng mén yàn in 206 BC)
fig. an elaborate deception hiding malicious intent

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Characters in this entry

項: Look up this written character
莊: Look up this written character
舞: wǔ · dance, posture, prance; brandish
劍: Look up this written character
项: xiàng · neck, nape of neck; sum; funds
庄: zhuāng · village, hamlet; villa, manor
剑: jiàn · sword, dagger, saber

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–1–3–4 · Xiang4 Zhuang1 wu3 jian4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

項莊舞劍 · find source passages ↗ · 项庄舞剑 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

hong6 zong1 mou5 gim3

Cantonese word readings for 項莊舞劍. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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