Meaning of 项庄舞剑，意在沛公
项庄舞剑，意在沛公 means to have ulterior motives; to hide one's true (hostile) intentions behind a seemingly innocent action. Pronounced Xiàng Zhuāng wǔ jiàn yì zài Pèi Gōng.
- to have ulterior motives; to hide one's true (hostile) intentions behind a seemingly innocent action
Definitions & Examples
Tā他
zhè这
me么
zuò做
fēn分
míng明
shì是
Xiàng项
Zhuāng庄
wǔ舞
jiàn剑
，
yì意
zài在
Pèi沛
Gōng公
，
mù目
biāo标
jiù就
shì是
yào要
qǔ取
dài代
nǐ你
de的
wèi位
zhi置
。
His actions are clearly a case of Xiang Zhuang performing a sword dance with the real intention aimed at Pei Gong—his goal is to replace your position.
Zhè这
jiā家
gōng公
sī司
tū突
rán然
tí提
chū出
hé合
zuò作
，
qí其
shí实
shì是
Xiàng项
Zhuāng庄
wǔ舞
jiàn剑
，
yì意
zài在
Pèi沛
Gōng公
，
xiǎng想
tūn吞
bìng并
wǒ我
men们
de的
hé核
xīn心
jì技
shù术
。
This company suddenly proposed cooperation, but it's actually a case of Xiang Zhuang dancing with his sword aimed at Pei Gong—they want to swallow our core technology.
Tā他
biǎo表
miàn面
shang上
shì是
zài在
pī批
píng评
zhèng政
cè策
，
shí实
jì际
shang上
shì是
Xiàng项
Zhuāng庄
wǔ舞
jiàn剑
，
yì意
zài在
Pèi沛
Gōng公
，
xiǎng想
jiè借
jī机
dǎ打
jí击
zhèng政
dí敌
。
On the surface he is criticizing the policy, but actually it's a case of Xiang Zhuang performing a sword dance with the real intention aimed at Pei Gong—he wants to take the opportunity to strike his political enemies.