What’s 鸿门宴 (hóng mén yàn)?

"鸿门宴" (hóng mén yàn) refers to a feast happened in Hongmen, Xianyang, which was the capital of Qin Dynasty in B.C.206. The anti-Qin generals Xiang Yu and Liu Bang both attended the feast. The so called "banquet" was in fact a trap set by Xiang Yu to kill Liu Bang. Later generations use "鸿门宴" to indicate a feast or meeting set as a trap for the invited or something ill-disposed.

“鸿门宴”是指公元前206年发生在秦朝都城咸阳一个叫鸿门的地方的一次宴会。参加的人是当时反抗秦军的领袖项羽和刘邦，这次宴会，表面看来是请客吃饭，实际上是项羽一方为了借机杀掉刘邦才请他来做客，可以说是一场暗藏杀机的宴会。所以后人常用“鸿门宴”比喻不怀好意的宴会。

Examples: 

1. Nǐ bú yào qù cān jiā tā de yàn huì, zhè jiù shì yì chǎng hóng mén yàn, tā kěn dìng méi duì nǐ ān shén me hǎo xīn.

你不要去参加他的宴会，这就是一场鸿门宴，他肯定没对你安什么好心。

Don't go to attend his banquet. It is a Hongmen banquet that he must have ill-intentioned plans on you.

2. Tā zhè shì gěi nǐ shè le gè hóng mén yàn, děng zhe nǐ tiào jìn tā de quān tào ne!

他这是给你设了个鸿门宴，等着你跳进他的圈套呢！

He has prepared a Hongmen banquet to lead you into his trap.

Source: hjenglish