to satisfy rival demands (idiom) / to get the best of both worlds / to have it both ways / to have one's cake and eat it too
争风吃醋
zhēng fēng chī cù
to rival sb for the affection of a man or woman / to be jealous of a rival in a love affair
法家
Fǎ jiā
Legalist School of the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) founded by Han Fei 韓非|韩非[Han2 Fei1] and Li Si 李斯[Li3 Si1], which influenced Shang Yang 商鞅[Shang1 Yang1], whose reforms strengthened the Qin state 秦國|秦国[Qin2 guo2], eventually enabling it to conquer rival states and unify China under the Qin dynasty 秦朝[Qin2 chao2]
鸿门宴
Hóng mén Yàn
Hongmen feast / (fig.) banquet set up with the aim of murdering a guest / refers to a famous episode in 206 BC when future Han emperor Liu Bang 劉邦|刘邦[Liu2 Bang1] escaped attempted murder by his rival Xiang Yu 項羽|项羽[Xiang4 Yu3]
唱对台戏
chàng duì tái xì
to put on a rival show (idiom) / to set oneself up against sb / to get into confrontation
安德海
An1 Dé hǎi
An Dehai (-1869), the Qing equivalent of Rasputin, all-powerful court eunuch with the dowager empress Cixi 慈禧太后[Ci2 xi3 tai4 hou4], executed in 1869 by her rival Empress Mother Empress Dowager Ci'an 慈安皇太后
借手除敌
jiè shǒu chú dí
to use a proxy to eliminate a rival (idiom)
敌档
dí dàng
rival productions (of the same opera in neighboring theaters)
楚河汉界
Chǔ hé Hàn jiè
lit. the river that divides Chu and Han / fig. a line that divides rival territories / the mid-line between sides on a Chinese chessboard
dí