【Explanation】
"Single saber" refers to one weapon, symbolizing a single person. Originally, it described Guan Yu, a general of Shu, attending a banquet hosted by Eastern Wu with only a single saber and a small number of attendants. Later, it came to mean attending an appointment or meeting alone and at great personal risk. The idiom carries a sense of admiration for the attendee's wisdom, strategy, and courage.
【Source】
From the "Records of the Three Kingdoms: Wu Shu, Biography of Lu Su": "Lu Su invited Guan Yu to meet. Both sides stationed troops a hundred paces away, and only asked the general to attend the meeting with a single saber."
【The Story Behind the Idiom】
In the early period of the Three Kingdoms, Sun Quan and Liu Bei formed an alliance and inflicted a crushing defeat on Cao Cao at the Battle of Red Cliffs, severely weakening Cao Cao's forces and removing the immediate threat to both Sun Quan and Liu Bei. Afterward, Sun Quan and Liu Bei each expanded their territories, seizing considerable lands.
Before their alliance, Liu Bei and Sun Quan had agreed that after the Battle of Red Cliffs, Jing Province would belong to Sun Quan.
After the death of Zhou Yu, the Grand Commander of Eastern Wu, Liu Bei sought to renew the alliance with Wu. He promised Sun Quan that once he conquered Xichuan, he would immediately hand over Jing Province to Wu.
By this time, Liu Bei had grown very powerful, and his army quickly captured Xichuan. Liu Bei established the Shu Kingdom in Xichuan and dispatched Guan Yu and his son Guan Ping to garrison and defend Jing Province.
When Sun Quan heard that Liu Bei had seized Xichuan, he sent an envoy to Shu to demand the return of Jing Province. Following Zhuge Liang's advice, Liu Bei wrote a letter and gave it to the Wu envoy, instructing him to go to Jing Province and present it to Guan Yu.
When the Wu envoy arrived in Jing Province with the letter, Guan Yu rejected it. He said, "How can I trust such an important matter based on just a letter?" He then sent the envoy back to Wu.
Sun Quan was furious: "Liu Bei is clearly mocking me!" Lu Su then devised a plan: invite Guan Yu to a banquet in Wu, seize him during the feast, force him to surrender Jing Province, and kill him if he refused.
When Guan Yu received the invitation, he laughed and said, "I'm not afraid of them at all. I'll go alone—let's see what they dare do to me!"
The next day, Guan Yu sailed to Wu. Lu Su had already arranged hidden assassins, ready to execute Guan Yu on the spot if he refused to return Jing Province.
During the banquet, Lu Su smiled and brought up the issue of returning Jing Province. Guan Yu replied, "I'm here to drink today; let's not discuss matters of state." But Lu Su kept pressing the issue.
After a while, Guan Yu stood up, grabbed Lu Su, and said, "I'm a bit drunk. We can discuss Jing Province another time." With that, he pulled Lu Su toward the riverbank. The Wu soldiers, fearing they might accidentally harm their commander Lu Su, dared not attack Guan Yu. They could only watch helplessly as Guan Yu led Lu Su away.
Guan Yu did not release Lu Su until they reached the riverbank. By the time Wu's troops arrived to pursue him, Guan Yu's boat had already sailed far away.
With extraordinary courage and boldness, Guan Yu attended the meeting alone. This heroic deed was widely celebrated by later generations. Thus, the idiom "attending the meeting with a single saber" came to symbolize someone bravely facing danger alone, praising their wisdom, strategic acumen, and fearless courage.