天高皇帝远 — “The sky is high, and the emperor is far away”
天高皇帝远 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “in a remote area or organization, beyond the effective reach or supervision of central authority; out of sight, out of mind for accountability, allowing for greater freedom or disregard for rules”. Literally, “The sky is high, and the emperor is far away”.
天高皇帝远 Pronunciation and Pinyin
天高皇帝远 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 天高皇帝远
Origin and Story of 天高皇帝远
During the late Northern Song Dynasty, a severe drought afflicted the Taizhou and Wenzhou regions of Zhejiang. Many common people starved to death. However, the imperial court, riddled with corrupt officials and rampant extravagance, turned a deaf ear to pleas for disaster relief. Instead, they further increased taxes on the suffering populace.
The people, pushed to their limits, finally rose in rebellion. They unfurled banners that read: 'The sky is high, and the emperor is far away; the people are few, but officials are many. Beaten three times a day, what else can we do but revolt?'
This idiom originated from their desperate cry, highlighting the lack of central authority's effective oversight and the resulting impunity or hardship in remote areas.
Idioms Related to 天高皇帝远
Synonyms of 天高皇帝远
More idioms starting with 天
- tiān天shàng上rén人jiān间worlds apart
- tiān天shàng上dì地xià下，，wéi惟wǒ我dú独zūn尊supremely arrogant and self-important
- tiān天shàng上tiān天xià下，，wéi惟wǒ我dú独zūn尊Arrogant and self-important
- tiān天shàng上shǎo少yǒu有，，dì地xià下nán难xún寻extremely rare, unique
- tiān天shàng上shí石lín麟a brilliant and talented son
- tiān天shàng上qí麒lín麟praise a son's exceptional talent
- tiān天xià下yī一jiā家universal brotherhood and harmony
- tiān天xià下wèi为yī一The world united
- tiān天xià下wéi为gōng公The world belongs to everyone
- tiān天xià下wéi为jiā家To make the world one's home
- tiān天xià下wéi为lóng笼the world is a confining cage
- tiān天xià下wū乌yā鸦yī一bān般hēi黑all evil is the same everywhere
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Open the tool →Questions about 天高皇帝远
What does 天高皇帝远 mean?
天高皇帝远 (tiān gāo huáng dì yuǎn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “in a remote area or organization, beyond the effective reach or supervision of central authority; out of sight, out of mind for accountability, allowing for greater freedom or disregard for rules”.
How do you pronounce 天高皇帝远?
天高皇帝远 is pronounced tiān gāo huáng dì yuǎn in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 天高皇帝远 literally mean?
Literally, 天高皇帝远 means “the sky is high, and the emperor is far away”. It is used to mean “in a remote area or organization, beyond the effective reach or supervision of central authority; out of sight, out of mind for accountability, allowing for greater freedom or disregard for rules”.
Where does 天高皇帝远 come from?
天高皇帝远 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 天高皇帝远?
原指偏僻的地方，中央的权力达不到。现泛指机构离开领导机关远，遇事自作主张，不受约束。