Talk:Heaven is high and the emperor is far away

Alternative[edit]

An alternative version of this proverb that I have heard, and which is given on web discussion, is below:

But the proverb should actually go like this: Shan_Gao_Huang-di_Yuan And, "Shan" means mountain....

http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2006/05/the_mountains_a.html

In view of the fact that the article cites no sources, I have noted this in the article. Anyone with good citations can edit my contribution (and the original) to their heart's content. --Iacobus 00:36, 5 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Looks like this discussion has stagnated. I've also always heard "shan gao" instead of "tian gao." I'm going to add a note about this in the article for now, but I think we should consider renaming the article, but having a redirect. A Google search for tian gao huang di yuan yields 2.8 million results and shan gao huang di yuan yields 3.3 million, which is a relevant discrepancy in my view. I'll wait to take that action until others weigh in. —Zujine|talk 05:35, 15 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I had originally heard it as Shan, mountain too. When you search MDBG (a pretty comprehensive Chinese dictionary) for (wildcard)皇帝远|, it only returns Tian, sky/heaven. When you search for the two phrases using Chinese characters, Tian is much more common. Maybe the saying is more common as heaven in Chinese, but the mountain variant was more commonly picked up by English adopters, not sure. Without any sources it's hard to be sure. I doubt "Shan" is the original version though... it seems unlikely given its greater rarity in Chinese sources, and the more direct parallels between Tian (Sky/Heaven/God) and Emperor. I'd recommend changing "The original variation is still heard..." to simply "Another variation is..." so it's not making any claim about which one was earlier until there's real evidence either way. --Thomas B♘talk 14:47, 5 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Wikified and added refs[edit]

removed tag as I don't think there is a lot more to be done with a simple article such as this. If you disagree then please add it back.Jobberone (talk) 20:58, 7 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The link in the first reference appears to be dead, but that source is preserved at the Internet Archive. I couldn't figure out how to access the REFLIST and change this in the article (my Wikipedia editing skills are rather rudimentary I'm afraid), so I've left the link here for anyone who wants to incorporate it properly. Sharl928 (talk) 08:50, 23 March 2015 (UTC)Sharl928[reply]