天高皇帝远 in English tian1 gao1 huang2 di4 yuan3 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) the sky is high and the emperor is far away (idiomatic expression)
  • metaphorically remote places are beyond the reach of the central government

Simplified Characters

天 高 皇 帝 远

Traditional Characters

天 高 皇 帝 遠

Pinyin

tian1 gao1 huang2 di4 yuan3

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

天tian1day 高gao1surname Gao 皇huang2surname Huang 帝di4emperor 远yuan3far