the mountains are high, and the emperor is far away
- the mountains are high, and the emperor is far away
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1910 P. W. SERGEANT Great Empress Dowager of China 153 ‘The mountains are high,’ say the Chinese, ‘the Emperor is far away.’ A brief lull in the persecution was followed in 1895 by an extremely violent outburst.
1974 P. J. SEYBOLT Through Chinese Eyes 73 This is wild hill-country: As they used to say in the old days, ‘the mountains are high and the emperor is far away.’
1995 New York Times 4 Dec. (online) A foreigner who spends two weeks in the region quickly learns that autonomy has its limits. Granted..many Uighur traditions are tolerated. Married couples are legally permitted two rather than one child per family, the limit elsewhere in China, and those leading a nomadic life have no limits. This is illustrative of an oft-heard saying, ‘The mountains are high and the emperor is far away.’
2003 R. FISKE Political Corruption 81 Often in the provinces during the classical communist period it had been said with a shrug that ‘shan gao huangdi yuan’, or ‘the mountains are high and the Emperor is far away.’
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far — see blue are the hills that are far away fair and softly goes far in a day God is high above, and the tsar is far away the mountains are high, and the emperor is far away far fetched and dear bought is good for ladies … Proverbs new dictionary
high — see God is high above, and the tsar is far away the mountains are high, and the emperor is far away the higher the monkey climbs the more he shows his tail … Proverbs new dictionary
emperor — see the mountains are high, and the emperor is far away … Proverbs new dictionary
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