<p>神仙打仗，凡人遭殃<br />
Immortals battle, ordinary people suffer</p>
<p>神仙打仗，凡人遭殃，<br />
Immortals battle, ordinary people suffer,<br />
俗语，<br />
proverb<br />
意思是比喻上层人物争权夺利，<br />
(the) meaning is power struggles among the ruling classes<br />
直接受害的是老百姓。<br />
directly harm ordinary people.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-20T10:42:01.557Z
In my opinion 神仙打**架**，凡人遭殃 is more widely used, but both are OK.
kyc
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-20T04:50:20.657Z
2024-04-20T06:05:39.207Z
2024-04-20T06:05:39.207Z
Pedroski
<p>Chinese source of the first sentence of the cited paragraph:</p>
<p>民间流传着这样一句俗语：“神仙打架，凡人遭殃”，这句话的意思是神话传说中天庭的神仙之间发生战争打打杀杀，带来的后果就是凡间风雨大作，天崩地裂，黎民百姓苦不堪言。</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-21T06:10:42.860Z
2024-04-21T06:10:42.860Z
ZhenRanZR
<p>There seems to be a couplet from an ancient poem that might answer to your request:</p>
<p>山坡羊·潼关怀古</p>
<p>(Rough translation: Meditation at Tongguan Pass, a strategic place near Chang'an the capital of the Tang Dynasty)</p>
<p>[ 元 ] 张养浩</p>
<p>Poet: Zhang Yanghao of the Yuan Dynasty</p>
<p>峰峦如聚，波涛如怒，山河表里潼关路。</p>
<p>The mountains and hills of Tongguan are very nice for sightseeing</p>
<p>望西都，意踌躇。</p>
<p>From where I saw the western capital Chang'an, which made me in a very deep thought</p>
<p>伤心秦汉经行处，宫阙万间都做了土。</p>
<p>I was especially grieved by thousands of old palaces of the Qin and Han Dynasties made by the people that have been turned into dust after so many wars</p>
<p><strong>兴，百姓苦；亡，百姓苦。</strong></p>
<p>（I came to know that No matter it is prosperity or declining of a dynasty, it is the people who always suffer)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-20T03:39:45.897Z
2024-04-20T03:39:45.897Z
NanningYouth
<p>Try 天上下雨, 地下苦难, &quot;Rain in heaven, suffering here on Earth&quot;</p>
<p>The &quot;Rain&quot; of course represents turmoil among the gods, and the torrential rain that falls on Earth causes troubles for the people.</p>
<p>This is not so much a proverb, but the first part, &quot;天上下雨....&quot;, is often used as a prefixation phrase in a social word game played by one person saying &quot;天上下雨....&quot;, and someone replies with a following phrase that is often humorous and meaningful, like, 天上下雨, 地下干燥多尘.</p>
<p>This phase 天上下雨, 地下干燥多尘 also fits in well with &quot;The gods fight, and the mortals suffer&quot;, as when it rains, it ordinarily brings water for the crops, but in this case when it &quot;rains&quot; the ground is actually dry and dusty which of course brings hardship and even starvation for the people, because the &quot;Rain in Heaven&quot; is about the fight among the gods, not actual rain that falls on Earth.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-20T13:17:11.447Z
2024-04-20T13:43:32.097Z
2024-04-20T13:43:32.097Z
Wayne Cheah
<p>Some sources (e.g. <a href="https://inf.news/en/culture/0fdaf88df976e7e4142d13832ed2e1b0.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">1</a>) seem to say that there is a Chinese saying or proverb similar to &quot;The gods fight, and the mortals suffer.&quot;  I would like to ask if this is so, and if so, what its exact wording and origin is.</p>

<proverb>
Is there a Chinese saying like "Gods fight, mortals suffer?"
# Is there a Chinese saying like "Gods fight, mortals suffer?"

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-04-20)

Some sources (e.g. [1](https://inf.news/en/culture/0fdaf88df976e7e4142d13832ed2e1b0.html)) seem to say that there is a Chinese saying or proverb similar to "The gods fight, and the mortals suffer." I would like to ask if this is so, and if so, what its exact wording and origin is.

**Tags:** proverb


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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-04-20. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

神仙打仗，凡人遭殃  
Immortals battle, ordinary people suffer

神仙打仗，凡人遭殃，  
Immortals battle, ordinary people suffer,  
俗语，  
proverb  
意思是比喻上层人物争权夺利，  
(the) meaning is power struggles among the ruling classes  
直接受害的是老百姓。  
directly harm ordinary people.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: In my opinion 神仙打**架**，凡人遭殃 is more widely used, but both are OK.  

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### Answer by username_3 on 2024-04-21. Score: 0

Chinese source of the first sentence of the cited paragraph:

民间流传着这样一句俗语：“神仙打架，凡人遭殃”，这句话的意思是神话传说中天庭的神仙之间发生战争打打杀杀，带来的后果就是凡间风雨大作，天崩地裂，黎民百姓苦不堪言。


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### Answer by username_4 on 2024-04-20. Score: 0

There seems to be a couplet from an ancient poem that might answer to your request:

山坡羊·潼关怀古

(Rough translation: Meditation at Tongguan Pass, a strategic place near Chang'an the capital of the Tang Dynasty)

[ 元 ] 张养浩

Poet: Zhang Yanghao of the Yuan Dynasty

峰峦如聚，波涛如怒，山河表里潼关路。

The mountains and hills of Tongguan are very nice for sightseeing

望西都，意踌躇。

From where I saw the western capital Chang'an, which made me in a very deep thought

伤心秦汉经行处，宫阙万间都做了土。

I was especially grieved by thousands of old palaces of the Qin and Han Dynasties made by the people that have been turned into dust after so many wars

**兴，百姓苦；亡，百姓苦。**

（I came to know that No matter it is prosperity or declining of a dynasty, it is the people who always suffer)


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### Answer by username_5 on 2024-04-20. Score: 0

Try 天上下雨, 地下苦难, "Rain in heaven, suffering here on Earth"

The "Rain" of course represents turmoil among the gods, and the torrential rain that falls on Earth causes troubles for the people.

This is not so much a proverb, but the first part, "天上下雨....", is often used as a prefixation phrase in a social word game played by one person saying "天上下雨....", and someone replies with a following phrase that is often humorous and meaningful, like, 天上下雨, 地下干燥多尘.

This phase 天上下雨, 地下干燥多尘 also fits in well with "The gods fight, and the mortals suffer", as when it rains, it ordinarily brings water for the crops, but in this case when it "rains" the ground is actually dry and dusty which of course brings hardship and even starvation for the people, because the "Rain in Heaven" is about the fight among the gods, not actual rain that falls on Earth.


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