I'm working on an English language wiki for a Chinese language web novel, and a couple of the locations are 通天桥 and 通天山. Whenever I look up the meaning of '通天' I see figurative meanings like 'exceedingly great' or 'having direct access to the highest authorities,' but since these are literal locations, I don't think either definition works. I think it's more like 'Sky-High Bridge' or 'Sky-High Mountain', and maybe could be translated as Heavenly Bridge or Heavenly Mountain, but I wanted to check here before moving forward with those translations. Thank you!
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I don't think the true aspects of the bridge and mountain match the implication of 通天, but so named regardless. I suggest addressing the names by "拼音" to reflect how they are called locally. As such, interested readers will be able to perform research by themselves.– r13Commented Aug 30 at 20:44
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It's like the Tower of Babel.– KaiserKatzeCommented Sep 7 at 12:27
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3 Answers
通天 means 'connect to the sky', in other words, 'Sky-high'
Not long ago, maybe a few years back, people would translate 通天桥 and 通天山 as "Sky-High Bridge" and "Sky-high Mountains" or "Heaven-high Bridge" and "Heaven-high Mountains"
According to the current trend in Mainland China, 通天桥 and 通天山 should be transliterated as Tongtian Bridge' and 'Tongtian Mountains'
I look up the meaning of '通天' I see figurative meanings like 'exceedingly great'
Connect to Heaven = having access to god's' power = otherworldly great
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Thank you for the easy to understand explanation! Would it matter that the bridge is suspended in the sky and the mountain is described as majestic and over 5,000 kilometers tall? Commented Aug 31 at 2:32
If only phrases had one simple meaning in Chinese, which is a very old language! 通天 has many nuances and shades of meaning!
通天是出自于中国古代经典《黄帝内经》的词语，
The term 通天 comes from and ancient Chinese classical script 《Yellow Emperor Inner Tome》,
其理念将人划分为五种体质性格，
its idea is to divided people into five types of bodily constitutions,
并强调在治疗上应因人而异，
And it emphasises that treatments should vary from person to person,
以调和阴阳平衡为要旨。
With the harmony and balance of Yin and Yang as its main point.
通天: 上通于天，形容极大、极高。
up to the sky, describes biggest, highest
通天: 比喻能直接跟最高层的领导人联系上。
通天: figuratively means (one) can directly communicate with the highest leaders of society.
(But: You find out when you reach the top, you're on the bottom!)
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I hadn't thought about the age of the language until you mentioned it, but obviously a very good point! Thank you for this explanation! Commented Aug 31 at 2:34
通天桥 and 通天山 are both a form of exaggeration description. Let's break them down word by word:
- 通: travel through; to pass through; to connect with; to link with.
- 天: sky; celestial; heavens; heavenly.
- 桥 (can't find suitable and informative link): bridge; passage; link (abstract).
- 山: mountain; peak; pile of things; strong and resilient (abstract).
通天桥 and 通天山 basically means "bridge that connects to/with the sky" and "mountain that connects to/with the sky" or "bridge to heaven" and "mountain that connects with heaven", respectively. Both have a meaning of closeness and connection with sky/heaven. However, the current modern correct translation should be by pingying, i.e. "Tongtian bridge" and "Tongtian mountain", respectively.
