<p>To me, as a native speaker, my intuition is that it is not something from old Chinese. Not all those sentences or phrases that use very few words come from old Chinese.</p>

<p>In this case, they just want to briefly summarize the current preference on urban construtation that people focus more on things above the ground rather than below the ground.</p>

<p>Actually, it is quite common to say “重A，轻B” in formal situations. It is also very common that people summarize some key characteristics in a brief way, making it looks like old Chinese. You can find a lot of them in some political files or slogans, such as “兴国之要，兴国之魂，立国之本，立党之本”。</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-24T00:25:07.757Z
2019-10-24T00:25:07.757Z
zsf222
<p>I think this is an oblique reference to 孙子兵法，but in a modern context it just means:</p>

<p>'the government only cares about what is above ground, what is beneath the ground is unimportant'</p>

<p>女：海绵城市能解决城市内涝的窘况吗？</p>

<p>男：长期以来，城市建设中存在“重地上，轻地下”的偏向。遇到强降雨时，最常见的办法就是通过管道“快速排出”。而海绵城市突破“以排为主”的传统管理理念，以建筑、道路、绿地等为载体，通过多种生态技术，构建合理的城市雨水开发利用系统。</p>

<p>What does the speaker mean with “重地上，轻地下”?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-23T05:11:05.060Z
You already have your answer. It’s a pretty transparent phrase. 城市建设, though,  is probably better interpreted as urban construction.
Mou某
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-23T09:20:28.237Z
Just thought, maybe it is more a reference to 孙子的九地 which I could not grasp.
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-23T13:07:20.017Z
Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t the parsing completely different? Sun Tzu talks of 轻地 and 重地, two nouns. But in the phrase you give both 轻 and 重 are verbs denoting levels of value.
Mou某
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-24T23:35:43.337Z
你是对的：重视，轻视。Sometimes I'm just flummoxed!
Pedroski
<meaning-in-context>
How to interpret 重地上，轻地下？
# How to interpret 重地上，轻地下？

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-10-23)

I think this is an oblique reference to 孙子兵法，but in a modern context it just means:

'the government only cares about what is above ground, what is beneath the ground is unimportant'

女：海绵城市能解决城市内涝的窘况吗？

男：长期以来，城市建设中存在“重地上，轻地下”的偏向。遇到强降雨时，最常见的办法就是通过管道“快速排出”。而海绵城市突破“以排为主”的传统管理理念，以建筑、道路、绿地等为载体，通过多种生态技术，构建合理的城市雨水开发利用系统。

What does the speaker mean with “重地上，轻地下”?

**Tags:** meaning-in-context
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: You already have your answer. It’s a pretty transparent phrase. 城市建设, though,  is probably better interpreted as urban construction.  
> **username_0**: Just thought, maybe it is more a reference to 孙子的九地 which I could not grasp.  
> **username_1**: Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t the parsing completely different? Sun Tzu talks of 轻地 and 重地, two nouns. But in the phrase you give both 轻 and 重 are verbs denoting levels of value.  
> **username_0**: 你是对的：重视，轻视。Sometimes I'm just flummoxed!  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-10-24. Score: 2

To me, as a native speaker, my intuition is that it is not something from old Chinese. Not all those sentences or phrases that use very few words come from old Chinese.

In this case, they just want to briefly summarize the current preference on urban construtation that people focus more on things above the ground rather than below the ground.

Actually, it is quite common to say “重A，轻B” in formal situations. It is also very common that people summarize some key characteristics in a brief way, making it looks like old Chinese. You can find a lot of them in some political files or slogans, such as “兴国之要，兴国之魂，立国之本，立党之本”。


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