đất thổ-công, sông hà-bá

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

The land has its Earth Lord, the river its Water Lord — every domain is already governed; respect the local powers.

Literally: land of the thổ công, river of the hà bá

Examples

Đất có thổ công, sông có hà bá.Each land its Earth Lord, each river its Water Lord.

Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)

Sources & notes

Discovered via Nam ngạn chích cẩm (Phạm Quang Sán, 1918; public domain, via vi.wikisource); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Attested in Nam ngạn chích cẩm (Phạm Quang Sán, 1918). Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.

Common questions

What does “đất thổ-công, sông hà-bá” mean?

The land has its Earth Lord, the river its Water Lord — every domain is already governed; respect the local powers. Literally: land of the thổ công, river of the hà bá

Is “đất thổ-công, sông hà-bá” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.