Dāng shàng le dǒngshìzhǎng zhīhòu, tā cái tǐhuì dào gāochù bú shèng hán de gǎnjué.
Only after becoming chairman did he understand the loneliness at the top.
Tips
history
From Su Shi's (苏轼) famous Song-dynasty ci-poem 《水调歌头·明月几时有》 (Mid-Autumn 1076): 我欲乘风归去，又恐琼楼玉宇，高处不胜寒 - 'I would ride the wind back home, but I fear the jade towers and palaces - at such heights, I could not bear the cold.' Originally about the moon palace; now entirely figurative for the isolation of high position.
usage
Common in discussions of executives, politicians, celebrities, and champion athletes. 胜 here reads shèng ('can bear'), not shēng ('win'). Sometimes mistakenly read as shēng by learners.
