According to the biography of Shi Liji, Liu Bang was besieged by Xiang Yu in the battle between Chu and Han. Liu bang wants to give up the elevation. Li Shiqi advised Liu Bang: "I heard that the man who knows his destiny is the king." The king regards the people as the sky, and the people regard food as the sky. For ordinary people, food is the most important thing.
Liu bang was very satisfied with this and sent troops to capture Aocang. The war has turned around. In the year of Hanshu, Shi Li's words were changed to "Jun regards people as the sky, and people take food as the sky", and the word "people" was deleted, which became our "people take food as the sky" today.
According to Sima Zhen's Records of the Historian in the Tang Dynasty, it was originally Guan Zhong's idea that "Wang takes the people as the sky and the people take food as the sky". Guan Zhong's original words are: "Jun regards people as the sky, people regard food as the sky, and those who know heaven and earth are satisfied. Guan zhong's words are more logical and have a higher vision: food is the most important thing in the lives of ordinary people, and the most important thing for ordinary people is the cause of the king. From this, people can naturally draw a conclusion: the king must attach importance to food and people's livelihood.
Although "the people are the sky for the monarch and food for the people is the sky for the people" are two closely related words, the former sentence is not new, but the latter sentence has become a well-known saying for women and children because of its roots and high generality, because it is very common in Confucian classics, such as "the people follow their wishes" and "Heaven benefits the people and the monarch is the sky" in Shangshu.