只缘身在此山中

只緣身在此山中

zhǐ yuán shēn zài cǐ shān zhōng

quotation

Meanings

1 only because one is inside this very mountain
2 can't see the true shape because you're inside it - can't see the forest for the trees

Characters

because of (classical)

Examples

HSK 4

当局者迷，只缘身在此山中。

Dāngjúzhěmí, zhǐyuánshēnzàicǐshānzhōng.

Those in the thick of things are lost, only because they are inside the mountain itself.

HSK 6

他看不清公司的问题，只缘身在此山中。

Tā kànbuqīng gōngsī de wèntí, zhǐyuánshēnzàicǐshānzhōng.

He can't see the company's problems clearly - only because he's inside the mountain.

Tips

history

From Su Shi 苏轼's Song dynasty poem 《题西林壁》: '不识庐山真面目，只缘身在此山中。' (I cannot know Mount Lu's true face, only because I am inside this mountain.) A meditation on perspective: to see something clearly you must step outside it.

usage

Always paired with the preceding line 不识庐山真面目. 缘 here = 'because / due to' (classical), not 'fate.'

Stroke Order

只 zhǐ

缘 yuán

身 shēn

在 zài

此 cǐ

山 shān

中 zhōng