横看成岭侧成峰

橫看成嶺側成峰

héng kàn chéng lǐng cè chéng fēng

quotation

Meanings

1 seen head-on it's a ridge, seen from the side a peak
2 different viewpoints yield different truths
3 opening of Su Shi's poem 'Inscribed on the Wall of West Forest Temple'

Characters

Examples

HSK 4

横看成岭侧成峰，看问题要多角度思考。

Héng kàn chéng lǐng cè chéng fēng, kàn wèntí yào duō jiǎodù sīkǎo.

A ridge from the front, a peak from the side - problems must be viewed from multiple angles.

HSK 4

他俩对这件事的看法不同，真是横看成岭侧成峰。

Tā liǎ duì zhè jiàn shì de kànfǎ bùtóng, zhēnshì héng kàn chéng lǐng cè chéng fēng.

Their views on this matter differ - it's truly a case of seeing a ridge one way and a peak another.

Tips

history

出自宋代苏轼《题西林壁》：“横看成岭侧成峰，远近高低各不同。不识庐山真面目，只缘身在此山中。”1084年苏轼游庐山时所作，以庐山景色喻认识事物的多面性。

usage

全诗四句是一整体。后两句“不识庐山真面目，只缘身在此山中”也独立成为名句。

Stroke Order

横 héng

看 kàn

成 chéng

岭 lǐng

侧 cè

峰 fēng