横看成岭侧成峰

橫看成嶺側成峰
Héng kàn chéng lǐng cè chéng fēng
quotation

Meanings

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

Examples

Héngkànchénglǐngcèchéngfēng — — kàn wèntí yào duōjiǎodù sīkǎo.
A ridge from the front, a peak from the side — problems must be viewed from multiple angles.
Tāliǎ duì zhè jiàn shì de kànfǎ bùtóng, zhēnshì héngkànchénglǐngcèchéngfēng.
Their views on this matter differ — it's truly a case of seeing a ridge one way and a peak another.

Stroke Order

héng
kàn
chéng
lǐng
fēng