远近高低各不同

遠近高低各不同
yuǎn jìn gāo dī gè bù tóng
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 near, far, high, low — each view is different
  2. 2 every perspective yields a different picture

Examples

Héngkànchénglǐngcèchéngfēng, yuǎnjìngāodīgèbùtóng.
Seen sideways it becomes a ridge, seen end-on a peak — near, far, high, low, each view is different.
Duì tóngyīgè wèntí, yuǎnjìngāodīgèbùtóng, měigè rén dōu yǒu zìjǐ de kànfǎ.
On the same issue, every angle gives a different view — everyone has their own perspective.

Tips

history
From Su Shi's 《西》 (Song dynasty), written on the wall of Xilin Temple on Mount Lu: 看成远近高低不同庐山真面目。 The poem became a paradigmatic Chinese expression of perspectivism — you can't see the whole mountain when you're on it.
usage
Always cited with 看成 as the full couplet. The poem's last two lines 庐山真面目 are even more famous — the whole quatrain is one continuous argument.

Stroke Order

yuǎn
jìn
gāo
tóng