Found in 《五灯会元》 (Song Buddhist text), where a master answers a question about 'enlightenment' with 青山绿水 — the plain truth that nature simply is what it is. The order reverses to 绿水青山 in modern usage.
culture
Xi Jinping's 2005 remark 绿水青山就是金山银山 ('green hills and clear waters are gold mountains and silver mountains') turned this phrase into a slogan for China's ecological civilization (生态文明) policy. Instantly recognizable in modern political discourse.
