题西林壁題西林壁
héng横kàn chéng看成líng岭cè侧chéng成fēng峰，
yuǎn jìn远近gāo dī高低gè各bù tóng不同。
bù不shí识Lú shān庐山zhēn miàn mù真面目，
zhǐ只yuán缘shēn身zài cǐ在此shān山zhōng中。
Line by line
- 横看成岭侧成峰，橫看成嶺側成峰， Seen across, a range; from the side, a peak —
- 远近高低各不同。遠近高低各不同。 near, far, high, low, each view is different.
- 不识庐山真面目，不識廬山真面目， I cannot know the true face of Mount Lu,
- 只缘身在此山中。只緣身在此山中。 simply because I am here within it.
The poet & the story
Su Shi (1037–1101), also known as Su Dongpo — poet, statesman, calligrapher and the gourmet behind Dongpo pork — wrote this on a wall of Xilin Temple while touring Mount Lu in 1084, on his way out of political exile. Song poets loved turning landscape into philosophy, and this is the genre’s masterpiece.
Interpretation
Seen lengthwise it’s a ridge, from the side a peak — near, far, high, low, never the same mountain twice. Why can’t he see Lushan’s true face? Because he is standing inside it. The poem coined the idiom 不识庐山真面目: you cannot judge what you are part of. It is quoted about everything from office politics to physics.