Su Dongpo: Written On the Xinlin Temple Wall

 

[updated September 2022]

 

Written On the Xilin Temple Wall

 

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。
Ti Xi Lin Bi

Heng kan cheng ling ce cheng feng
Yuan jin gao di ge bu tong.                                                                                                     Bu shi lu shan zhen mian mu
Zhi yuan shen zai ci shan zhong.

 

Written on the Xilin Temple Wall

Looking from east to west, many peaks on many mountain ranges
Some near, some far, all heights are not the same.                                                    Don not really know the real, definitive features of the Lu Mountains
Being in the middle of the mountains, one can only get one set of viewpoints.

 

Notes:

Xilin Temple: Buddhist temple located at the northern foot of Mt. Lushan in Jiangxi Province. Built during the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

Lu Mountains:  Mt. Lu is one of the Sacred Mountains of China. Located in northern Jiangxi Province.