鈥楤lindness to mountains鈥 obscures the bigger picture
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Taishan, or Mount Tai, is one of the most sacred mountains in China. Nearly every Chinese knows of it, and many have visited it.
The Chinese saying youyan bushi taishan, or 鈥渢hough you have eyes, you don鈥檛 recognize Mount Tai,鈥 is often used to describe one who is ignorant.
According to folk stories, however, the reference to Taishan here doesn鈥檛 mean the sacred mountain, but rather to the name of an ancient bamboo craftsman from the south.
Once, the craftsman traveled north to learn some skills from Lu Ban, a legendary carpenter in Chinese history. But after a time, he failed to make noticeable progress under Lu鈥檚 tutorship, so the carpenter asked the craftsman to leave.
A few years later, when Lu made a trip to the south, he was amazed to see some exquisite bamboo products in local markets.
Lu asked locals who was the master craftsman of these products, and they told him that it was none other than Taishan, who once went to the north to learn from him.
Upon hearing this, Lu deeply regretted his failure 鈥渢o recognize Taishan鈥檚 great talent though I have eyes.鈥
Whether the Taishan proverb refers to the mountain or the craftsman, it is now widely quoted to depict anyone who is too ignorant to recognize a person鈥檚 importance or talent.
Another Chinese proverb inspired from mountains comes from a poem by Su Shi, a great poet of the Northern Song Dynasty (AD 960-1127).
The two lines, bushi Lushan zhenmianmu, zhiyuan shenzai cishanzhong, literally mean 鈥渙ne can鈥檛 see the true image of Lushan because he鈥檚 in the mountain himself.鈥 Lushan, or Mount Lu, is a major scenic spot in China.
The saying roughly means the same as 鈥測ou can鈥檛 see the forest for the trees.鈥
So, the Chinese seem to agree that it鈥檚 a bad thing for one to be blind to mountains.
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