諺語 · a single proverb
登高望遠
Simplified: 登高望远
What does 登高望遠 (dēng gāo wàng yuǎn) mean?
登高望遠 (dēng gāo wàng yuǎn) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "ascend high, gaze far." In use it means: Climb to a high place to see far; gain a broader perspective by rising above. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Fire note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Monkey.
Literally: "ascend high, gaze far."
The reading
The summit does not come to the seeker; the seeker must make the ascent. And the view from the top is not simply a larger version of the view from below but a different kind of seeing entirely, one that corrects many things that seemed certain from the ground. Height is the beginning of wisdom about distance.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Wang Can 王粲·《登樓賦》 (Dēng Lóu Fù, Rhapsody on Climbing the Tower, Han Dynasty)
Sits beside
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Wisdom & Learning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Monkey, Year of the Frog, and Year of the Rat.
Questions
Is 登高望遠 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 登高望遠 (dēng gāo wàng yuǎn) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from Wang Can 王粲·《登樓賦》 (Dēng Lóu Fù, Rhapsody on Climbing the Tower, Han Dynasty). It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 登高望遠?
In Mandarin it is dēng gāo wàng yuǎn. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 登高望遠 aloud in Mandarin.