諺語 · a single proverb
一山放過一山攔
What does 一山放過一山攔 (yī shān fàng guò yī shān lán) mean?
一山放過一山攔 (yī shān fàng guò yī shān lán) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "one mountain let past, one mountain blocks." In use it means: Obstacles follow one another on the road of life; overcome one difficulty, and another appears. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Earth note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Ox.
Literally: "one mountain let past, one mountain blocks."
The reading
The traveler who passes one mountain discovers the next mountain, and the discovery is no longer a surprise but a familiar feature of all roads that go somewhere worth going. Each mountain passed is confirmation that mountains can be passed. The road that would be easy if there were only one obstacle is a different kind of road entirely.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Yang Wanli 楊萬里·《過松源晨炊漆公店》 (Song Dynasty poem)
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 Perseverance & the Long Road, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Ox, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Tiger.
Questions
Is 一山放過一山攔 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 一山放過一山攔 (yī shān fàng guò yī shān lán) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from Yang Wanli 楊萬里·《過松源晨炊漆公店》 (Song Dynasty poem). 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 一山放過一山攔?
In Mandarin it is yī shān fàng guò yī shān lán. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 一山放過一山攔 aloud in Mandarin.