1  山 shān/MOUNTAIN

Vocabulary

Dialogue

Idiom

開門見山 kāimén-jiànshān

Come straight to the point

ORIGIN

First appearing over 3,000 years ago in oracle bone inscriptions, the earliest form of Chinese characters, the character 山 was a pictogram resembling three aligned mountains. It was later simplified into three vertical lines, and evolved into its current form. The vast land of China is abundant with hills and mountains. Mount Putuo in Zhejiang province is highly recommended for its picturesque scenery, and for being one of the Four Sacred Mountains of Chinese Buddhism.