开门见山

Pronunciation: kāi mén jiàn shān Literal meaning: Open door see mountain

Origin & Usage

This straightforward idiom reflects the architectural wisdom of traditional Chinese design, where opening (开) a door (门) to see (见) mountains (山) represented ideal feng shui. During the Song Dynasty, it evolved from literal description to literary technique, advocating direct communication without preamble. The phrase gained prominence in Ming Dynasty literary criticism, where it praised writers who could immediately engage readers with their main point. Modern usage celebrates directness in communication, particularly in business and professional contexts, though it retains subtle appreciation for the elegance of immediate clarity rather than bluntness.

Examples

English: "The consultant directly addressed the core problems in her report"

Chinese: 顾问在报告中直接指出了核心问题