📖 Meaning
To climb mountains and cross over ridges. It describes the hardship and toil of undertaking a long and arduous journey over rugged terrain, emphasizing both physical effort and endurance.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom first appears in Chapter 100 of Wu Cheng'en's classic Ming-dynasty novel 'Journey to the West' (《西游记》). The line praises the white dragon horse for its service, noting how it 'climbed mountains and crossed ridges, trekked through rugged paths,' carrying the monk on the outward journey and the scriptures on the return. The phrase originally highlighted the horse's indispensable contribution to the perilous pilgrimage, later becoming a general expression for demanding overland travel.
💡 Example Usage
他们登山越岭，走了三天三夜才赶到镇上。
They climbed mountains and crossed ridges, walking for three days and three nights before finally reaching the town.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 登山越岭
- Pinyin: dēng shān yuè lǐng
- Literal Translation: climb, mountain, cross, ridge
- Category: Distance
- Characters: 4