开山 (kāi shān) — to cut into a mountain (for quarrying, mining, or road-building); to pioneer, to be the founder (of a school, tradition, or enterprise)

Definition

Literally 'cut into a mountain' — used for quarrying, mining, or road-building. By extension, the founder or pioneer of a school, tradition, or enterprise.

verb
to cut into a mountain (for quarrying, mining, or road-building)to pioneerto be the founder (of a school, tradition, or enterprise)

Examples

  • 开山。
    Zhè ge gōng chéng xū yào kāi shān xiū lù.
    This project requires cutting into the mountain to build a road.
  • 开山。
    Tā shì zhè ge xué pài de kāi shān zǔ shī.
    He is the founding master of this school of thought.
  • ，。
    Tā men zài zhè lǐ kāi le shān, jiàn le yí zuò miào.
    They cut into the mountain here and built a temple.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

开kāiopen
山shānmountain

开 means to open or cut, and 山 is mountain, so the sense is cutting into a mountain.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 開; 开 is its simplified writing.

  • 門門méndoor
  • 一一yīlatch and/or wooden pole that shuts a door
  • 廾廾gǒnga pair of hands

The traditional form 開 shows 廾, a pair of hands, and 一, a latch or pole, inside 門, a door: hands opening a latched door. The simplified 开 is a shorthand form, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 开 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

山 shows three mountain peaks side by side.

Open 山 →

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