Four Treasures of the Study, namely 筆|笔[bi3], 墨[mo4], 紙|纸[zhi3] and 硯|砚[yan4] / the essentials of calligraphy and scholarship (idiom)
三伏
sān fú
the three annual periods of hot weather, namely 初伏[chu1 fu2], 中伏[zhong1 fu2] and 末伏[mo4 fu2], which run consecutively over a period from mid-July to late August
六书
liù shū
Six Methods of forming Chinese characters, according to Han dictionary Shuowen 說文|说文 / - namely, two primary methods: 象形 / (pictogram), 指事 / (ideogram), two compound methods: 會意|会意 / (combined ideogram), 形聲|形声 / (ideogram plus phonetic), and two transfer methods: 假借 / (loan), 轉注|转注 / (transfer)
四灵
sì líng
four divinities / four divine emperors / four mythical creatures symbolic of prosperity and longevity, namely the phoenix 鳳|凤[feng4], turtle 龜|龟[gui1], dragon 龍|龙[long2] and Chinese unicorn 麒麟[qi2 lin2] / also 四象[si4 xiang4], the four division of the sky
八冲
bā chōng
eight surges (a group of eight acupoints in Chinese acupuncture, namely PC-9, TB-1, HT-9 and LV-3, bilaterally)
八大元老
Bā Dà Yuán lǎo
"the Eight Great Eminent Officials" of the CCP, namely 鄧小平|邓小平[Deng4 Xiao3 ping2], 陳雲|陈云[Chen2 Yun2], 李先念[Li3 Xian1 nian4], 彭真[Peng2 Zhen1], 楊尚昆|杨尚昆[Yang2 Shang4 kun1], 薄一波[Bo2 Yi1 bo1], 王震[Wang2 Zhen4], and 宋任窮|宋任穷[Song4 Ren4 qiong2] / abbr. to 八老[Ba1 lao3]
四诊
sì zhěn
(TCM) the four methods of diagnosis, namely 望診|望诊[wang4 zhen3] (observation), 聞診|闻诊[wen2 zhen3] (auscultation and olfaction), 問診|问诊[wen4 zhen3] (interrogation), 切診|切诊[qie4 zhen3] (pulse feeling and palpation)
the Four Great Poets of the Early Tang, namely Wang Bo 王勃[Wang2 Bo2], Yang Jiong 楊炯|杨炯[Yang2 Jiong3], Lu Zhaolin 盧照鄰|卢照邻[Lu2 Zhao4 lin2], and Luo Binwang 駱賓王|骆宾王[Luo4 Bin1 wang2]
元诗四大家
Yuán shī sì dà jiā
the four masters of Yuan poetry, namely 虞集[Yu2 Ji2], 範梈|范梈[Fan4 Peng1], 楊載|杨载[Yang2 Zai4] and 揭傒斯[Jie1 Xi1 si1]
八大菜系
bā dà cài xì
the eight major cuisines of China, namely 川魯粵蘇浙閩湘徽|川鲁粤苏浙闽湘徽[Chuan1 Lu3 Yue4 Su1 Zhe4 Min3 Xiang1 Hui1]
jí
