"Qin, chess, books, paintings, poems, wine, flowers and tea" are actually the eight elegant things of the ancients. A good piano player is considerate, a good chess player is good at planning wisdom, a good book player is full of emotion, a good painter is beautiful, a good poem player is affectionate, a good wine player is intimate, a good flower player is happy, and a good tea player cultivates sentiment.
Extended data:
In ancient times, playing the piano (mostly refers to playing the guqin), playing chess (mostly refers to China Chess and Go), calligraphy and painting were the skills that literati (including some aristocratic families) had to master for self-cultivation, so they were collectively referred to as piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, that is, "four friends of literati". Nowadays, it often expresses personal cultural accomplishment.
On the long couplet of piano, chess, calligraphy and painting:
The first part: singing Taibai poems, nourishing integrity, reciting Jia Xuan's ci, reporting the national conditions, Han Qing's poems, showing compassion for people's livelihood, and studying Dongpo's century-old articles with childlike innocence, attracting people's love and educating intellectuals.
Bottom line: Fu Qin Mugong swims with Yao Di to compete for the world's potential law; The spiritual journey of the right army book; Fan Kuan's paintings have become eternal classics in the elegant world; The Scholars (by Nie Hui) is full of people who cultivate and nourish the Confucian nature.
References:
Baidu Encyclopedia-Chyi Chin Painting and Calligraphy