四大

the four elements: earth, water, fire, and wind (Buddhism) / the four freedoms: speaking out freely, airing views fully, holding great debates, and writing big-character posters, 大鳴大放|大鸣大放[da4 ming2 da4 fang4], 大辯論|大辩论[da4 bian4 lun4], 大字報|大字报[da4 zi4 bao4] (PRC)

four / 4

see 大夫[dai4 fu5]

big; large; great / older (than another person) / eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]) / greatly; freely; fully / (dialect) father / (dialect) uncle (father's brother)

Four Great Yuan Dramatists, namely: Guan Hanqing 關漢卿|关汉卿[Guan1 Han4 qing1], Zheng Guangzu 鄭光祖|郑光祖[Zheng4 Guang1 zu3], Ma Zhiyuan 馬致遠|马致远[Ma3 Zhi4 yuan3] and Bai Pu 白樸|白朴[Bai2 Pu3]

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]

Four Great Painters of the Six Dynasties, namely: Cao Buxing 曹不興|曹不兴[Cao2 Bu4 xing1], Gu Kaizhi 顧愷之|顾恺之[Gu4 Kai3 zhi1], Lu Tanwei 陸探微|陆探微[Lu4 Tan4 wei1] and Zhang Sengyou 張僧繇|张僧繇[Zhang1 Seng1 you2]

Four great compilations of Northern Song dynasty, namely: Extensive records of the Taiping era (978) 太平廣記|太平广记, Imperial readings of the Taiping era 太平御覽|太平御览, Prime tortoise of the record bureau 冊府元龜|册府元龟, Finest blossoms in the garden of literature 文苑英華|文苑英华

Four Great Calligraphers of early Tang / refers to Yu Shinan 虞世南[Yu2 Shi4 nan2], Ouyang Xun 歐陽詢|欧阳询[Ou1 yang2 Xun2], Chu Suiliang 褚遂良[Chu3 Sui4 liang2] and Xue Ji 薛稷[Xue1 Ji4]

Four Sacred Mountains of Buddhism, namely: Mt Wutai 五臺山|五台山 in Shanxi, Mt Emei 峨眉山 in Sichuan, Mt Jiuhua 九華山|九华山 in Anhui, Mt Potala 普陀山 in Zhejiang

the Four Classic Novels of Chinese literature, namely: A Dream of Red Mansions 紅樓夢|红楼梦[Hong2 lou2 Meng4], Romance of Three Kingdoms 三國演義|三国演义[San1 guo2 Yan3 yi4], Water Margin 水滸傳|水浒传[Shui3 hu3 Zhuan4], Journey to the West 西遊記|西游记[Xi1 you2 Ji4]

the four heavenly kings (Sanskrit vajra) / the four guardians or warrior attendants of Buddha

the four great Chinese inventions: paper, printing, magnetic compass and gunpowder

lit. the four elements are vanity (idiom) / this world is an illusion