弦而鼓之

1. • to put strings on the zither, then play it (line from a Ming dynasty text by 刘伯温 liúbówēn)
2. • to play music

     fig.

Character by character

• 弦(xián)bow string
• 而(ér)and
• 鼓(gǔ)drum
• 之(zhī)(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的 de)