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During the Spring and Autumn period, Confucius often instructed his students, encouraging them to emulate Yan Hui by focusing on their studies rather than pursuing wealth and luxury.
Confucius once said, "If a person eats their fill all day without anything to do, and fails to engage their mind in thought, they will achieve nothing."
He then added, "Even those who play board games, though their activity may seem leisurely, still apply their minds. They are far superior to those who merely eat their fill and remain idle throughout the day."
This sentiment gave rise to the idiom "博弈犹贤" (bó yì yóu xián), meaning "even playing games is better than being idle."

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Open the tool →博弈犹贤 (bó yì yóu xián) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “it is better to engage in some activity, even a seemingly simple one like playing a board game, than to be completely idle and do nothing all day; used to admonish against idleness and encourage purposeful engagement”.
博弈犹贤 is pronounced bó yì yóu xián in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 博弈犹贤 means “Playing games is still better”. It is used to mean “it is better to engage in some activity, even a seemingly simple one like playing a board game, than to be completely idle and do nothing all day; used to admonish against idleness and encourage purposeful engagement”.
博弈犹贤 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
后指不要饱食终日无所事事。