When Emperor Taizong (reigned 626-649) of the Tang dynasty was still Prince Qin, he established the Institute of Literary Studies, recruiting erudite Confucian scholars to serve as academicians. After ascending the throne, Taizong ordered the imperial artist Yan Liben (circa 601-674) to depict the eighteen scholars that he had gathered and to illustrate his virtue in respecting men of learning. Later artists often took delight in citing from this record to create their own interpretations of this subject. This exhibition, scheduled to run until December 25, 2012 at National Palace Museum in Taipei (http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/visiting/exhibit/exhibit_02.htm?docno=863), contains a set of four paintings. Reflecting a painting format that evolved from this theme, the set of hanging scrolls shows scholars engaged in the pursuit of elegant activities associated with the zither, go, calligraphy, and painting, thus combining it with the artistic cultivation and lofty aspiration associated with the "Four Arts of the Scholar."