# The Four Accomplishments

- By: Kano Shōei (Japanese, 1519–1592)
- Date: late 1500s–early 1600s
- Medium: One of a pair of six-panel folding screens; ink and slight color on paper
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: Painting: 153 x 358.6 cm (60 1/4 x 141 3/16 in.); Mounted: 174 x 378.5 cm (68 1/2 x 149 in.)
- Culture: Japan, Momoyama period (1573–1615)
- Credit line: John L. Severance Fund
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1979.46.1)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/cma/1979.46.1/1979.46.1_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

This is one of a pair of screens that shows a group of elite Chinese gentlemen and their servants in the countryside. One man looks on as two of his companions play a board game. Nearby is a table set with a selection of books and a qin, a type of stringed instrument, still wrapped in its cloth case, waiting to be played. The mood is one of enjoyment balanced with formality. Historically, playing the qin or qi (a game similar to chess called go in Japan), and practicing or admiring calligraphy were considered three skills essential for cultured men in China.