All four were renowned for their activity in the politics of their era as well as being the persona of their state respectively at the time; they also wielded influence via the cultivation and housing of many talented house-guests, who often included learned men and tacticians. As such, they came to be the most prominent patrons of the "shi" () or scholar-knights, stimulating the intellectual life of the time. Their prestige became the inspiration for Lü Buwei when he created his academic analogue in Qin.