전근대 시대에서는 漢詩의 제작 능력이 사대부 및 중간 계층의 교양으로서 매우 중시되었다. 특히 과거를 통하여 입신할 것이 기대되었던 사대부의 경우에는 진사시에서 부과되는 시나 科詩의 과목에 응하기 위해 어려서부터 한시의 제작 방법을 익혀야 하였다. 그 방법은 대개 기왕의 명가들의 시 가운데서 2구 1聯으로 이루어진 聯句를 익히는 것으로 시작하였다. 이때 윗사람이 명구를 가려 뽑아 둔 抄集을 이용하면서 스스로도 공책에 연구를 만들어보고는 하였다. 또한 두 구가 서로 對가 되게 만드는 기본적인 형식을 익히게 되었을 때, 연장자가 안짝을 불러주면 즉시로 바깥 구를 대답해내는 應口輒對의 방법을 익혔다. 이렇게 시 학습 과정에서 안짝과 바깥짝의 對仗 형식인 聯句 작성을 가장 기초적인 작시 능력이라고 보았기 때문에, 시에 대한 논평도 실은 전체 시의 시상, 주제, 골격 따위를 중시하기보다도 특정한 聯의 잘되고 못됨을 중시하였다.

In premodern periods, how well a person could write Classical Chinese poetry was valued as one of the most important arts for both the noble class and the middle class. Especially people from the noble class were expected to stand in the world by passing Kwago(科擧), the examination for recruiting government, and therefore should learn how to write poetry from an early age to prepare for the subject of poetry assigned in the examinations of various stages. Learning the art of writing poetry began with practising and memorizing couplets which consisted of two lines and one verse(2句 1聯), selected from works by famous writers. Using excerpts from the well-written lines by famous scholars as textbooks, they practised writing their own verses and lines. Once mastering the basic style of contrasting two lines, they moved on to the method of rhyming couplets, which they composed a line in immediate response to a line that a senior person presented. They were sometimes called to the meetings where the senior scholars evaluated the poetic capabilities of those younger writers by asking them to compose verses and lines as a response to the subjects or characters given at the place. Creating rhyming couplets in the style of matching the first line with the second line was considered the basic art of writing poetry through the period of learning so that reviews of poetry indeed emphasized the correctness of particular verses rather than the overall poetic ideas, theme and structure. In reviewing others' poetry, the tendency to comment on the third and fourth lines(?聯), the fifth and sixth lines(頸聯) or the first line rather than the whole piece of a poem seems related to the way of appreciating poetry which valued excellence of couplets rather than their entire frame.