The Southern Poetry Society, established by Lien Ya-tang (author of The General History of Taiwan) and his friends in Tainan, and the Ocean Poetry Society, founded shortly afterwards in Taipei, were the day's leading literary societies, and membership in them was highly valued.
此外，由《台灣通史》的作者連雅堂與朋友在台南創立的「南社」，以及隨後興起的台北「瀛社」，都是當時領導風騷的大社，許多菁英都希望參加。