"Societies for Cherishing Written Characters" were popularorganizalions of the Ch'ing period(1644-1911). "To cherish writtencharacters" (hsi-izu) means that abandoned paper with written charactersshould not be left in filth; it should be carefully collected, cleansed, andburnt in a furnace specifically built for the purpose; the ashes shouldthen be carefully drained into the river or the sea. This religious act wasclosely related to the worship of the Wen-ch'ang god, god of the scholars,denounced as "heretic" by the Ming in 1488. It was believed thatsomeone who cherished written characters would accumulate merit andhave better chances in passing civil examinations. Hsi-tzu seemed to bean private, religious act of scholars during the Ming, and developed intoan popular organizational act in the early Ch'ing. From the Ch'ien-lungpcriod(1736-1795),these societies developed in great numbers, especially inthe Kiangsu-Chckiang regions, and often included other charitable acts,attracting scholars and nonscholars alike. The Wen-ch'ang god was soon to be re-stated as a national god in 1801. The development ofhsi-tzu hui revealed the complex evolution of popular and elite cultures in the Qing, and the "popularization" of the lesser scholars' mentalif6s during the middle and late Ch'ing periods.