Teaching good and doing good: Late-Qing Sichuan folk preaching and its effects

Since the mid-Qing era, public preaching in Sichuan has gradually become more about works of doing good than imperial edicts, which greatly influenced everyday ethics and beliefs in Sichuan grassroots society. In a way, this reflects how ideas affect society. Folk preaching in Sichuan, as a way of doing good itself, has been a common practice to advocate good deeds. Late-Qing folk preaching in Sichuan was closely linked to, and had promoted, the rise of local charities and better social aid services that ensued.