A strong feature of the Hakka is their dedication to education. Their traditional view of an ideal life was ‘to farm when it is sunny and to study when it rains’ and to create and pass down a ‘legacy of poems and written works’. The Hakka treasures written language, respects knowledgeable scholars and reveres civilization, passing down this tradition and attitude from generation to generation 

The Hakka’s reverence for civilization is encapsulated in their habit of ‘respecting and treasuring written words and papers’. In their eyes, word creation was not easy and characters were deity personified. Therefore, papers with written words should not be discarded lightly. They must be gathered and burned at dedicated ‘Holy Event Pavilions’ or ‘Treasured Word Pavilions’. On the first and fifteenth of every lunar month, some old folks would go around collecting written papers in the village, a ritual that lasted until the mid-20th century when printing techniques became more advanced and written papers were commonplace.  Even so, an old man in Wanluan of Pingtung persisted in carrying on this gentle and ancient tradition until the end of the 20th century. As a result of their respect and reverence of the written word, Cangjie, the creator of written characters, is held in especially high esteem in their folk religion.      

As a reflection of their emphasis on education, they also worshipped Wenchang Dijun (Lord Wenchang) and Han Yu (韓愈), two important figures in Chinese literature. In almost every Hakka village and township in Taiwan, there is a Wenchang Temple. If there is no dedicated Wenchang Temple, he is enshrined within a larger temple of other gods. This god, who is in charge of civilization, is not only worshipped by the educated but also farmers and hawkers, even laymen. On the 3rd day of February on the lunar calendar, all households would prepare sumptuous offerings and worship in the temple to celebrate the birth date of Lord Wenchang. Han Yu, who revitalized literacy when it had become decadent for over eight dynasties, is also a god of civilization worshipped by the Hakka. When he was exiled to Linnan to serve as an official, he made important contributions to initiating and raising literacy among the Hakka people. Han Yu is worshipped in the dedicated Changli Shrine (昌黎祠) in Neipu of Pingtung County, as well as the Sanshan Guowang Temple of Tainan City as one of its gods. Worshippers honor him and prepare offerings to him on September 9 of the lunar calendar.

Historically, the Hakka are a migratory ethnic group. They understood from living in adverse environments for a very long time that the best avenue to improve their current situation was to become successful through studying. They perceived culture and knowledge as major means of competitiveness and survival, and these values have long been the driving force for their literary profusion and renowned personnel cultivation. There are many Hakka idioms that conveys this outlook, such as ‘If a son does not study, it is better to raise a pig’ and ‘One does not know how to make judgment if one does not study’. Perhaps the best example is that, more than 60 years after the war, the Hakka have significantly bettered their societal and economic status through higher education.