Li Hongzhi

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A 1997 Interview of Mr. Li Hongzhi (Mr. Li is on the right, with interviewer on the left).

Li Hongzhi (Chinese: 李洪志; pinyin: Lǐ Hóngzhì) is the founder of Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa), which is a system of "mind-body cultivation", related to the Qi Gong tradition.

Li Hongzhi introduced Falun Dafa on May 13, 1992 at the fifth Middle school in Changchun City, China. From 1992 to 1994 he travelled throughout China, giving lectures and teaching the Falun Gong exercises. In a few years, Falun Gong grew in popularity to become one of the most popular forms of Qi Gong in Chinese History.

The New York Times, citing the Chinese government, estimated the number of Falun Gong practitioners to be 70 million in 1999. The actual number of Falun Gong practitioners is unknown. Since July of 1999, the Chinese government has conducted a widespread persecution of the Falun Gong movement.

The date of his birth is disputed. According to the Falun Gong “Li was born into an ordinary intellectual's family in the city of Gongzhuling, Jilin Province, China, on May 13 (the eighth day of the fourth month by China lunar calendar), 1951.” [1]. The Chinese government has recently countered this assertion by claiming that he was actually born on July 7, 1952 and that he “changed his date of birth to make it coincide with the birthday of Sakyamuni".

Biography

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Li Hongzhi lecturing on Falun Dafa in United Nations General Assembly Hall, Geneva

The Falun Gong web site Clearwisdom.net, introduces the Li Hongzhi as: "Mr. Li Hongzhi introduced the practice of Falun Gong to the general public in China in 1992. He then taught the practice publicly for two years in China, after which the practice continued to grow primarily by word-of-mouth. In keeping with Chinese tradition, Mr. Li is often respectfully referred to as 'Master' or 'Teacher.' He is not accorded special treatment, nor does he accept money or donations from students of Falun Gong. He has worked to ensure that the practice is available to all people, and without any terms or conditions. He has been awarded over 400 honors and is a two-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee."[2]

A biography of Li Hongzhi appeared as an appendix to the Falun Dafa text Zhuan Falun. According to the biography, Li Hongzhi had been taught ways of "cultivation practice" (xiulian) by several Masters of the Dao and the Buddhist schools of thought from a very young age. This biography says that he was trained by Quan Jue, the 10th Heir to the Great Law of the Buddha School, at age four. He was then trained by a Taoist master at age eight. This master left him at age twelve, and he was then trained by a master of the Great Way School with the Taoist alias of True Taoist, who came from the Changbai Mountains.

According to a Time magazine article, "He worked as a grain clerk in northeast China's Liaoning province. He played trumpet in a troupe run by the forestry police in neighboring Jilin. And then he wrote a very odd book that affected millions."

Awards and Recognition

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Certificate of Congressional Recognition.

At the Asian Health Expo in 1992 and 1993 in Beijing, Falun Gong was successively nominated as the "Star Qigong". According to Falun, Li Hongzhi received "The Award for Advancing Boundary Science" and "Qigong Master most Acclaimed by the Masses" at the Oriental Health Expo, Beijing in 1993.

In September 1999, Li was awarded honorary citizenship of the city of Atlanta, Georgia by its mayor. Li Hongzhi, in recognition of his work, has received many honours from state as well as congressional bodies in the United States.[3]

Li Hongzhi was nominated for the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. Mr. Li was also nominated for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2001 by 28 members of the European Parliament, but failed to make the "short list".

Relations with Chinese authorities

On July 29, 1999, after the onset of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, the Chinese government issued a nationwide arrest warrant for Li Hongzhi. A request for an arrest warrant was also sent by China to Interpol, and his passport was revoked, preventing him from traveling internationally. Interpol apparently rejected the warrant, on the grounds that it would violate Article Three of the organization's constitution, which forbids Interpol from intervening in "matters of a political, religious, military or racial character".

In China, Li's name remains "blacklisted" by the Great Firewall of China, and some Falun Gong practitioners are held in prisons or Laogai (forced labor camps). Under pressure some of them have denounced him as part of their "re-education" process.

Disputes

Birthdate

In 1999, after the persecution against Falun Gong was launched, the Chinese authorities alleged Li fraudulently changed his birth date: Li claims that he was born on May 13, 1951, however, Chinese authorities allege that his actual birthdate was July 7, 1952, and that he changed it so as to be the same as Buddhism's founder Sakyamuni.

In an interview with Time magazine, Li asserts that he merely corrected his birth data which was confused during the Cultural Revolution, and has not drawn particular significance to it, claiming to be "just a very ordinary man".

Wall Street Journal Article

According to a Wall Street Journal report "American Dream Finds Chinese Spiritual Leader," on November 1, 1999, Li obtained a house in New York worth $293,500 in 1998 shortly after immigrating to the US, and then another worth $580,000 in New Jersey in 1999. These purchases were considered surprising in the context of Li's reportedly low income up to that point in time. In a response to the article, John Sun, a wealthy New York Falun Gong practitioner, said in a letter to the editor that he bought the New Jersey house in Mr. Li’s wife’s name in an attempt to offer it as a gift, but that Mr. and Mrs. Li had firmly refused to accept it. He indicated that the house had been taken out of Mr. Li's wife's name as a result of their refusal, and that this had occurred substantially prior to the Journal's investigation for the article, but that there had been some delay by the local township in updating the associated records.

American studies

Some members of the American anti-cult movement, including Rick Ross, Margaret Singer and Steven Hassan, have claimed that Li Hongzhi meets their definition of a "manipulative cult leader." [4] [5] [6] However, such views have been contested by many anthropologists, sociologists and other researchers. See: Third party views on Falun Gong.

External links

• Videos of Li Hongzhi's Nine day lecture in Guangzhou, China. (English overlay)
• Book: Practitioners recollection about their Teacher (Li Hongzhi) while He was introducing Falun Gong (free to download)
• 1999 statement by Li Hongzhi
• Interviews with Li Hongzhi, New York Times Magazine, August 8, 1999
• Extensive May 1999 interview with Li Hongzhi several news agencies, in Sydney Australia
• May 1999 interview with Li Hongzhi by Time Magazine Asia
• Who is Li Hongzhi? BBC Interview (RealPlayer video)
• Li Hongzhi interviewed by Time Magazine Asia in August 1999
• The actual teachings of Li Hongzhi, online
• Summary of a 2004 interview with Li Hongzhi with NTDTV, the first since 1999, hosted on a Falun Dafa website
• "Some Thoughts of Mine" by Li Hongzhi, June 1999
• 2001 San Jose Mercury News critical article held at Rick Ross, a "cult watchdog" group

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