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Li Hongzhi (Chinese: 李洪志; pinyin: Lǐ Hóngzhì; born May 13, 1951 in Gongzhuling, Jilin) is the founder of Falun Gong (or Falun Dafa), a religion that he calls a system of "mind-body cultivation" related to the qigong tradition.

Li Hongzhi introduced Falun Dafa on May 13, 1992, at the fifth middle school in Changchun, Jilin. From 1992 to 1994 he traveled throughout China giving lectures and teaching Falun Gong exercises. In 1996, he immigrated to the United States of America. In 1999 the Chinese government estimated the number of Falun Gong practitioners to be approximately 70 million. Today, Li Hongzhi lives in the United States.

Biography

Life in China

According to the biography of Li Hongzhi that appeared as an appendix to the Falun Dafa text Zhuan Falun, 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 stated that he was trained by Quan Jue, the 10th Heir to the Great Law of the Buddha School, at four years of age. Li was then trained by a Taoist master at age eight, by which time, his biography claims, he had acquired "supernatural powers". According to this story, Master Quan 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 had come from the Changbai Mountains.

Li Hongzhi founded Falun Gong, and introduced Falun Dafa on May 13, 1992 at the fifth middle school in Changchun, Jilin. From 1992 to 1994 he traveled throughout China, giving lectures and teaching Falun Gong exercises. University of Montreal scholar David Ownby notes that for the first few years of spreading Falun Gong, Li Hongzhi was granted several awards by Chinese governmental organizations to encourage him to continue promoting the practice of Falun Gong. He also notes that Li had become an "instant star of the qigong movement," with his practice method celebrated at the Beijing Oriental Health Expos of both 1992 and 1993. Falun Gong was also welcomed into the Scientific Qigong Research Association, which sponsored and helped organise many of Li's lectures between 1992 and 1994, including the 54 large-scale lectures given throughout China in most major cities to a total audience of 20,000. On May 6, 1994, Li Hongzhi was declared a “Grandmaster of Qigong” by the Jilin Province Qigong Science Research Association

Works authored by Li Hongzhi during this period of time include Falun Gong and Zhuan Falun. Falun Gong is an introductory book that discusses qigong, introduces the principles of Falun Gong and provides illustrations and explanations of the exercises. Zhuan Falun, first published in 1994, is the central text of Falun Dafa practice and is considered a comprehensive exposition of the teachings of Falun Dafa. In 1996, Zhuan Falun was listed among the best selling books in China by the Beijing Daily. The World Book encyclopedia describes Zhuan Falun as examining "evolution, the meaning of space and time, and the mysteries of the universe."

Falun Gong is now practiced in over 80 countries and Li Hongzhi's writings have been translated into over 40 languages.

Life outside China

On March, 1995, Li Hongzhi first taught Falun Gong abroad starting with a seven day lecture given in Paris, initiated at the invitation of China’s ambassador to France. This was followed, shortly, by a second series in May in Sweden.Li Hongzhi delivered his first lecture in the United States on October 5, 1996. Li has lived in the United States since 1998.

Awards and recognition

In China Li Hongzhi had been granted many awards by state run Qi Gong organizations, including the awards for “Advancing Frontier Science” and “Most Acclaimed Qigong Master” award granted at the 1993 Oriental Health Expo and recognition as a “Grandmaster of Qigong” by the Jilin Province Qigong Science Research Association..

In the United States, Li Hongzhi has received several awards and certificates of recognition from several governmental bodies - including Honorary Citizenship awarded by The State of Georgia and City of Atlanta . Several resolutions honoring Li Hongzhi has been issued by governmental bodies in the United States Many Cities in The United States including Chicago, Toronto, and Houston, Texas, have honored Li Hongzhi by proclaiming “Master Li Hongzhi Days” in recognition of the positive contributions Falun Dafa has brought to their communities.

In 2001, Li Hongzhi was nominated by 28 members of the European Parliament for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. According to a CNN report Mr Li was a front-runner for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001.Schechter notes that Li Hongzhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for the "second year in a row" in February, 2001. In March 14, 2001, The Freedom House honored Li Hongzhi and Falun Gong with an International Religious Freedom Award for the advancement of religious and spiritual freedom at a ceremony in US Senate. In the same year, Li was ranked the most powerful communicator in Asia by Asiaweek magazine, ahead of Keiji Tachikawa, Ang Lee, and Jiang Zemin. Asiaweek editor Dorinda Elliott said in a statement: "t is for his power to inspire, to mobilize people and to spook Beijing that we select Li as Asia's most influential communicator." The Telegraph reported that in 2007 that Li was ranked joint 12th in a list of the world's top 100 living geniuses compiled by a panel of six unnamed experts in creativity and innovation assembled by a global consultants firm. The Telegraph reported that "Each genius was... awarded scores out of ten against criteria which included: paradigm shifting; popular acclaim; intellectual power; achievement and cultural importance." The descriptions of the individuals in the panel's report were largely based on Misplaced Pages.

Personal controversies

Birth date

Li Hongzhi states that he was born on May 13, 1951. The Chinese government, after onset of the persecution of Falun Gong, claimed that he "changed his date of birth , in order to coincide with the birthday of Sakyamuni". Li Hongzhi states that he merely corrected his birth date, which was mistakenly recorded as July 7, 1952, due to a bureaucratic error made during the Cultural Revolution. Addressing the issue, in an interview with Time, Li Hongzhi stated: "During the Cultural Revolution, the government misprinted my birthdate. I just corrected it. During the Cultural Revolution, there were lots of misprints on identity. A man could become a woman, and a woman could become a man. It's natural that when people want to smear you, they will dig out whatever they can to destroy you. What's the big deal about having the same birthday as Sakyamuni? Many criminals were also born on that date. I have never said that I am Sakyamuni. I am just a very ordinary man."

Financial position

In May 1999 Li rebuked claims by some critics that he was angling for money. He said: "Why would I put forth so much effort just to make money? All I would need would be to tell all of you to give me ten dollars, then I would be a billionaire. What a fast and easy way that would be! You all would be happy to give it to me and I could receive it openly. Why would I resort to putting forth so much effort? I think that sometimes people have impure intentions. They take things in a very narrow-minded and stupid way."

In an interview in Sydney on May 2, 1999, mentioning his financial status, Li said : "In mainland China I published so many books, but added together, they haven't exceeded twenty thousand Renminbi (equivalent to US $ 2,469). This is what the publishing company gave me. When publishing books in other countries of the world, you know there is a rule, which pays 5 or 6% royalties to the author, so each time I can only get a little bit, a few hundred, or a few thousand dollars."

Ian Johnson points out that during the greatest period of Falun Gong book sales in China, Li Hongzhi never received any royalties because all publications were bootleg. Danny Schechter states that, as Falun Gong's popularity grew, "Li Hongzhi made it clear that his mission was to bring the practice to everybody because it is beneficial, and that he was not in it for the money. After this investigation, I found the group to be very anti-materialist in its orientation--spiritualist not materialist."

References

1. Faison, Seth (April 27, 1999) "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protesters" New York Times, retrieved June 10, 2006
2. ^ Brief biography of Li Hongzhi: founder of Falun Gong and president of the Falun Gong Research Society, Chinese Law and Government v.32 #6 (Nov./Dec. 1999) p. 14-23 ISSN: 0009-4609
3. David Ownby, "The Falun Gong in the New World," European Journal of East Asian Studies, Sep2003, Vol. 2 Issue 2, p 306
4. ^ Falun Gong Timeline, Falun Dafa Information Center Cite error: The named reference "FDI" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
5. "Falun Gong". www.falundafa.org. 2006-07-01. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
6. A Chronicle of Major Events of Falun Dafa
7. Falun Gong, The World Book Encyclopaedia, 2002
8. Falun Dafa Website
9. First Fa Teaching Given in the United States, Li Hongzhi, October 5, 1996.
10. Images of Awards Granted to Li Hongzhi at the 1993 Oriental Expo in Beijing
11. Clearwisdom.net, Secretary of State of the State of Georgia Proclaims Mr. Li Hongzhi as an Honorary Georgia Citizen and Goodwill Ambassador
12. Clearwisdom.net, City of Atlanta Proclaims Mr. Li Hongzhi an Honorary Citizen
13. Clearwisdom.net, Awards and Recognitions
14. Li Hongzhi, Encyclopaedia Britannica
15. ^ Cite error: The named reference EU was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
16. ^ Cite error: The named reference schechter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
17. Asian Political News, Asiaweek names Falun Gong founder top communicator, May 28, 2001, accessed 22/5/08
18. Telegraph.co.uk, Top 100 living geniuses, accessed 19/3/08
19. Synectics Survey of Contemporary Genius 2007 "All description of the above individuals are taken from public sources and are based, primarily, on entries available on Misplaced Pages (www.wikipedia.com)"
20. ^ "I am just a very ordinary man". Time Magazine. August 2, 1999.
21. Li Hongzhi, Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Canada, 1999, accessed 19/3/08
22. Li Hongzhi, Lecture in Sydney, 1999, , accessed 21 July 2007
23. Johnson, Ian. Wild Grass: three stories of change in modern China. Pantheon books. 2004. pp 23-229
24. Falun Gong's Challenge to China, An Interview with Danny Schechter

External links

Li Hongzhi's teachings

• Videos of Li Hongzhi's nine day lecture in Guangzhou, China (With English overlay) at falundafa.org
• "Some Thoughts of Mine", June 1999 at falundafa.org
• Book: Practitioners recollection about their Teacher at clearwisdom.net
• The actual teachings of Li Hongzhi at falundafa.org

Interviews

• William Dowell (May 10, 1999). "Interview with Li Hongzhi". TIMEasia.com.
• "Interview with Li Hongzhi in Sydney, Australia". May 2, 1999.
• Anthony Spaeth (August 2, 1999). "Interview: Li Hongzhi "I am just a very ordinary man"". TIMEasia.com.
• Jonathan S. Landreth and J.S. Greenberg (August 8, 1999). "Eye of the Storm". New York Times Magazine.
• "NTDTV Press Release: Summary of the Exclusive Interview with Mr. Li Hongzhi, Founder of Falun Gong". clearharmony.net. January 25, 2004.

• 1951 births
• Living people
• Chinese dissidents
• Falun Gong
• Founders of religions
• People from Jilin
• Religious leaders