Li Hongzhi
| Li Hongzhi Chinese: 李洪志 |
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| Born |
13 May 1951 (according to Li Hongzhi) 27 July 1952 or 7 July 1952 (according to Chinese government) Gongzhuling, Jilin, China |
| Residence | United States |
| Known for | Founder of Falun Gong |
Li Hongzhi (Chinese: 李洪志; pinyin: Lǐ Hóngzhì) is the founder and spiritual leader of Falun Gong (or Falun Dafa), a "system of mind-body cultivation" in the qigong tradition. Li Hongzhi began his public teachings of Falun Gong on 13 May 1992 in Changchun, and subsequently gave lectures and taught Falun Gong exercises across China. In 1995 Li began teaching Falun Gong abroad, and in 1998 he settled as a permanent resident in the United States. Li's Falun Gong movement gained significant popularity in the 1990s, including in government and qigong circles, but was suppressed by the Chinese government in 1999.
There are competing accounts of Li's life that surfaced before and after the suppression of Falun Gong began in July 1999, and there is very little authoritative information on his early life. Accounts between Li’s supporters and detractors diverge significantly, and as a result, can be understood within the context of the political and spiritual purposes for which different narratives were developed.
An unofficial biography appeared in the first of Li’s major publications, Zhongguo Falun Gong, and was authored by journalist Zhu Huiguang. A second, official spiritual biography appeared in early editions of Falun Gong’s primary text, Zhuan Falun, and was authored by the Falun Dafa Research Society. These biographies placed emphasis on Li’s spiritual development, with minimal details on Li’s ordinary work or family life. The style and content of these biographies is consistent with the "centuries-old tradition of religious biography in China". As Benjamin Penny writes, "as with its precursors [in Chinese history], this biography seeks to establish a genealogy of the figure whose life is recorded and to buttress the orthodoxy of his doctrine." Both biographies were omitted from later printings of Falun Gong books, as Li explained that he did not want people to focus their attention on his own history or circumstances.
These biographies state that Li was born on 13 May 1951, in the town of Gongzhuling, Jilin Province. The first account, by Zhu Huiguang, stated that Li’s family lived amidst poverty, with his mother earning a wage of only 30 yuan. In this edition, Li was described as developing a "spirit of bearing hardships and tolerating hard work" as he helped care for his younger siblings. The second, official version of his biography emphasized Li’s average social background, stating that he belonged to "ordinary intellectual’s family".
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