吉林省是“法轮功”的发源地，是受李洪志歪理邪说毒害的重灾区。曾几何时，李洪志有这里创立邪说、自我造神、呼风唤雨，以至最终坐大成势，贻害全国，并流向海外。回顾和反思这一段历史，深入剖析“法轮功”的成因，总结历史经验教训，对于我们深刻认识当前与“法轮功”组织斗争的长期性、艰巨性、复杂性，防止“法轮功”势力沉渣泛起，防范和遏制各类新邪教的滋生蔓延，具有重要的现实意义。
“法轮功”的出笼与扩张
李洪志其人
1999年7月，中国政府依法取缔“法轮功”邪教组织后，公安部研究室随即公布了《李洪志其人其事》的调查报告。随着调查研究的深入和不断的披露，广大群众对李洪志的情况已有了较为清晰的了解。但站在研究者的角度，近年来不断有人对李洪志的身世和经历提出种种质疑。现将我们了解到的有关情况年披露如下，以供参考。
一、关于李洪志的家庭背景
李洪志 （原名李来） 1952年7月7日出生于吉林省怀德县公主岭镇（现为公主岭市）。1953年举家迁至长春市。其父李丹与其母卢淑珍均为医务工作者。李丹（1996年去世）一生坎坷，曾经历了四次婚变，李洪志母亲卢淑珍是他的第二个妻子。二人是1951年春在公主岭镇一个医疗培训班上认识的，同年秋结婚，次年生下李洪志（李洪志将生日改为1951年5月13日，并称其生日是文革期间政府给搞错了，纯属撒谎）。卢淑珍与李丹离异后，李洪志与妹妹李平、李君、弟弟李辉同母亲在一起生活，家境清贫，生活拮据。因此，李洪志对其父颇有反感。后来曾多次称他与李丹已经脱离了父子关系。生活在这个裂变的家庭中，使李洪志从小形成了比较内向、不爱说话、不太合群的性格。李洪志的妻子李瑞现年50岁，曾先后在长春朝阳浴池、长春鼎丰真食品厂、长春北方机电设备开发公司工作。后来移居美国。当年的李瑞既不信佛，也不练“法轮功”（目前情况不详）。李洪志的女儿李美歌现年25岁，在她10多岁的时候就被李洪志带到“法轮功”培训班现场，跟随其父装神弄鬼，并被李洪志诈称为“他的师傅”。后移居美国。
二、关于李洪志的文化程度问题
根据李洪志个人填写的履历，其学历有初中、高中两种。目前多以为李洪志文化程度为初中毕业，还有人对其高中学历提出质疑。事实上，李洪志的实际文化程度仅为小学毕业。经历过文革的人都知道，1966年初夏，时值“文化大革命”开始，当年的小学毕业生并没有升入中学，直到1968年10月后才陆续进入中学，并于1969年底毕业。李洪志在其个人填写的履历中写道：1966年—1969年，在长春市第四十八中学读书。但在1968年10月之前，长春四十八中是一所女子中学，李洪志对此并非不清楚，如此填写履历，实属荒唐。实际情况是，李洪志于1968年10月后进入长春第四中学读书，1969年夏转入长春第四十八中学读书，于同年底毕业。当年的中学根据毛主席“学生以学为主，兼学别样，既要学工，也要学农”的“最高指示”，主要任务是带领学生“学工”、“学农”，并没有开文化课。所谓的“以学为主”，就是学习“毛主席语录”（企码长春市是如此）。所以，李洪志的实际文化程度只是小学毕业。文革期间盛行“改名热”，以示“革命”。上中学期间，李洪志把“李来”改为现名。至于李洪志是不是因为会吹小号转入长春四十八中的呢？据某报报导，一位老教师回忆说，当年的四十八中“毛泽东思想战宣队”在长春很有名气，许多学生毕业后都被部队招去当文艺兵。由于李洪志会吹小号，所以转入该校参加战宣队。但实际情情况并不是这样。长春四十八中学文革期间确有一支战宣队，由于全都是女生，水平较差。1968年10月毕业后全部“上山下乡”。到李洪志转入该校时，这支战宣队已经名存实亡。李洪志家住长春四十八中附近，而长春四中离其家很远。所以“就近入学”的说法较为合理。那么李洪志的“高中”学历是如何得到的呢？李洪志曾参加过长春市广播函授学院办的高中函授班，于1986年3月毕业，他时年34岁。以李洪志小学毕业的文化程度，不可能在那么短的时间里修完高中课程。因为当年办的各类函授班多以盈利为目的，其中鱼龙混杂，李洪志不过是混水摸鱼，捞了一张文凭而已。在“法轮功”成势后，李洪志曾云山雾罩地说，我高中毕业不读大学的目的，就是不能在思想中形成各种概念、定理、定义、定律、人的理论及各种规范了的东西，讲法时宇宙大法绝不能掺进这些人的东西，使法被人的观念所干扰。这种怪谈在今天看来十分可笑，但当年的确蒙骗了不少人。一个小学文化程度的李洪志，靠什么考大学？何况当年国家已经对参加高考的年龄作出了限制。
三、关于李洪志何时参军的问题
在李洪志自己填写的履历中，参加工作时间为1970年，但在《转法轮》一书附录的“李洪志小传”中，参加工作时间却成了1972年。为此，有人对李洪志参军入伍的时间提出质疑。据知情人介绍，李洪志1969年底初中毕业后，没有随校组户“上山下乡”， 因其会吹小号，1970年1月，经熟人辗转介绍，以“知青”身份去了地处内蒙古的解放军总后201部队军马场，在该场宣传队吹小号。同年4月转为正式农牧工，月薪32元。他的这段经历，并不是参军入伍，仍属于“上山下乡”的范围。1972年12月，李洪志调到吉林省森林警察支队文工团担任小号手，正式参军入伍，开始了10年的军人生涯。在此期间，李洪志由同团歌唱演员接厚芳（著名歌唱家蒋大为的妻子）介绍加入了共青团。李洪志煽动“三退”。在50多岁时抛出了个人的“退团声明”即源于此。
四、李洪志何时开始学佛
1988年初，几乎在李洪志开始接触气功的同时，他来到了长春护国般若寺，开始拜师学习佛法（其师傅现已圆寂，法号不宜透露），并开始在家中烧香拜佛。李洪志在后来填写的个人履历中，宗教信仰一栏为“佛教。”据知情人介绍，李洪志在学佛的这段时间里，还读了不少扶乩，占卜之类的书籍，并常与社会上一些旁门邪道的人混在一起。之所以披露其这一段经历，是因为不断有人对李洪志是否皈依了佛教，是否曾为居士提出质疑。李洪志假借佛法，创立“法轮功”后，常以“最高的佛”自居，规定“法轮功弟子不准皈依佛教，不准烧香拜佛”，所以，他本人闭口不谈此事。而佛教界人士对此则是讳谟如深。后来，李洪志及“法轮功”公开“谤佛”。引起了僧众的公愤，其中情况可想而知。
“气功热”背景下出笼的“法轮功”
1979年3月11日，《四川日报》刊登了该报记者张乃明等人写的《大足县发现一个能用耳朵辩认字的儿童》一文，报道了四川一个叫唐雨的儿童能用耳朵认字的“奇闻怪事”。此时的国人刚刚从严重的思想桎梏中解放出来，人们的思想观念还比较混乱，这篇有悖科学常识的报道犹如一枚重磅炸弹震惊了全国，一时间，街头巷尾争相议论，新闻媒体更是一马当先，纷纷加以报道。在此后的一段时间里，《安徽科技报》、《北京科技报》、《河北科技报》、《光明日报》等媒体纷纷报道了类似事情，仿佛一夜之间，神洲大地神童林立，由此引发了全国的第一轮特异功能热潮。但这种违背科学规律的耳朵认字现象随即遭到了科技界的否定。1979年4月24日，时任中宣部长的胡耀邦同志也在批示中予以严历驳斥。
但是，热浪并没有得到遏制。同年7月，上海《自然杂志》登载了《非视觉器官图像识别的观察报告》一文，再次把特异功能的事推向高潮，并强烈地冲击了科技界、教育界，大批科研、教学人员纷纷涉足被称为“灵学”的新研究领域。1980年2月，在上海召开了第一次人体特异功能研讨会，1981年5月，在重庆召开了第二次人体特异功能研讨会。而此时特异功能者中的神童也逐步被成年人所取代。
气功本是一项古老的健身养生方法，是中华民族文化遗产的一个组成部分。当特异功能热潮一浪高过一浪之际，气功开始复苏了，一些人试图在特异功能和气功之间建立某种联系，甚至有人打出了科学的旗号，极力夸大气功的作用和功能，由此引发了对我国政治和社会产生极大危害的伪气功和伪科学。
气功热的形成始于“气功大师”严新的出山。1984年7月，《四川工人报》报导了严新在临床实践中运用“外气” 给患者治疗的事情，引起了各方面的关注。1986年，严新来到清华大学，在生物系和化学系进行了一系列运用“气功外气”使物质分子结构发生变化的实验，顿时引起了轰动。《光明日报》在头版发了消息，其超长标题如下：“清华大学气功科研协作组观察发现导致生理效应发生改变是气功能治病的原因，这项发现表明我国气功研究由细胞水平进入分子水平》。紧接着，《人民日报》（海外版）、英文版的《中国日报》、香港《文汇报》等媒体迅速地把消息传向全世界。严新俨然成了一位“活神仙”、“现代济公”，并开始到处举行万人带功报告会。从此，气功热的浪潮席卷中国大地。
在“严新效应”的带动下，一时间，各种气功门派如雨后的蘑菇纷纷现身亮相，各路“气功大师”一个个粉墨登场。如张宏宝的中功、田瑞生的香功、张香玉的自然中心功、陈林峰的慧莲功、庞鸣的智能功等等。在上个世纪80年代末90年代初，气功大潮来势汹猛，吸引了成千上万的狂热追随者，一些人的心态不亚于现在的追星族。据统计，这一时期，仅经有关部门认可的功法就达2400种之多，各类气功大师万人以上，练功人数达6000万之众。
就是在这种狂热的社会背景下，吉林省长春市的一名江湖骗子——李洪志出场了，并由此设计了一场贻害社会，流毒甚广的惊天大骗局。
受社会上气功热的影响，长春市粮油供应公司保卫科干事李洪志开始学习气功。1988年1月，他参加了吉林省气功科学研究会常务理事李卫东办的学习班，开始学习禅密功。不久又参加了长春地质学院工作人员于光生办的九宫八卦功学习班。在习练气功的过程中，李洪志很快“悟”出了玄机：传授气功是一种既不用投资，又可以名利双收，实现快速致富的好生意。不久，自以为功法有成的李洪志就开始悄悄地“传功”了。先是在长春市胜利公园猴山传授九宫八卦圈，那时少则几人，多则十几人，公园内许多晨练的人对李洪志的功法不屑一顾。
1989年初，李洪志到北京去，先后收了李晶锋等几个徒弟，传授的仍然是九宫八卦圈。有一次李洪志对他的徒弟讲，“你们走圈，气机是九宫八卦的，外圈我加上了莲花（步），这是法轮功”。这就是“法轮功”一词的缘起，纯属李洪志个人杜撰。1990年，李洪志去泰国探亲（其妹妹李平，原沈阳军区前进歌舞团演员，与一泰国华人结婚，并定居泰国），学习了一些泰国舞蹈的动作，同时看到了海外邪教“灵仙真佛宗”的一些宣传材料。回到长春后，他神秘兮兮地对人讲，我学会了一门新功法，是法轮功。不久，李洪志在长春收了几个“亲传弟子”，并开始与李晶超、刘凤才等人合作，设计“法轮功”的功法动作，编写“功法讲义”。“法轮功”的动作是以禅密功和九宫八卦功的动作为基础，揉合了泰国舞蹈的一些动作拼凑而成的。功法分五套，其中动功四套，静功一套。自以为万事俱备的李洪志于1991年11月办理了停薪留职手续，人事关系下放到宽城区珠江路粮油供应公司，淮备正式“出山”了。
“出山”前的1992年4月，李洪志对功法动作感到不太满意，又在刘凤才的帮助下对功法做了70多处修改，并让李晶超把动作背下来，练熟了。为了神化自己，李洪志到商店买了一套黄色戏装，让他的亲传弟子宋炳辰（此人照相技术不错）在长春地质宫广场拍了张打坐的照片。宋炳辰将李洪志的打坐照片拼接上纸剪的莲花瓣，又在背后画了一个佛光圈，翻版后放大6寸。与此同时，李洪志到处游说，兜售他的功法。一个星期天的早晨，李洪志来到长春胜利公园猴山练功点，对一些练气功的人说，“你们刻苦练功，但身上还有病气，有黑色物质，自身都没调好怎能出功法？我有套功法，可以提高你们一个层次，并送你们一程”。并当众表演了几段他的“法轮功”。
1992年5 月13日，李洪志在长春市第五中学阶梯教室开办了第一期法轮功培训班，首期学员60人左右。授课方式是由李晶超在台上演示动作，李洪志讲解。每人收学费30元。后来，这一天被定为李洪志的“出山日”，“法轮功”由此正式出笼。
“法轮功”组织在吉林省的快速膨胀及向全国的迅速蔓延
李洪志为了扩张“法轮功”组织，壮大其声势，在吉林省采取了如下方式传播“法轮功”：
一是办班培训。1992年到1994年，李洪志先后在长春市开办“法轮功”培训班7次，在延吉市办班一次。参加者共计9000多人。另在长春高市举办组场报告会两场，共2000多人参加。
二是建立组织。李洪志深知组织力量对实现其个人野心的重要性。因此，在他“出山”伊始，就开始筹划建立“法轮功”组织。先是设立了“长春法轮功辅导总站”，并向长春市气功科学研究会、体委、科委、民政局等部门申请登记注册，但均未获批准。后又到省里寻求支持。他找到其启蒙老师、吉林省气功科学研究会常务理事李卫东打通关系。有关领导了解了相关情况后，以“气功以祛病强身健体为目的，不要以宣传迷信为前提”为由予以拒绝。这使李洪志恼羞成怒，他对一部分弟子说，“这帮老头子顽固，没有功能，分不出层次高低。李卫东心性太差，怕我夺他的名声，抢他的饭碗”。并信口开河地说，“李卫东阻挠大法传播，他的功能给我收了，已经没有任何功能了”。但尽管如此，李洪志依然我行我素，在长春及省内秘密建立练功网点。
受挫后的李洪志并不甘心，1992年9月，李洪志与原中国气功科学研究会理事长张震寰取得了联系，“法轮功”被确定为该会的直属功派，被称为中国气功科学研究会法轮功小组。后在李昌等人的帮助下，1993年7月30日，中国气功科学研究会将这个小组升格为“中国气功科学研究会法轮功分会”。8月14日，法轮功研究会作为中国气功科学研究会所属专业委员会正式登记注册。有了“直属功派”这块金字招牌，李洪志在长春就有了大肆炫耀的资本。1993年9月，“法轮功”被在长春市民政局注册的“长春市气功人体科学研究会”接纳为专业委员会，即长春辅导总站。1996年3月，在吉林省民政厅注册的“吉林省气功科学研究会”接纳“法轮功”为专业委员会（二级学会），又称长春总站。长春总站负责人先是徐寅荃，后为焦立勋。“法轮功”在全省各市州共设9个总站，总站下设辅导站，辅导站下设练功点。这样，“法轮功”就在吉林省形成了严密的组织体系。到1999年初，全省共有“法轮功”练功点1339个，“大法弟子”10余万人，站点负责人以上骨干分子329人。
三是宣传造势。在取得了“直属功派”的金字招牌后，“法轮功”在吉林省加大了造势力度。先是招摇过市，在长春的人民广场、胜利公园、南湖、工大等主要练功点，高挂横幅和李洪志莲花打坐像，播放“法轮功”音乐，学员大规模集体练功，以吸引市民的注意，并趁机向驻足观看者赠送宣传资料（包括书籍和音像制品）。待时机成熟后便拉拢、诱骗其加入习练者队伍。据知情人介绍，以健身为目的，只练动功（即只练习动作，不打坐，也不学法）的人，高峰期仅长春市就在10万人以上，全省大约不下50万人。但其中绝大多数人没有上当受骗；其次是组织大规模的宣传活动。其中最有代表性的当属“李洪志传功讲法五周年书画大展”。这次活动是1997年夏在长春市南岭体育场举办的。笔者目睹了这次“盛会”。在吉林省“法轮功”总站的精心策划下，全省“法轮功”人员几乎倾巢出动，到现场向李洪志莲花打坐像顶礼膜拜者达数万人之众，其数量不亚于一场高水平足球比赛的观众。在展品中不乏社会名流、专家学者、甚至高级党政干部的作品。李洪志的妻子李瑞也亲临现场为“法轮功”助威。这里需要指出的是，一些高级党政干部美化“法轮功”的书画作品出现在展会上，造成了极坏的社会影响，这在无形中鼓舞了“法轮功”的士气，为“法轮功”在吉林省乃至全国的快速发展起到了推波助澜的作用；再是经常举办各种“法会”，加强骨干培训，再由这些骨干去发展新的练功点。影响最大的当是1998年7月26日的那次“法会”。参加人员基本上都是吉林省各地辅导站的站长、辅导员。李洪志亲临会议。主要议题是围绕李洪志《挖根》的经文统一思想。李洪志在会上反复强调“护法”的重要性，鼓动学员必要的时候能够“站出来”。这次会议成了“法轮功”组织大规模聚众闹事的总动员。
由于长春是李洪志的家乡，李洪志时刻不忘在这里自我吹嘘，神化自己.。有关这方面的情况已有大量披露，下面仅举几个鲜为人知的例子。从李洪志“出山”伊始，他就在培训班上给学员带去的佛像搞开光仪式，并告诉学员不要到寺庙去开光，以示他是“最高的佛”。这种仪式逢班必办，不仅在长春搞，到外省办班时也搞，一直持续了很长时间。1993年底，李洪志非法在北京印刷了其莲花打坐像的1994年单页年历，在长春由其妻李瑞向”法轮功“学员和其他人兜售，并要求学员对这张年历烧香礼拜。1993年秋，李洪志在长春吹嘘，国家气功科学研究会一些领导年事已高，现准备成立7人领导小组，我是人选之一。以后国家只承认百家功法，都是为法轮功打基础的.，1994年国家要把百家功法都统一在法轮功里，都炼中国法轮功。他甚至信口雌黄地说，1994年以后寺庙里什么佛都不供了，只供我李洪志一个。等等。由于李洪志在家乡频繁的“造神”活动蒙骗了不少人，使大批吉林省“法轮功”人员中毒较深。
李洪志在长春办了两期班后，感到仅在长春传功难以成气候，便决定到北京去“发展”。1992年6月25日，李洪志在北京甘家口建材礼堂举办了在北京的第一期“法轮功”培训班，从此开始了在全国马不停蹄的传功旅程。到1994年大连培训班结束，李洪志共在全国办班56期，参加者达6万余人。这些人后来大部分成了“法轮功”骨干分子。原“法轮功”国内总负责人，4·25事件总指挥李昌就是北京第一期班的学员。在这些骨干学员的鼓噪下，“法轮功”迅速向全国蔓延，造成了严重的社会危害。到1999年7月取缔“法轮功”时，已在全国形成了以北京“法轮大法研究会”为首脑机构的完整组织系统。全国共设有辅导总站39个，各级辅导站1900多个，练功点28000多个，“法轮功”组织成员达200多万人.
由敛财到邪教组织的发展过程
“法轮功”由传功调病到发展成为邪教组织是有一个演变过程的。以李洪志的知识水平，如果没有一批水平相对较高的人帮助，他自己不可能建构起一套邪教理论体系。客观地讲，“法轮功”出笼之初，主要目的是聚敛钱财，以实现快速致富。这从李洪志早期的言论中可以看出端倪。当他的早期弟子问他为何伪造个人历史时，李洪志就说，“不说大点没人信”，骗子嘴脸跃然纸上。李洪志及“法轮功”组织敛财的主要方式是：办班培训,收取学费；非法行医调病，骗取钱财；推销各种“法轮功”书籍和用品，榨取学员的血汗钱。等等。据长春的“法轮功老学员” 讲，他们用于“法轮功”活动的支出都在3000元以上。这对于当年的退休、下岗职工而言，的确不是一个小数目。根据赵杰民、宋炳辰等人的揭发材料，从1992年5月至1994年5月两年的时间里，仅在长春办班和出售教材两项，李洪志就收入了428300元。而调病和卖照片、年历等收入由李洪志亲自经手无法核实。据知情人估计大约在20万元以上。经查实，“法轮大法研究会”成立后，其经销的“法轮功”书籍和物品总价值1.35亿元人民币，非法获利4229万元人民币。
精神控制是邪教的本质特征之一。李洪志“出山”伊始，也效仿其他气功师搞带功报告会，为参加者集体调病等。但由于他的“道行”太浅，现场根本没有什么反应，都以失败告终。在长春的一次报告会上，李洪志下台后大骂“都是佛在捣乱，我把他(指佛)捆起来，下油锅”。李洪志自感常此以往必然要露出马脚，于是就开始改变形式，转换手法。1993年夏李洪志从外地返回长春后，就不再搞组场调病，而是只传“大法”了。所以，李洪志经常向学员强调，“法轮功不是气功，而是大法”。这是李洪志实施精神控制的初级阶段。
“法轮功”演变为邪教组织最重要的标志，一是《转法轮》一书的公开出版发行，二是“法轮大法研究会”的成立。《转法轮》一书究竟为何人所作？它是根据李洪志“我讲的内容都要出书”的指令，由法轮功骨干分子李昌（原公安部干部）以李洪志在长春、济南等地的讲法录音为基础，去掉李洪志的东北口语，整理成文字。李昌又推荐于长新将材料整理成章节，李昌定稿，由总参退休驻外武官李志恒任总编。一稿出来后，李洪志很不满意，花大价钱请了著名满族作家穆静参加编写。后来穆静因要编写党史方面的书，中途退出。李洪志又请了作家朱黎明为全书润色。《转法轮》中歪理邪说的主要思想渊源是：被李洪志肆意歪曲篡改的他从长春护国般若寺学习的佛学知识；台湾人卢胜彦所创“灵仙真佛宗”中的邪说；北京师范大学博士生李卫东所著《人是太空人的试验品》中的反科学谬论。1994年12月，《转法轮》由中国广播电视出版社正式出版发行，次年1月4日在北京公安大学礼堂举行了首发式。自此，“法轮功”树起了一个被神化了的邪教教主，编织了一套实施精神控制的歪理邪说，形成了一个严密的组织体系。
《转法轮》出版后，李洪志不再强调练功，而是要求学员“主要是学习大法”。最初的学法形式是讨论式。这种形式由长春逐渐扩展到全国。具体做法是，每个练功点分为若干个小组，学习地点一般设在骨干学员家中，每周三次，每次二小时，先读一段李洪志的“经书”，然后讨论，互相交流“心得体会”。这样，李洪志精神控制的网就越收越紧。
为了加大洗脑力度，李洪志后来又提出要通读他的“经文”。1998年7月26日长春的那次“法会”上，李洪志讲，“通读是主要的，不要学一段停下来，大家议论议论，再来一段，再议论议论，这不好。要大量的通读，谈认识的时间不能多于读法，学法是最主要的”。这次法会以后，由长春带头，全国学法形式发生了根本改变，逐渐由“讨论式”变成“通读式”。一位已转化的原“法轮功”人员说，她通读《转法轮》不下300遍。所造成的严重后果是，学员逐渐丧失了自我意识，满脑子中充斥了“法轮功”的歪理邪说。这正是李洪志所希望看到的。
Investigation and analysis of establishment and development of Falun Gong in Jilin Province
Jilin Province is where Falun Gong originated, a harder-hit area of the fallacies and absurdities of Li Hongzhi. Not long ago, Li Hongzhi established fallacies and apotheosized himself, exerting tremendous power, and finally developed into a big force that brought great harm to the whole nation as well as turning to the overseas. Reviewing and reconsidering this stretch of history, analyzing in depth the cause of the establishment of Falun Gong, and summarizing experiences and learning lessons from history are of great realistic significance in that we would have a profound perception of the long-term, difficult, and complicated fight against Falun Gong organization at present, prevent Falun Gong from staging a comeback, and prevent and curb the producing and growing of all kinds of cults.
The emergence and expansion of Falun Gong
About Li Hongzhi
In July 1999, after the Chinese government cracked down Falun Gong cult organization in accordance with law, the research office of the Ministry of Public Security soon publicized a report entitled "About Li Hongzhi and the Things he did". With the penetration of investigation and research as well as constant revelation, the public has already had a rather clear view of Li Hongzhi. However, from the point of view of the researchers, in recent years, there have been all kinds of doubts now and then with regard to the parentage and life experience of Li Hongzhi. Therefore, the following information we learnt is publicized for reference.
I. About the family background of Li Hongzhi
Li Hongzhi (Li Lai being his old name) was born on July 7, 1952 in Gongzhulin Town (Gongzhulin City now), Huaide County, Jilin Province.
In 1953, the entire family was moved to Changchun. Both his father li Dan and mother Lu Shuzhen were medical workers. li Dan (died in 1996) had a rough life, experiencing four marriages, among which Lu Shuzhen, mother of Li Hongzhi, was his second wife. They met at a medical training session in Gongzhulin Town in the spring of 1951 and got married in the autumn of the same year. Li Hongzhi was born the next year. (Li Hongzhi changed his birthday to May 13, 1951 but lied that during the Cultural Revolution the government made a mistake about his birthday).
After Lu Shuzhen and li Dan divorced, Li Hongzhi, with his younger sisters li Ping and li Jun and younger brother li Hui, lived a poor and broke life with their mother. That's why Li Hongzhi had ill feelings about his father. He claimed several times later that he had broken up the parent child relation with li Dan. living in such a disintegrated family, Li Hongzhi developed an incommunicative and asocial introverted disposition since his childhood.
Li Rui, wife of Li Hongzhi, is 50 years old, and used to work at Changchun Chaoyang Public Bath, Changchun Dingfengzhen Food Products Factory, and Changchun North Electromechanical Device Development Company in succession. She emigrated to the United States later. Li Rui neither believed in Buddhism nor practiced Falun Gong at the time. (Her present conditions are not clear)
Li Meige, daughter of li Hongzhi, is 25 years old. She was taken by Li Hongzhi to the spot of Falun Gong classes when she was only 10 years old or so, performing all the tricks with her father, and was falsely called "my master" by Li Hongzhi. She emigrated to the United States later.
II. About the educational record of Li Hongzhi
According to the personal history written by Li Hongzhi himself, there are two versions of his schooling record: junior high school and senior high school. At present, it is generally believed that Li Hongzhi finished junior high school, and there is also doubt about his record of senior high school. As a matter of fact, the actual education Li Hongzhi had was only primary school. People who experienced the Cultural Revolution all know that the Cultural Revolution started in the early summer of 1966, so the students finished primary school that year did not go to high school. It was not until October 1968 that they began to go to high school, and they graduated by the end of 1969.
In his personal history, Li Hongzhi wrote: 1966-1969, studying at Changchun No. 48 Middle School. However, before October 1968, Changchun No. 48 Middle School was a girls' middle school. This was not something that Li Hongzhi was unaware of, so it was really ridiculous for him to write his personal history in this way. The fact is that Li Hongzhi went to Changchun No. 4 Middle School after October 1968, shifted to Changchun No. 48 Middle School in the summer of 1969, and graduated by the end of the same year. The major task of high schools of the time, according to the "highest directives" of Chairman Mao that "students should give priority to study, and should learn other things including working and farming", was guiding the students in "learning working and farming". There was no real school course at all. The so-called "giving priority to study" meant the study of the "analects of Chairman Mao". (at least it was the case in Changchun)Therefore, the actual education Li Hongzhi had was only primary school. During the Cultural Revolution, there was a "rush for changing names" to show the revolutionariness of people. When at high school, Li Hongzhi changed his name "Li Lai" to the present one. As for the question of whether Li Hongzhi shifted to Changchun No. 48 Middle School for his competence in playing the trumpet, according to the news report of one newspaper, an old teacher recalled that at that time, the "fight propaganda team of Mao Zedong Thought" of No. 48 Middle School was well-known in Changchun, and many students, after graduation, were conscripted by the army to become literary soldiers. Since Li Hongzhi could play the trumpet, he shifted to the school and joined the fight propaganda team. However, this was not the case. Changchun No. 48 Middle School did have a fight propaganda team during the Cultural Revolution, but as all the members were girls, its standard was relatively low. After finishing school in October 1968, all its members "went and worked in the rural or mountain areas". When Li Hongzhi shifted to the school, the fight propaganda team existed in name only. Li Hongzhi lived near Changchun No. 48 Middle School, while Changchun No. 4 Middle school was far away from his home. Therefore, it is more reasonable to say that he just "went to the school nearby".
Then how did Li Hongzhi get his "senior high school" record? He used to take correspondence courses of senior high school sponsored by Changchun Radio and Correspondence College and graduated in March 1986 when he was 34 years old. With his primary school education, it was impossible for Li Hongzhi to finish senior high school courses in such a short time. Since most of the correspondence courses at the time were profit-oriented and admitted all kinds of students, Li Hongzhi just fished in troubled water and managed to obtain a diploma.
After Falun Gong gained ground, Li Hongzhi said mysteriously that the purpose that he did not go to college after finishing senior high school was to avoid having all kinds of concepts, axioms, definitions, rules, men's theories and other established things in the mind, for in his preach the great laws of the universe should never be mixed with any of these human things; otherwise they would be disturbed by men's thoughts. Such weird talking seems very ridiculous today, but it did fool many people at the time. How could Li Hongzhi go to college with his primary school education? And in any case, the state already had age limitations with regard to the college entrance examination at the time.
III. About the question of when Li Hongzhi joined the army
According to the personal history written by Li Hongzhi himself, it was in 1970 that he started to work. However, in the "Profile of Li Hongzhi", appendix of his book "Zhuan Falun", the year in which he started to work was 1972. So there were some doubts about the time when Li Hongzhi joined the army.
According to some insider, after finishing junior high school by the end of 1969, Li Hongzhi did not "go and work in the rural or mountain areas" as arranged by the school; instead, since he could play the trumpet, in January 1970, introduced through acquaintances, he went to the horse farm of unit 201 of the General Logistic Department of the PLA in Inner Mongolia as an "educated youth", and played the trumpet in the propaganda team of the farm. In April, he became a formal agro-pastoral worker with a monthly salary of 32 yuan. This part of experience of his was not taking as a military service; rather, it was still "going and working in the rural or mountain areas".
In December 1972, Li Hongzhi was transferred to the art troupe of the forest police detachment of Jilin Province as a trumpet player, and this was the formal start of his 10 years' military service. In the meantime, introduced by Jie Houfang, singer of the same troupe, (and wife of the famous Chinese singer Jiang Dawei), he joined the Youth League. That's why when inciting the "three quits", Li Hongzhi produced his "declaration for quitting the Youth League" when he was already in his fifties.
IV. When did Li Hongzhi start studying Buddhism
In the beginning of 1988, almost the same time as he came to know something about Qigong, Li Hongzhi went to Changchun Huguo Prajna Temple to study Buddhism after a master (the master has entered parinirvana, and it is not appropriate to reveal his Dharma name), and started burning joss sticks and praying to Buddha at home. In the personal history he wrote later, Li Hongzhi put "Buddhism" as his religion. According to some insider, during the period as a Buddhist, Li Hongzhi also read a few books on planchette writing and divination, and often messed around with some people of crooked means. This part of experience of Li Hongzhi is uncovered because people kept on doubting that whether Li Hongzhi had been converted to Buddhism or whether he used to a lay Buddhist. After establishing Falun Gong in the name of Buddhism, Li Hongzhi often posed himself as "the highest Buddha", requiring that "Falun Gong practitioners are not allowed to convert to Buddhism or pray to Buddha". Therefore, he always kept silent on this issue. And the Buddhist circle was unduly reticent on the subject. Later, Li Hongzhi and Falun Gong publicly "slandered the Buddha", which aroused public anger among Buddhists, and it was not difficult to imagine the situation.
The Emergence of Falun Gong against the "Qigong fever"
On March 11, 1979, an article on Sichuan Daily, Kid that can read by ears is found in Dazu County, written by its journalist Zhang Naiming etc. , told a "weird anecdote" that in Sichuan, a child named Tang Yu could read by ears. At the time, the Chinese people had just been freed from the spiritual shackle of the Cultural Revolution, and their state of mind was still quite a mess. Such a report that was against scientific common sense shocked the whole nation like a heavy bomb. For a moment, discussions were all around, and of course, the news media took the lead in making a great deal of reporting. In a period of time after that, similar reports were found one after another in Anhui Science and Technology Post, Beijing Science and Technology Post, Hebei Science and Technology Post, Guangming Daily, etc. It seemed that there were wonder children all over the country overnight, thus initiating the first round of nationwide fever over "supernatural powers". However, such phenomenon as reading by ears, which is against scientific rules, was soon negated by the scientific circle. On April 24, 1979, Hu Yaobang, Minister of Propaganda of the Central Committee of CPC then, also criticized it severely in his comments.
Unfortunately, the fever was not curbed. In July, an article entitled "Observation Report on Image Recognizing by Non-Optical Organs" was published on the Nature Magazine of Shanghai, pushing the subject of supernatural powers to a climax and greatly shocked the science and technology circles as well as the circle of education. A great number of researchers and teachers set foot in this new research area called "parapsychics" one after another. In Februay 1980, the first seminar on supernatural powers of human body was held in Shanghai; in May 1981, the second one was held in Chongqing. And at this time, wonder children among those people with supernatural powers were gradually replaced by adults.
Being a part of the cultural legacy of the Chinese nation, Qigong was originally an ancient way of body-building and health preservation. At the presence of the ever-growing fever over supernatural powers, Qigong started to revive. Some people tried to build up certain connections between supernatural powers and Qigong, and some even got themselves under the cover of science, making an utmost effort in exaggerating the functions and effects of Qigong. As a result, the door to pseudo-Qigong and pseudo-science that are extremely harmful to the Chinese politics and society was opened.
The appearance of the Qigong fever started from the arising of "Qigong master" Yan Xin. In July 1984, Sichuan Workers' Daily reported about Yan Xin treating patients with "exterior energy" in clinical practice, attracting attention from all aspects. In 1986, Yan Xin made a series of experiments that changed the molecular structure of some substance by using "the exterior energy of Qigong" at the department of chemistry and the department of biology of Tsinghua University, creating great sensations at once. News appeared on the front page of Guangming Daily, with an extra-long title: The scientific research coordination group of Qigong of Tsinghua University finds out after observation that the induced change in physiological effect is the cause for the curative effect of Qigong, and this discovery shows that the Qigong research in China has reached the level of molecules over the level of cells. Shortly afterwards, medias such as the People's Daily (overseas edition), the English edition of China Daily, and the Wen Wei Post of Hong Kong quickly spread the news to the whole world. Yan Xin apparently became a "living immortal" and "modern Jigong" (Jigong was a legendary monk who helped people with his magic fan), holding ten-thousand people lectures with energy around. And the tide of Qigong fever swept through China since then.
Driven by the "Yanxin effect", various schools of Qigong sprang up for the moment just like mushrooms after rain, and all kinds of "Qigong masters" made themselves up and go on the stages one by one. For example, there were the "Middle Gong" of Zhang Hongbao, the "Fragrant Gong" of Tian Ruisheng, the "Central Gong of the Nature" of Zhang Xiangyu, the "Huilian Gong" of Chen linfeng, and the "Intelligent Gong" of Pang Ming, etc. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the big tide of Qigong came in such a menacing manner that tens of thousands of enthusiastic followers were attracted to it, the mind-set of some being quite similar to the star fans today. According to statistics, during this period, there were more than 2400 kinds of Gong Fa, taking account of the ones recognized by pertinent departments only, over ten thousand Qigong masters of all kinds, and the population of practitioners was as much as 60 million.
It was just with such a feverish social background that Li Hongzhi, a saltimbanco from Changchun, Jilin Province, came on the scene, thus creating a world-shocking fraud that afflicted the society and caused baneful influence widely.
Influenced by the Qigong fever of the time, Li Hongzhi, a staff of the security office of Changchun Food and Oil Supplying Company, started to learn Qigong. In January 1989, he attended the class held by li Weidong, standing director of Jilin Research Society of Qigong Science and began to learn "Chan Mi Gong". Later, he also went to "Jiugong Bagua Gong" class held by Yu Guangsheng, employee of Changchun Geology College. While practicing Qigong, Li Hongzhi soon got the "enlightenment" that teaching Qigong was a perfect business for gaining both fame and profit and becoming rich quickly with no investment. Before long, Li Hongzhi, setting up for his accomplishments in Gong Fa, quietly began to "teach". At first, he taught "Jiugong Bagua Gong" at the monkey mountain of Shengli Park in Changchun. At that time, there were only few followers, a dozen or so at the most, and many people doing morning exercises in the park despised Li Hongzhi`s Gong Fa.
In early 1989, Li Hongzhi went to Beijing and got several followers including Li Jingfeng. What he taught there was still the circle of "Jiugong Bagua Gong". Once Li Hongzhi told his followers, "When you walk around the circle, the functional activity of Qi is of 'Jiugong Bagua Gong', and I add lotus (pace) in the outer circle, which makes it Falun Gong. "And that was the origin of Falun Gong, which was a total fabrication of Li Hongzhi himself. In 1990, Li Hongzhi went to Thailand to visit his younger sister Li Ping (who used to be an actress of the Advancing Cultural Troupe of Shenyang Military Region and later married to a Thai Chinese and moved to live in Thailand). There he learned some movements of Thai dancing and came across some propaganda materials of an overseas cult--" True Buddha School". After returning to Changchun, he mysteriously told people that he had learnt something new—Falun Gong. Soon after, Li Hongzhi gathered a few "pupils to be taught by himself", and started to cooperate with Li Jingchao and Liu Fengcai, designing the movements for Falun Gong and compiling "teaching materials". The movements of Falun Gong were based on the movements of "Chan Mi Gong" and "Jiugong Bagua Gong" and mixed with some movements from Thai dancing. And there were five series of the Gong Fa, among which four were of motion and one without motion. Thinking that every preparation was made, Li Hongzhi quitted his job in the form of retaining the position without pay, leaving his organizational affiliation at the food and oil supplying company of Zhujiang Road, Kuancheng District. He was completely ready to "come out".
Before "coming out", in April 1992, unsatisfied with the movements of his Gong Fa, Li Hongzhi made over 70 modifications of it with the help of Liu Fengcai and asked Li Jingchao to memorize the movements and practice them well. In order to apotheosize himself, Li Hongzhi bought a yellow costume at a department store and asked Song Bingchen, a pupil he taught in person, (who was skilled in photographing) to take a picture of him sitting in meditation at Changchun Geology Palace Square. Song Bingchen spliced this picture with paper-cut lotus petals and drew a circle of Buddha light at the back before converting it into a new picture and enlarging to 6 inches. At the same time, Li Hongzhi kept going around and selling his Gong Fa. One Sunday morning, Li Hongzhi went to the practicing spot near the monkey mountain of Changchun Shengli Park and said to some Qigong practitioners, "You are practicing so hard, but you still have symptoms of illness, kind of black substance. How can you accomplish the Gong Fa before you adjust yourselves properly? Look, I have a set of Gong Fa that can bring you to a higher level and accompany you on your way for a while. "Then he performed some of his Falun Gong in public.
On May 13, 1992, Li Hongzhi opened his first session of Falun Gong training class at the lecture theatre of Changchun No. 5 Middle School, with about 60 students at first. The way of his teaching was that Li Jingchao performed the movements on the platform and Li Hongzhi made explanations,the fee being 30 yuan per head. Later, this date was regarded as the "coming out date" of Li Hongzhi on which Falun Gong made its formal appearance.
The quick expansion of Falun Gong organization in Jilin Province and its swift spreading all over the country
In order to expand his Falun Gong organization and create momentum, Li Hongzhi adopted the following ways to spread Falun Gong in Jilin Province:
First, he opened training classes. From 1992 to 1994, Li Hongzhi opened Falun Gong training classes in Changchun 7 times and in Yanji city once. The participants numbered over 9000 in total. Moreover, he also held two public lectures in Changchun, with an audience of over 2000.
Second, he created organization. Li Hongzhi knew very well the importance of the power of organization to realize his personal ambition. Therefore, shortly after he "came out", he started to plan for the organization of Falun Gong. He set up a "Changchun Falun Gong General Tutorial Station" in the first place, and applied to departments such as Changchun Research Society of Qigong Science, the Sports Committee, the Science Committee, the Office of Civil Affairs, etc. , but no approval was given. So he tried the provincial level for support. He found his first teacher Li Weidong, standing director of Jilin Research Society of Qigong Science, to get through some relations. However, after knowing the circumstances, officials in charge turned him down for the reason that "the purpose of Qigong should be disease curing, body building and health preservation rather than trumpeting supersitition". Li Hongzhi flew into rage from shame at this. He told some of his pupils, "These old guys are so stubborn and without any function. They could distinguish high levels from the low ones. And Li Weidong is nasty in nature, fearing that I would win over him in fame and take the bread out of his mouth. "Moreover, he also boasted that "since Li Weidong interfered with the spread of the Dafa, I have taken back all his functions. Now he has none of them. "Despite this, Li Hongzhi persisted in his old ways, setting up secret practicing network in Changchun as well as in the province.
Li Hongzhi was not to reconcile to the frustration. In September 1992, Li Hongzhi got connected with Zhang Zhenhuan, former director-in-chief of China Research Society of Qigong Science, and Falun Gong was recognized as a school directly under the Society, Falun Gong Group of China Research Society of Qigong Science as it was called. Later, with the help of Li Chang and the others, on July 30, 1993, China Research Society of Qigong Science upgraded this group as the "Falun Gong Branch of China Research Society of Qigong Science". On August 14, Falun Gong Research Society was formally registered as a special committee to China Research Society of Qigong Science. With the status as the "school directly under the Society", Li Hongzhi got the capital to show off without any constraint in Changchun. In September 1993, Falun Gong was accepted as a special committee of "Changchun Research Society of Qigong and Human Body Science" registered with the office of civil affairs of Changchun, i. e. Changchun General Tutorial Station. In March 1996, Falun Gong was again accepted as a special committee (secondary society) of "Jilin Research Society of Qigong Science" registered with the office of civil affairs of Jilin Province, i. e. Changchun General Station. The person in charge of Changchun General Station was Xu Yinquan at first, and later was Jiao lixun. Falun Gong set up 9 general stations in cities and counties in the province, and there were tutorial stations under the general stations and practicing spots under the tutorial stations. In this way, "Falun Gong formed a tight organizational system in Jilin Province. By the beginning of 1999, there were 1339 Falun Gong practicing spots in the province and over 100,000 "Dafa followers", among which 329 were key members above the level of head of station or spot.
Third, he propagandized and created momentum. After obtaining the status as the "school directly under the Society", Falun Gong increased its efforts in creating momentum in Jilin Province. It swaggered around firstly. At major practicing spots at the People's Square, Shengli Park, South Lake and University of Technology of Changchun, banners and the portrait of Li Hongzhi sitting in meditation on the lotus were hung high, Falun Gong music played, followers practicing together in large scale, so as to attract the attention of citizens, and propaganda materials (including books and videos) were given out for free to the people who stopped to look on. And when the time came, they were hooked and trapped to join the practicers. According to some insider, the number of the people who only practiced the movements (without sitting in meditation or studying the theory) for the purpose of body building was over 100,000 in Changchun alone during the climax, and for the whole province, the number would probably not be less than 500,000. However, most of the people were not taken in. The second step was organizing extensive propaganda activities,among which the most typical one should be the "Grand Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition for the 5th Anniversary of the teaching of Li Hongzhi". This activity was held at Changchun Nanlin Stadium in the summer of 1997,and the author happened to witness the "great occasion". As a result of the careful planning by the General Station of Falun Gong of Jilin Province, almost all the Falun Gong members in the province were aroused. Tens of thousands of people went to the scene and paid homage to the portrait of Li Hongzhi sitting in meditation on the lotus, the number being able to compete with the audience of a high-level football game. Among the works on display, there were quite a number of works of social celebrities, experts and scholars, and even senior party and government officials. The wife of Li Hongzhi, Li Rui, also went to the scene to support Falun Gong. It should be noted that the display of the painting and calligraphy works of some senior party and government officials at the exhibition caused terrible social influence, virtually boosting the morale of Falun Gong and adding fuel to the flames in the fast development of Falun Gong in Jilin Province as well as in the whole country. Secondly, it held various kinds of "lectures on Fa" frequently to train key members, who would then set up new practicing spots. The most influential "lecture on Fa" was certainly the one held on July 26, 1998,the participants of which were basically heads and tutors of the tutorial stations of different places in Jilin. Li Hongzhi attended the lecture in person. The major topic was to unify thoughts around the scripture of Li Hongzhi entitled "Root excavation". At the lecture, Li Hongzhi repeatedly emphasized the importance to "guard Fa", stirring the followers up to "stand up" whenever necessary. This actually become the general mobilization for the mass riotous activities organized by Falun Gong.
Since Changchun is the hometown of Li Hongzhi, he never forgot to take every opportunity to brag about himself and apotheosize himself. Related information has been revealed a lot, and the following examples are not publicly known. As soon as he "came out", Li Hongzhi started to hold ceremonies of Kai Guang (Light Opening, originally a religious ritual of Buddhism) for the Buddha images brought by the students at training classes. He told the students not to open light at temples, indicating that he was the "highest Buddha". Such ceremony was held whenever there was a class, not only in Changchun, but also in other provinces, which lasted for a very long time. By the end of 1993, Li Hongzhi illegally printed the single-page calendar of his portrait of sitting in meditation on the lotus in Beijing, which was sold by his wife li Rui in Changchun to Falun Gong practitioners and other people, and the practitioners were asked to pray to this calendar. In the fall of 1993, Li Hongzhi boasted in Changchun that as some officials of the national research society of Qigong science were getting too old, a 7-member leading team was about to be set up, and he was one of the candidates. The government would recognize only 100 schools of Gong Fa in the future, all of which being the basis for Falun Gong. In 1994, the state would uniform all the 100 schools into Falun Gong, and all the practitioners would practice the Chinese Falun Gong only. He even said irresponsibly that after 1994, there would be no Buddha in temples; instead, only Li Hongzhi himself would be worshiped,etc. As his frequent "god creating" activities in his hometown took quite a number of people in, many Falun Gong practitioners in Jilin Province were obsessed deeply.
After holding two terms of classes, Li Hongzhi felt that only teaching in Changchun would end up in nothing, so he decided to go to Beijing for "further development". On June 25, 1992, Li Hongzhi held his first term of Falun Gong training class at Ganjiakou Construction Material Auditorium in Beijing, thus starting his non-stopping journey of teaching nationwide. At the end of the training class in Dalian in 1994, Li Hongzhi held 56 terms of classes in total in the whole country, with more than 60,000 participants. For these people, most of them became the key members of Falun Gong later. Li Chang, former general head of Falun Gong in China and commander-in-chief of the "4. 25" event, was the student of the first term class in Beijing. With the uproar of these key members, Falun Gong expanded nationwide quickly, causing serious social harm. By July 1999, when Falun Gong was finally cracked down, a complete organizational system with the "Falun Dafa Research Society" of Beijing as its headquater had been established in the whole country. There were 39 general tutorial stations, more than 1900 tutorial stations at all levels, and more than 28000 practicing spots. The number of Falun Gong members reached over 2 million.
The process of development from greed for money to a cult organization
There was an evolving process for Falun Gong to develop from "teaching Gong to cure diseases" to a cult organization. With the know-how of Li Hongzhi, if there were not a group of more educated people to help him, it was impossible for him to build a complete set of cult theory system. From an objective point of view, when Falun Gong first "came out", its main purpose was to amass money and get rich quickly. This could be detected from the early talking of Li Hongzhi. When his early pupils asked him why he fabricated personal history, Li Hongzhi said, "If I did not exaggerate a bit, no one would believe it. " What a vivid portrait of a swindler!The major means of money amassing used by Li Hongzhi and Falun Gong organization were: holding training classes and charging tuitions; illegally treating patients and curing diseases and swindling money; and marketing various kinds of books and videos about Falun Gong and racking the money of the practitioners that earned with blood and sweat,etc. According to some "old members of Falun Gong", the expenditure of each of them over activities related to Falun Gong was above 3000 yuan. This certainly was not a small figure for retired or laid-off workers at the time. According to the disclosure materials provided by Zhao Jiemin, Song Bingchen, etc. , in the two years from May 1992 to May 1994, the income from training classes and teaching materials sold only was as much as 428,300. As for the income from treating diseases and selling calendars and portraits, it was handled by Li Hongzhi himself so the exact figure could not be fixed. According to some insider, it might be over 200,000. It was verified that after the establishment of "Falun Dafa Research Society", the books of Falun Gong and other related items sold by it valued 135 million yuan in total, and the illegal profit was up to 42. 29 million yuan.
Spiritual control is one of the substantive characteristics of cults. After he "came out", in the beginning, Li Hongzhi imitated other Qigong masters in giving lectures with energy, treating diseases for the participants collectively. However, since his "competence" was minor, there was little reaction on the spot, and every time it ended up in failure. At a lecture in Changchun, Li Hongzhi swore loudly after leaving the platform, "It is all because the Buddha is causing a disturbance. I will tie him (referring to the Buddha) up and throw him into boiling oil. "Li Hongzhi felt that in this way he would give the show away sooner or later. Therefore, he started to change his ways and adopt new means. In the summer of 1993, back from a trip to Changchun, Li Hongzhi no longer organized things like treating diseases collectively; instead, he taught the "Dafa" only. That's why Li Hongzhi often emphasized to the practitioners that "Falun Gong is no Qigong. It is Dafa". This was the primary stage of the spiritual control exerted by Li Hongzhi.
The most important signs of the turning of Falun Gong into a cult organization were: first, the open publication of the book "Zhuan Falun"; second, the establishment of "Falun Dafa Research Society". Who were the true authors of "Zhuan Falun"? Ordered by Li Hongzhi that "all that I have taught should turn into books", Li Chang, former official of the Ministry of Public Security and key member of Falun Gong, by removing the colloquialism in his northeast dialect from the recordings of Li Hongzhi's teaching in Changchun, Ji'nan, etc. , took them down in writing. Li Chang then recommemded Yu Changxin to divide the written material into chapters and subchapters and finalized it himself. Li Zhiheng, retired military attaché of the Department of General Staff Headquarters, was the chief editor. Li Hongzhi was much unsatisfied with the first draft, so he paid Mu Jing, a well-known Manchu writher, much to join the compiling work. Later, as Mu Jing had to compile some book on the party history, she quitted midway. Li Hongzhi also invited Zhu liming the writer to give the whole book another brush. The origins of thoughts of the fallacies and absurdities in "Zhuan Falun" were as follows: distorted Buddhist knowledge Li Hongzhi learnt from Changchun Huguo Prajna Temple; fallacies of the " True Buddha School" founded by the Taiwanese, Lu Shengyan; and the anti-scientific absurdity in "Humans are the Experimental Subjects of Men from the Outer Space" written by li Weidong, Ph. D. of Beijing Normal University. In December 1994, "Zhuan Falun" was formally published by China Radio and Television Press. On January 4, 1995, a ceremony for its first publication was held at the auditorium of Beijing Public Security University. Since then, an apotheosized cult hierarch was established by Falun Gong, a series of spirit-controlling fallacies and absurdities woven and a tight organizational system form.
After the publication of "Zhuan Falun", Li Hongzhi no longer emphasized on practicing, but asked the followers to "study the Dafa primarily". At first, the form of study was discussion. which was spread gradually from Changchun to the whole nation. To be specific, it was like this: every practicing spot was divided into several groups, and the place for study was usually at the home of a key member, three times a week, and two hours each time. They would read a section of the "scripture" of Li Hongzhi first, which was followed by discussions and sharing knowledge gained among the participants. In this way, Li Hongzhi was getting ever tighter on spiritual control.
In order to strengthen brainwash, Li Hongzhi later came up with the requirement of reading through his "scriptures". At the Fa-teaching of July 26, 1998 in Changchun, Li Hongzhi said, "Reading through is a primary thing. Don't stop for discussion after studying a paragraph, then read a paragraph again, and discuss again. That's no good. You should read through again and again. No more time should be spent on sharing opinions than on reading. The most important thing is reading. "After that, with Changchun taking the leadership, the form of studying the "Dafa" was ultimately changed, discussions being gradually turned into "reading through". A converted former Falun Gong member said that she read "Turning the Falun" through for at least 300 times. The serious consequence it caused was that with their mind filled with the fallacies and absurdities of Falun Gong, followers gradually lost their self consciousness. And this was exactly what li Hongzhi had expected.
(Jilin Academy of Social Science, Jilin Anti-cult Association, December 18, 2007)