OPINION
A reader asked me what I knew about Shen Yun and Falun Gong.
Nothing, I said.
She and her husband had spent a couple hundred dollars on tickets to see the Shen Yun dance performance Jan. 9 at Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts on the Missouri State University campus.
The performance was well attended, she said. However, she left with a vague feeling the production itself was also a form of religious propaganda.
From what I have read recently, it is.
If you were there at the performance or plan to attend next year, you might find what follows to be interesting. On the other hand, you might conclude that what matters most is the dance and performance and stop right here.
Shen Yun is affiliated with a religious group called Falun Gong, formed in China in 1992 by a man named Li Hongzhi, who is revered by many and who, according to the New York Times, has said he can fly but doesn’t like to do so in public.
I’ve read enough to know that the leaders of Shen Yun strongly declare they are not “owned” by Falun Gong. But I’ve also read enough to know that the group is, at minimum, “affiliated” with Falun Gong.
Several similar troupes tour the world
A 2020 story in the New York Times states:
Several Shen Yun dance troupes tour the world. Their stated objective, according to the Jan. 9 program provided to me, is to offer a “program of dances and music inspired by China’s five thousand years of civilization.”
The goal is to become more virtuous
As I said, the man behind the creation of Falun Gong is Li Hongzhi, who is either 71 or 72. He has been a permanent resident of the United States since 1998.
The spiritual practice of Falun Gong draws upon ancient Chinese wisdom, infused with Buddhist and Taoist spirituality and values, and involves gentle, meditative exercises and a moral philosophy centered on the tenets of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.
The goal for adherents is to become more virtuous.
One way to become more virtuous is, for example, ending violence. I'm all in on that.
Another way to become more virtuous, Falun Gong's leader has explained, is to condemn atheism, homosexuality, the teaching of evolution and interracial marriage.
I'm not in on that.
A different heaven for every race
According to a 2000 story in the New York Times:
"In an interview last year, he (Li Hongzhi) said each race has its own paradise, and he later told followers in Australia that, ‘The yellow people, the white people, and the black people have corresponding races in heaven.’ As a result, he said, interracial children have no place in heaven without his intervention."
According to Wikipedia, Falun Gong has its headquarters in Deerpark, New York. The entry states:
"Dragon Springs, also known as The Mountain, is a 427-acre compound … that serves as the headquarters of the global Falun Gong new religious movement and the Shen Yun performance arts troupe. Falun Gong founder and leader Li Hongzhi lives near the compound, as do hundreds of Falun Gong adherents. Members of Shen Yun live and rehearse in the compound, which also has an orphanage, schools and temples."
With all this said, if you went to the Jan. 9 performance in Springfield, I believe it might have been difficult to clearly see any religious underpinnings in the performance.
Source:https://sgfcitizen.org/springfield-culture/steve-pokin-columns/pokin-around-was-there-more-than-met-the-eye-in-shen-yun-dance-performance-at-msu-arena/
