The Falun Gong Movement in China

Aim: How is the Falun Gong movement in modern-day China similar to the movement that led to the Taiping Rebellion?

Objective:
Students will:
· understand the teachings of Li Hongzhi;
· understand the similarities between the Falun Dafa movement and the religious ideas that laid the foundation for the Taiping Rebellion in China;
· understand the tension between the practitioners of Falun Dafa on one hand, and the government of the People's Republic of China on the other.
(This lesson presumes that students have previously participated in a lesson on the Taiping Rebellion)
Preceding Evening's Homework: Direct students to read an article on Falun Dafa (for a sample article entitled "A Brief Discussion of Falun Dafa," contact the author via e-mail at william.boericke@verizon.net). In order to learn more about Falun Dafa, suggest that students refer to the following Web sites:
o http://www.falundafa.org
o http://www.clearwisdom.net
Motivation: Have students write a paragraph in which they recall everything that they remember from a previous lesson on the beliefs of Hung Xiuquan, the leader of the Taiping Rebellion in China (1851-1864).

Procedure:

1. Discuss what students wrote in their paragraph. Recall how Hung Xiuquan of the Taiping Rebellion believed that he was the younger son of Jesus and was sent to found the Heavenly Kingdom on earth.

2. Briefly review the fundamentalist morality of Hung Xiuquan and how the Taiping leaders prohibited opium smoking, gambling, the use of tobacco and wine, polygamy, the sale of slaves and prostitution. Discuss how the Taiping leaders tried to promote the equality of the sexes and tried to abolish the private ownership of land and property.

3. Discuss the teachings of Li Hongzhi and the emergence of Falun Dafa as a major popular religion in China in the 1990s. Discuss the fundamentalist, anti-materialist morality of Li Hongzhi's Falun Dafa. Compare and contrast Li Hongzhi's teachings with the values of the "Heavenly Kingdom on earth" sought by the leaders of the Taiping Rebellion.

4. Recall how the Taiping Rebellion resulted from the collapse of the Qing dynasty's rule (under Western onslaught), and how Hung tapped into the deep millenarianism of the Chinese peasantry.

5. Discuss whether Falun Dafa may be the result of a collapse of traditional Chinese lifestyles under the onslaught of a Western, media-driven global culture, the trappings of which are truly accessible only to the elite. Compare and contrast this possibility to the rise of Hung and the Taiping Rebellion as a response to the collapse of the Qing rule under Western pressure.

6. Describe the reaction of the Chinese Government to the rise of Falun Dafa. Discuss whether the occurrence of the Taiping Rebellion may have contributed to the decision of the Chinese government to squash Falun Dafa in China.