The Cultural Economy of Falun Gong in China
Author | : Xiao Ming |
Publisher | : Univ of South Carolina Press |
Total Pages | : 211 |
Release | : 2012-11-16 |
ISBN-10 | : 9781611172072 |
ISBN-13 | : 1611172071 |
Rating | : 4/5 (72 Downloads) |
Download or read book The Cultural Economy of Falun Gong in China written by Xiao Ming and published by Univ of South Carolina Press. This book was released on 2012-11-16 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Emerging in China in the early 1990s, Falun Gong is viewed by its supporters as a folk movement promoting the benefits of good health and moral cultivation. To the Chinese establishment, however, it is a dissident religious cult threatening political orthodoxy and national stability. The author, a Chinese national once involved in implementing Chinese cultural policies, examines the evolving relationship between Falun Gong and Chinese authorities in a revealing case study of the powerful public discourse between a pervasive political ideology and an alternative agenda in contention for cultural dominance. Posited as a cure for culturally bound illness with widespread symptoms, the Falun Gong movement's efficacy among the marginalized relies on its articulation of a struggle against government sanctioned exploitation in favor of idealistic moral aspirations. In countering such a position, the Chinese government alleges that the religious movement is based in superstition and pseudoscience. Aided by her insider perspective, the author deftly employs Western rhetorical methodology in a compelling critique of an Eastern rhetorical occurrence, highlighting how authority confronts challenge in postsocialist China.