
Photo: Falun Dafa Information Center / CC BY 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Li Hongzhi is a figure I approach more as a student of modern history than as a fan. As the founder of Falun Gong, which he began teaching publicly in 1992, he sits at the center of one of the most consequential and contested religious stories of contemporary China. His book Zhuan Falun became the movement's core text, and the subsequent crackdown turned him into a deeply polarizing exile in the United States. I find his story significant precisely because it's so charged; it sits at the intersection of spirituality, politics and a vast diaspora, and it's impossible to understand recent China-related debates without it.
Overview
Li Hongzhi (Chinese: 李洪志; born 1951 or 1952) is a Chinese religious leader. He is the founder and leader of Falun Gong, or Falun Dafa, a United States–based new religious movement. Li began his public teachings of Falun Gong on 13 May 1992 in Changchun, and subsequently gave lectures and taught Falun Gong exercises across China.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Li Hongzhi
- Name (Japanese)
- 李洪志
- Reading
- り・こうし
- Born
- May 13, 1951 (age 75)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Taurus / Rabbit
- Origin
- Gongzhuling, People's Republic of China
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- religious leader
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Zhuan Falun | — |
6. Links
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9D%8E%E6%B4%AA%E5%BF%97
More people from People's Republic of China →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.