Spiritual Dissent

Thirty years after the onset of the reform and opening policies that have made China the most rapidly rising economic power in the history of the world, Falun Gong is arguably the most visible face of dissent with the Chinese Communist Party commonly encountered outside China. Yet despite its prominence it remains poorly understood, even among well-informed members of the public. David Ownby has therefore filled a remarkable public service with Falun Gong and the Future of China, his timely, well-researched and balanced volume about the Falun Gong movement, its origins and its contest with the Chinese communist regime.

Ownby is arguably the foremost expert on this movement, which combines elements of traditional Chinese spirituality with meditative practices and ritual body movements that he terms “body work.” He traces Falun Gong back to its origins in northeast China and has combed through the various versions of the biography of its founder, Li Hongzhi...