Tuesday, Jun 12, 2012

In Conversation - Leading Sinologists Dr Benjamin Penny and Professor Geremie Barmé talk about The Religion of Falun Gong

Join us to celebrate the publication of The Religion of Falun Gong by Benjamin Penny at Asia Bookroom on Tuesday June the 12th at 6pm. When Dr Penny and Professor Barmé talk about Dr Penny's latest book The Religion of Falun Gong it is sure to be a fascinating discussion. An evening not to be missed!

More about The Religion of Falun Gong

In July 1999, a mere seven years after the founding of the religious movement known as the Falun Gong, the Chinese government banned it. Falun Gong is still active in other countries, and its suppression has become a primary concern of human rights activists and is regularly discussed in dealings between the Chinese government and its Western counterparts. But while much has been written on Falun Gong’s relation to political issues, no one has analyzed in depth what its practitioners actually believe and do.

The Religion of Falun Gong remedies that omission, providing the first serious examination of Falun Gong teachings. Benjamin Penny argues that in order to understand Falun Gong, one must grasp the beliefs, practices, and texts of the movement and its founder, Li Hongzhi. Contextualizing Li’s ideas in terms of the centuries-long Chinese tradition of self-cultivation and the cultural world of 1980s and ’90s China—particularly the upwelling of biospiritual activity and the influx of translated works from the Western New Age movement—Penny shows how both have influenced Li’s writings and his broader view of the cosmos. An illuminating look at this controversial movement, Religion of Falun Gong opens a revealing window into the nature and future of contemporary China.

About the Author

Benjamin Penny is deputy director of the Australian Centre on China in the World in the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University.

When: 6pm Tuesday, 12th June, 2012

Where: Asia Bookroom, Unit 2, 1 - 3 Lawry Place, Macquarie. ACT

RSVP: By the morning of the 12th of June by phoning 6251 5191 or Email Us

Admission by gold coin donation to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation

Don't miss this evening, but, if you can't join us on the 12th of June but would like to buy a signed copy click here The Religion of the Falun Gong