Shen Yun advertises 5,000 years of history in dance. Why does China call it an ‘anti-society cult’?

(NEXSTAR) – If you haven’t seen a Shen Yun performance, you’ve probably seen their advertisements.

Shen Yun is currently promoting performances in more than 60 cities in the United States and dozens more in other countries over the next three months only. Dance troupes visit hundreds of cities each year, and cities are often filled with billboards, flyers, and bus advertisements before each tour departs.

Advertisements usually depict dancers spinning and jumping in the air.of 2024 trailer It seduces the viewer to “experience 5,000 years of divinely inspired art.”Ann 2020 advertising The show has been called an “inspirational, life-changing show.”

but, memo Officials at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China have mixed opinions about this performance. “This organization preaches heretical fallacies that are anti-humanity and anti-science, and performs extreme psychological manipulation on its members. This is a cult that causes serious harm to society and violates human rights, and is It is the very cancer of civilized society.”

The Chinese government’s main issue with Shen Yun is its association with Falun Gong or Falun Dafa.

Falun Dafa is a religious movement that emerged in the early 1990s. It incorporates elements of Buddhism and Taoism and combines them with meditation, breathing techniques, and Qigong-like exercises. Human Rights Watch. The practice was banned in China in 1999 and violently suppressed. CNN coverage.

In a warning to potential showgoers, the Chinese embassy calls Falun Gong an “anti-social cult.”

Shen Yun does not deny its connection to Falun Dafa. openly acknowledge the relationship. Shen Yun said its performers were being persecuted in China and facing sabotage around the world. The group says their efforts to share their belief systems through dance and music have been met with harassment, hate crimes and the tires of their tour vehicles being slashed.

Shen Yun is just one high-profile expression of Falun Gong and Falun Dafa. You may have seen the Epoch Times newspaper at newsstands around town.of right-leaning news organizations With the support of Falun Gong, its reach and readership have increased significantly in recent years. new york times and NBC News report.

Shen Yun will refer people with questions to local speakers, many of whom are local chapters of the Falun Dafa Association. Repeated attempts by Nexstar to reach his two local chapters for comment on this matter were unsuccessful.

So, is Shen Yun a life-changing artistic masterpiece? Dangerous cult propaganda? Critics who watched the show say both sides are exaggerating.

“Trying to uncover the truth about Shen Yun is standing between two forces that are trying to beat you with propaganda, and trying to figure out which side to lean on,” writes Nicholas Hune Brown in a review of Shen Yun. I’m writing this. guardian.

Gia Tolentino went to see one performance twice. new yorker, writes that it is “much more, and much less than it seems.”a long thread on reddit Most of the opinions about the show are filled with people who said they spent money on tickets to the show and were disappointed. They did not convert to a cult, but some did leave during the break.