Sloppy media and ignorant elite create false gurus

• Source: Global Times
• [21:42 August 22 2010]
• Comments

Sima Nan

Editor's Note:

Taoist priest Li Yi, the abbot of the Shaolong Temple on Jinyun Mountain, Chongqing, and a renowned health guru, was recently exposed as a fraud. Why did so many people fall for him? Was the media to blame? Global Times (GT) reporter Yu Jincui talked to Sima Nan (Sima), a sociologist and a well-known skeptic, on Li's career.

GT: How did Li Yi become so famous?

Sima: Li was basically a magician and con artist.

In the past, he earned his living by playing little tricks with traditional cultural features. However, he managed to repackage himself as a Taoist priest and use Taoist theurgy to package his coarse tricks.

Li claimed he could hold his breath underwater for two hours and 20 minutes by the technique of taixi dafa (breathing like a baby in the womb).

In fact, he didn't hold his breath under water but stayed in an empty glass container. Although there was limited oxygen, he simply sat still, meaning his body consumed less oxygen and he easily had enough air to survive.

Another "magic power" Li claimed was using 220 volts electricity to diagnose diseases. It is an old trick known as dian qigong, invented in the 1980s, which has been proven to be unscientific.

If you hold a live 220 volt wire against someone, as long as their shoes are insulated and their hands are dry, they're unlikely to be hurt. Plus, when Li was using electricity to "diagnose" diseases, somebody else was adjusting the current in the next room.

So, Li's magic was just some simple old tricks. He used these tricks to make himself appear divine and attract followers.

GT: Why did so many people fall for Li?

Sima: There's a health craze on at the moment. With the improvement in living standards, people are worrying more about their health, and especially about the problems of age.

So there is a great public demand for regimens for a longer and healthier life. Li is clever enough to find the market and use it to make a fortune.

Although modern medicine is rather advanced, not all diseases can be cured. There are also some defects in the current public healthcare system. Patients wait for many days and still cannot see the experts they expected. Public disappointment creates room for people to seek help from religion or through pseudoscience.

Actually, living a healthier life is very simple, as long as people exercise and stay away from bad habits like drinking and smoking.

However, it is too difficult to persist. People want to chase health but are unwilling to deny themselves the comforts of life. Li's tricks provided them with a shortcut.

Li claimed that through practicing bigu (abstinence from cereals) and zhanzhuang (standing exercise) for a few days, all diseases could be cured. No wander so many people were crazy for his nonsense.

The demand for good health and eagerness for quick results among modern people offer a hotbed for cheats like Li Yi. What's more, thanks to the media and some celebrities' promotions, the cheats easily become popular with the public.

GT: It is said that more than half of Li's followers are rich Chinese, including some members of the social elite like business tycoons and pop singers. What's your opinion on the celebrities' role in this case?

Sima: Li reportedly has some 30,000 followers, among whom more than half are members of the social elite. I am not sure whether this is accurate or not.

There is a great possibility that it is just hype. However, some celebrities did play a negative role in this case. If we scan the relevant reports a few years ago, we can easily find evidence that these celebrities spoke highly of Li.

Celebrities do not necessarily have better sense or more knowledge of science than ordinary people, and they can be just as gullible.

Celebrities should be more cautious. They shouldn't easily promote individuals or products. The public should strengthen their judgment, and not blindly believe in and imitate celebrities.

Until recently, some well-known people have been speaking up for Li. There are mainly two reasons.

One is that their interests are tied up with Li's, and the other is that their scientific knowledge and level of understanding is limited.