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THREE Why Is Falun Gong Popular? CHINA DURING THE 1990s was in an era of postsocialism.1 In such times communist ideology declines, and economic activities prevail. While it faced more challenges from the citizenry, the leadership clung to its old Marxist ideology and continued efforts to safeguard its legitimacy. Although economic reforms resulted in a more relaxed attitude toward spiritual liberalization , the regime resisted any political change. Reared in a system where political conviction is viewed as nobler than material comfort and personal identity is tied to the revolutionary cause, many Chinese from the revolutionary era experienced a heavy blow to their faith when the legitimacy and credibility of the government system was called into question; changing values about the economy contradicted the Communist Party’s moral justification for its actions, leaving citizens in a moral vacuum. How do the Chinese cope with a society in flux? As Ben Xu notes, they struggle with the desire for a better standard of living, the fear of ruthless economic competition, and an unreadiness for the new pressures of commercialization . The “being after” embedded in these sentiments evokes anxiety that is sometimes tinged with a deep sense of uncertainty and nostalgia for the relative simplicity of the old ways.2 Xu pinpoints the psychosocial state of many Chinese citizens: living in an insular and unnatural environment, they grew accustomed to a simple and routine life. The living standard was low but there were few worries. The main necessities of life—a job, health care, and housing—were provided by the government. The transition to the market economy came as a rude awakening. The opportunities and the freedom brought by the market economy, otherwise enjoyed in capitalist countries, have made the Chinese feel disoriented and overwhelmed. The experience of Chinese citizens in an evolving economy parallels in many ways how former citizens of the Soviet Union reacted to the arrival of perestroika (“restructuring”). In “Late Socialism: An Eternal State,” a chapter in his Everything Was Forever, Alex Yurchak comments on how the Soviet public reacted to perestroika and glasnost (“openness, public discussion”):  52 The Cultural Economy of Falun Gong in China “When the policies of perestroika and glasnost were introduced in 1985, these campaigns were thought to be no different from the endless stateorchestrated campaigns before them. However, within a year or two it dawned on the Soviets that something unimaginable was taking place. Many speak of having experienced a sudden ‘break of consciousness’ and stunning shock.”3 Although the reforms in China and the former Soviet Union differ in many ways and have produced disparate outcomes, the initial reactions in both countries share similarities. To citizens of both countries, the reforms symbolized a rupture in official ideological presuppositions that had conditioned and shaped their modes of thinking over several decades. Thus the initiation of reforms produced public confusion, shock, and conflict, as well as fond memories of the past. Furthermore the public experienced a strong sense of unpreparedness for, and anxiety about, the future. Western scholars have written extensively on the impact of modernity in general, and their commentaries illuminate the Chinese situation. They explain how modernity makes an impact on big issues (such as cultural archetypes ) as well as small ones (such as personal mental states). Influencing citizens more than psychologically, it reaches into the cultural presuppositions of a society, the foundation upon which a society is a built. Hans Blumenberg employs the term “angst” to describe the impact of modernity, explaining, “Each time the so-called modernity has moved further into secular history, it has inherited, and now occupies, a vast domain of enigmatic questions for which it has no answer. We must allow for the fact that any epoch may inherit questions that the culture cannot answer within the presuppositions.”4 When China abruptly moved from its revolutionary era to an era of modern capitalism, political activities—once the major form of socialization— were replaced by commercial activities. An ideology to fit this new era has yet to evolve. When economic pursuits become the locus of sociopolitical activities , challenges to the legitimacy of the official orthodoxy, crises of faith, and the popular reception of a heterodox folk religion are the result. Anthony Giddens and Wade Roof relate the thrust of modernity to existential issues. Roof argues that modernity makes people feel “ontologically insecure” or “ontologically uncertain.”5 Giddens elaborates by saying that a person cannot consistently feel a part of a biographical continuity if...

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