On January 19, 1997, Shanghai TV "The No. 1 in the World" program, a man in Taoist uniform sat in a fish tank to perform his unique skill of "holding breath underwater".
Before this, the Guinness World Record with underwater holding air was only 19 minutes and 21 seconds. If the Taoist priest could exceed this limit today, he would break the Guinness World Record.
2 hours later, the notary of the Shanghai Notary Office solemnly announced to the camera:
Li Jun's time in the sealed container is two hours and 22 minutes, and the above performance process is real and effective.
As soon as the notary finished speaking, the audience in front of the TV was in an uproar.
"It's so good for Chinese people. This Taoist priest has great skills."
"Aren't the gods and immortals cultivated by Taoist priests? This Li Jun has become an immortal, extraordinary."
The audience was infuriated, and other media followed him to make things happen at the right time. For a time, this Taoist priest named Li Jun was popular in China.
At that time, many big-name stars in the entertainment industry fell under the name of Taoist Li, and many people on the Forbes Rich List also went up the mountain to find Li Jun in order to seek the "way to immortality."
However, on a dark and windy night in 2010, Li Jun, the "master" who was praised by countless people, quietly went into seclusion. An insider revealed that he actually fled to the United States to hide from the limelight.
What legendary story happened to this "legendary immortal master" and why did he fall to a foreign land?
Li Jun, born in 1969, is from Shapingba, Chongqing. According to himself, "I was born in a Taoist family in , and my father is a Taoist priest. When I was 3 years old, I was brought into the Taoist temple. That was the cause and condition of my previous life..."
3 entered the Taoist , which is indeed extraordinary.
But after he became famous, a reporter investigated: "His father is an ordinary retired worker. This kid often fought on the streets when he was in junior high school and was very famous." What the reporter investigated was completely different from what he said, which made people who knew his identity feel a little disappointed, but soon, they felt relieved.
, it’s not surprising that anyone doesn’t want to add a sense of mystery to themselves.
Just as it is said in Buddhism and Taoism, everything has opportunities. Maybe Li Jun and Tao have another unusual encounter?
However, Li Jun did have the opportunity, but this fate is not that fate.
When Li Jun was in high school, he accidentally saw several jugglers who came to Chongqing from Hebei to set up stalls on the street.
The acrobatic programs performed by them, such as "Eating Sword", "Broken Steel Wire", "Three Immortals Returning to the Cave", attracted Li Jun's attention, and he couldn't help but itch, and he chased behind the juggler's butt for several days. Li Jun, who was not interested in going to school, did not discuss with his parents, and dropped out of school and followed them, embarking on the road of performing arts in the world.
"This child is said to have gone to learn peerless martial arts." No one knows where he has gone. When someone asked him, his family could only guess in such a vague way.
is like his identity. No one knows whether he has learned peerless martial arts. But when he appears in people's sight again, he looks like a master.
In 1990, Chongqing TV held the "Sun God Cup Bashu Special Skills Competition". Li Jun, who believed he had learned "peerless martial arts" signed up to participate.
However, his rough props and single shots are like sand falling into the water, not causing a splash in the organizer's heart.
No surprise, he won't even pass the audition.
can be unexpected and always appears when people are discouraged.
competition host and member of the organizing committee Qiu Xiaobao chatted with him for a few words, became interested in his "human body power-up" project, and helped him win the opportunity to go to the TV station.
is gold and shows that it must shine.
Li Jun, who almost failed to pass the audition, actually got the title of "Ten Masters" in the official competition with his "skills" and won the title of "Ten Masters" in Bashu's unique skills.
The title is like a layer of gold on Li Jun. Li Jun will never let the title of "Ten Awesome Masters". After the
competition, he immediately recruited troops and founded the "Chongqing Oriental Bashu Special Skills Group".
In 1994, the country sparked a qigong craze, and Li Jun immediately opened a qigong class.
In 1996, the concept of health preservation became popular in Chongqing, and Li Jun’s “Tao Medical Center” came into being.
In short, Li Jun's career always follows the trend and is doing well, but his ambition is not limited to this. He wants to make greater fame and greater profits.
is famous, he knows that it depends on the media.
Li Jun is smart and knows how to become famous.
In 1997, Shanghai TV launched the "No. 1 in the World" column with the selling point of exploring the performances of folk experts on stage.
Li Jun decided to perform a program in this column that will surprise everyone.
On January 19, 1997, viewers who watched the "No. 1 in the World" column saw that Li Jun was sitting in a glass container full of water. The water was higher than his mouth and nose, and several fish were swimming around him.
This time, Li Jun decided to challenge the century-old problem of "holding air underwater".
2 hours later, the scene at the beginning of the article appeared on the stage.
Li Jun's time to "hold air underwater" exceeds the Guinness World Record 7 times.
Looking at the entire animal world, species that are good at diving, Widell seal diving for up to 80 minutes, sperm whale one and a half hours, and reptile turtle 10 hours and 14 minutes.
And Li Jun can stay in the sealed container for 2 hours and 22 minutes!
What is this concept?
is "The Taoist priest has gone beyond the realm of mammals and entered the kingdom of reptiles"?
Or is this person no longer a human, but a god?
Some people question, some speculate, and some worship.
In short, Li Jun became famous by "sitting".
The second year after becoming famous, Li Jun immediately changed his name to Li Yi , which seemed more "immortal".
Talking about his magical skill of "holding breath underwater", Li Yi's expression always looked faint: "It's just the fetal breathing method of Taoist . I have practiced in Shaolongguan for many years, and my kung fu has already been perfect."
But the more he is calm, the more popular he is with the audience and the media.
Especially after knowing that he can not only hold his breath underwater, but also turn on the 220V current with his bare hands to check the patient by touching it. Even after he cured the cancer, waves of fans continued to rush to Shaolongguan like a tide, worshiping "Master Li Yi" in the hope of getting his advice.
There are also some media reporters with a keen sense of smell that are flocking to this sudden religious star.
They have a brilliant idea, describing Li Yi as a "god" and promoting it as a "famous health master", and giving Shaolong Temple a "famous health mountain".
With the media's praise, Li Yi's fame has become more and more popular and more fans.
By 2010, more than 30,000 disciples converted to Li Yi, including many business elites and best in the entertainment industry.
Gan Quanzhong, vice president of Jinyun Mountain Taoist Association, said: "Many people have been here on the Forbes Rich List."
The business god Ali Teacher Ma is not only a disciple of Li Yi, but also praised: "Dao Zheng Li Yi is a Taoist descendant who is rare in a century. If he has been in the years, he can be compared with Nan Huaijin and Hingyun Master ."
famous director Zhang Jizhong's wife and CCTV director Fan Xinman specially wrote the book "Is there a god in the world?", which is full of wonderful descriptions of Li Yi's various magical powers. The cover of the
book is also filled with recommendations from well-known people such as Li Yapeng , Jingyidan .
Among them, Jing Yidan's recommendation is: "In Fan Xinman's eyes, we have entered another world. Maybe we still can't understand it, but when we get closer, it feels good."
well-known people praised it, triggering the celebrity effect. For a time, Li Yi became popular, and his social status grew like a rocket as his fame rose.
not only serves as a visiting professor at the School of History and Culture of Central China Normal University and a visiting professor at the School of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but is invited to teach Chinese studies and health culture in many prestigious schools.
also jumped from the vice president of the Chongqing Taoist Association at the municipal level to the vice president of the China Taoist Association at the 8th National Congress of China Taoist Association.
There is a word in China called fame and fortune. After Li Yi became famous, he was no exception.
Li Yi's huge social influence led Shaolong Temple and Baiyun Temple on Jinyun Mountain to become the hottest "health holy place" at that time, and believers from all over the country flocked to Jinyun Mountain.
Money can make the devil push, and you have to queue up in Jinyun Mountain.
believers need to queue up for two months and then pay a sky-high registration fee to be lucky enough to join the weekly "5-day class" and "7-day class" of health practice.
"5-day class" is about 30 people per class, with a tuition fee of 3,800 yuan per person; "7-day class" is about 20 people per class, with a tuition fee of 9,000 yuan per person.
In addition, there is also the "Tao Te Ching Training" class, with 16,800 per person and 36,000 yuan per person for the "President Training Class".
In addition to earning tuition fees for opening classes and enrollment, Li Yi also opened up many other new financial channels:
has a curative nature, with a course of treatment of 9,800 yuan.
rituals that can drive away evil spirits and avoid evil spirits, costs between 30,000 and 50,000 yuan per game.
fasting , starting price of 300,000 yuan.
No matter how big or how you make money, there is nothing you can't imagine. Apart from the explicit price tag, Li Yi will also earn secret money.
A former manager of Shaolongguan told reporters that when she first arrived in Shaolongguan, she saw that Li Yi’s mobile phone was cheap and worn, so she suggested that Li Yi change it, or she would pay for one to give to Li Yi.
But Li Yi smiled and said, "Don't underestimate my old phone, you don't know how many new phones it has brought me."
It is precisely because of Li Yi's old phone that many believers have given him new high-priced phones.
Baiyun Temple Taiyi Hall’s side hall is very dilapidated, but it was not caused by the ·12 earthquake , but artificial damage. It was Li Yi as a prop to lure believers to donate.
A female entrepreneur said that when she went to Shaolongguan for treatment in 2009, she also donated money to repair the Taiyi Palace.
But later the reporter went to interview and Taiyi Palace was still in a mess.
Not only that, according to an old Taoist priest who has served Shaolongguan for many years, the so-called good tea and medicinal wine in Shaolongguan are actually cheap products purchased by nearby farmers.
Although Li Yi made unreasonable money, one was willing to fight and the other was willing to be beaten.
But if you make money no matter what kind of money, it would be a bit too much.
In 1998, Li Yi changed the Buddhist temple Shaolong Temple to Shaolong Temple, but there were no Taoist priests in the temple and could not build Taoist temples. He asked someone to lobby Taoist Master Zhong from Laojun Cave to jump to Shaolong Temple, but Li Yi also deducted it to the best of his efforts.
Before, Master Zhong could get 250 yuan a month for single clothes in Laojun Cave, but Li Yi only gave him 30 yuan a month, and only mentioned 50 yuan in the fourth year.
In 2008, Dao Zhong suffered from a cerebral thrombosis and spent 17,000 yuan on medical expenses. In 2009, Dao Zhong wanted to go back to work in the Taoist temple, but was rejected by the Taoist temple and only gave him 3,000 yuan to send him home. The past ten years of service have resulted in such a result, which aroused the dissatisfaction of many people in the Taoist temple.
Moreover, since the construction of Shaolongguan started, almost every project has had disputes with workers due to the arrears of project payments.
people are afraid of being famous and pigs are afraid of being strong. When a person's reputation and money accumulate to a certain level, it will attract the attention of others, and many people cannot stand scrutiny, otherwise they will only reveal their true colors.
In August 2010, many authoritative media such as People's Daily , China News Network and other authoritative media published and reprinted news about Li Yi's false propaganda and illegal money-making.
It is reported that Li Yi’s external publicity resume is mostly false.
He claimed to be admitted to Taoism at the age of 3. In fact, his Taoist ancestry was only four years old until 2010.
On the official website of Shaolongguan, you can see the honors and social recognition that Li Yi has received:
teaches Chinese studies and health culture at Fudan University School of Management , Peking University Department of Philosophy , Zhejiang University , Cambridge University , Oxford University , Reading University , London University , Nottingham University and other well-known domestic and foreign universities.
However, according to the reporter's investigation, most of the above news are false.
"There is no part-time professor or lecturer named Li Yi in the Department of Philosophy of Peking University." Teacher Xie, who joined the Department of Philosophy of Peking University in 2001, told reporters.
Ms. Huang from the Faculty Office of the School of Management, Fudan University, was a staff member who joined the School of Management in 2006. She said there was no information about Li Yi in the college database.
Cambridge University’s relevant colleges also denied that they have a visiting professor like Li Yi.
Li Yi’s title is difficult to tell whether it is true or false. After thinking about it carefully, there are also vague narratives in his performances that make people feel that they are "proficient in Taoism".
What made him famous in one battle was the performance of "underwater holding air" in the "No. 1 in the World" column of Shanghai TV. After investigation by reporters, it was learned that the so-called "underwater hang-holding survival" was actually Li Yi stayed in a glass box filled with air, then put it into another larger glass tank, poured water into the glass tank, and flooded the sealed glass box, and then put goldfish in the water, creating the illusion of underwater hang-holding.
"Underwater breathing" is false, so what about his "electrostatic therapy"?
A disciple who followed Li Yi told reporters, "The secret of the electrostatic therapy is to insert the board. There is a problem with the insert board. Someone controls the power in the next door. Wu Xin and Li Yi have always been in a fixed position and play this game with the fixed insert board."
In a word, all Li Yi's behavior cannot stand investigation and scrutiny.
"Li Yi is very smart, he is very careful, he doesn't have a penny in his name. Even the cars he drives are in the name of his disciples." The police investigating Li Yi's case involving the "Three Chaos Funds" said helplessly to the reporter.
But after the official came to fight against counterfeiting himself, Li was repeatedly smart. He could escape legal sanctions and his glory would no longer be as good as before.
More and more people in society realize that Li Yi is the real thing of making money by using his missionary preaching.
Li Yi's image as a "god" has become a "scammer who sells art in the world".
is plagued by negative reports and loses the soil for making money. In 2010, Li Yi quietly left China and set foot on the beautiful country on the other side of the ocean.
Perhaps it was the trick of foreigners who ignored him to fool people. After staying outside for a few years, in 2015, Li Yi quietly returned to China.
In recent years, media visits have found that although Li Yi no longer actually manages Shaolongguan after returning to China, he is still considered a "spiritual leader". In order to hide from people's eyes, he would quietly return to the mountain from time to time at night.
It’s just that since Li Yi’s lies were exposed, his friends from the “celebrity circle of friends” have drawn a clear line with him.
It is said that singer Faye Wong and Li Yapeng once asked Li Yi for fortune telling and begging for children, but later they did not interact with Li Yi again.
, once known as "Li Yi's disciple", is the host of Phoenix TV , , Yang Jinlin , denied that it had something to do with Li Yi.
Business tycoon Mr. Ma said that he is now "not catching a cold" in various techniques such as health preservation and treatment.
I really saw him getting up the red building, watching him entertain guests, and to see his building collapse.
But after Li Yi fell, we saw that there were more "Zhang Yi" and "Wang Yi" standing out.
Even an entertainment reporter said: Now, no rich or celebrity does not offer a master or Rinpoche, and I feel embarrassed to be in the circle.
Why are these pseudo-masters so marketable? Why do those masters’ lies seem fake and vulnerable, but some people still believe them and are willing to be deceived?
In fact, it is not how high the "Li Yi"'s scams are, but that they have grasped the anxiety and troubles of people at present.
Most of these masters, under the name of "pursuing health and exploring the meaning of life", boasting about their miracles and special abilities to convince the students.
Little do you know that believing in the master’s supernatural powers may not necessarily be able to maintain your body well, but you can fatten your master’s wallet.
So, before health preservation, be pleasing to the eyes. As long as you have the ability to distinguish the true and false, no matter who deceives you, you will remain unmoved and your wallet remains unmoved.
Recalling Li Yi's path to becoming an immortal, in addition to the unblocked admiration and trust of his believers, many media and celebrities also played a role in fueling the fire. With media and celebrities' endorsements, Li Yixing's fraud is even more unscrupulous.
Now, it has been more than ten years since Li Yi stepped down from the altar, but he is still walking around the world.
According to Li Yi's disciples, although there are still businessmen who come up the mountain, "it's just incomparable to the number before."
-END-
Author: Du Xiaoran
Editor: Liu Ye Taotao
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