Unorthodox Taoist Priest Liang Xingyang Attacks U.S. Official’s Statement on Feng Shui

By Hayli Harding --
07 Jul 2015 --

Xingyang is offended by Daniel Russel’s use of the concept of feng shui, an ancient Taoist tradition.

Last month, Daniel Russel, a U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia, was mentioned in the Washington Post with a quote saying, “Reclamation isn’t necessarily a violation of international law, but it’s certainly violating the harmony, the feng shui, of Southeast Asia….” The statement caught the attention of Liang Xingyang, a 36-year-old Taoist priest who lives in the Temple of the Golden Immortal. The temple is in the Shaanxi Province’s Zhongnan Mountains.

“An American, and also a Christian, talking about feng shui – doesn’t he fear that it violates his religion? … It’s like me asking a Christian to follow God,” Xingyang said.

Xingyang created a posting that use yin, yang, tai chi, and the solar system to disprove what Russel had to say about feng shui. In fact, his posting demonstrated that China’s acts to reclaim land has improved the feng shui of more than just the South China Sea, it had improved the feng shui of the solar system. His post was shared over 6,000 times and he has since received thousands of comments that supported him. He said that it made him happy that the online population were so positive toward his post, and that the act had “made [him] realize that patriotism is still in [him].”

Leave ‘feng shui’ to the Chinese, Taoist priest tells US official http://t.co/SOhG3iN0bZ (Image: AFP) pic.twitter.com/jCnK8j79qU
— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) May 21, 2015

Liang isn’t your typical Taoist. Instead of removing himself from the world, he has thrust himself into it. He is particularly active on a popular Chinese social media site called Weibo, which has earned him both many disciples and many who don’t trust him.

Some question his intent by placing himself into political debates and taking part in other current event discussions. However, overall, he has become a sensation in the Taoist community. He has garnered hundreds of followers and disciples through Weibo. Many were unsurprised by his response to Russel’s statement, particularly those who knew him well. He had always been what the Chinese call an “angry youth”, which is a phrase used to describe leftist Chinese youths who vocalize their patriotism.

In 2001, he created posters that condemned the United States following the death of a Chinese pilot after an US recon plane flew into a fighter jet above the South China Sea. He had taken his outrage to the political bulletins online anytime China had international disputes with other countries.