Coincidentally, the jewelry merchant became a monk and became a true Taoist priest. He was praised as a good young netizen in China by using Weibo to break feudal superstition.
"@ Quanzhen Daochang Liang Xingyang", who loves to take selfies in Weibo, has really caught fire recently.
On May 4th, he was invited by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League to attend the 2016 Outstanding Youth Commendation Symposium in Beijing. As one of the 15 good young netizens in China, he was received by Vice President Li Yuanchao. During the meeting, regardless of his own "face value defects", he resolutely took a photo with Jin Dong, the actor of Lin Shaoge in nirvana in fire and the representative of this "upward kindness and kindness to young people", and immediately made his Weibo "pink" to 330,000 people.
Why is Liang Xingyang favored by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League? What legendary experiences did he have in his life before he became a Taoist? How does he become attached to the internet? Recently, Liang Xingyang was interviewed by Guangzhou Daily reporter in Beijing and shared his life experience with the reporter.
Text, map/Guangzhou Daily correspondent Wuwei
At 9: 30 in the morning of May 9, after receiving the reporter’s WeChat, Liang Xingyang, wearing a long shoulder-length hair and wearing vulgar clothes but boots, quickly came to the hotel lobby to meet the reporter. When he entered the elevator, Liang Xingyang began to talk: "I’ve been really busy recently, and I don’t have any leisure time. I have to meet friends from Taobao and Observer in the evening, and I’m going to see the leaders of the United Front Work Department and the Religious Affairs Bureau in the next few days. I’m afraid I can’t go back to Zhongnanshan for the time being."
As for why he made this nondescript dress, Liang Xingyang also had his own difficulties: "I am afraid that wearing a costume and hat will scare the waiters."
"Being original takes you into science"
In 2009, Liang Xingyang, a jewelry merchant in Tengchong, suddenly became a monk at Jinxianguan in Zhongnanshan, becoming the 30th generation Xuanzi disciple of Longmen Sect of Quanzhen Sect, and he was the 30th generation disciple of Qiu Chuji by seniority.
In 2010, Liang Xingyang opened a Weibo in his own name only for one year, and then he took various selfies in Weibo from time to time. Among all the selfies, the most proud one was the picture of him smiling with a lollipop. "Don’t rely on a beard to increase the face value of being poor, give an ugly Taoist friend a chance to live." Afterwards, this picture was also published on the cover page of a new book "Knocking on the Heart" published by the State Administration for Religious Affairs for Liang Xingyang.
As a Taoist priest, Liang Xingyang has a position on the content of his Weibo — — Not superstitious, not blindly obedient, wise and clear-minded. He claimed that he never told fortune, and he opened Weibo to help netizens get rid of superstitions. In Weibo, his column titled "Being Being Original Takes You into Science" introduced some knowledge of health preservation and treatment to netizens, as well as his own reflection on feudal superstition.
For example, the netizen "Cang Cang Cang" said on Weibo: "Scorpio has a clear love and hate, so there are many views." Liang Xingyang will answer on the Weibo: "Please don’t be superstitious. Being original tells you that cancer is the majority."
Perhaps he was too maverick and actively joined the WTO. Liang Xingyang was also under pressure from many Taoist friends, and some even asked to expel his Taoist books. In this regard, Liang Xingyang resisted the pressure and had his own explanation: "Taoism has two mascots: cranes and deer, both of which are immortal mounts; Then why did you choose deer and crane? Why didn’t the fairy ride a pig? The crane, the fairy, symbolizes the world, lofty, meaning to look at the world from a macro perspective; The deer, Lu Ye, means the world of mortals and common customs, and means facing the world with a positive attitude. "
From Taoist to online celebrity
What really made Liang Xing famous was his tact in responding to the South China Sea issue in Weibo. Last May, US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russell made a strange remark that "China’s island-building in the South China Sea destroyed the geomantic omen in Southeast Asia".
Liang Xingyang immediately wrote a long microblog "On the Positive Influence of China’s Island Building in the South China Sea on the Geomantic omen of the Earth and the Peace of the Solar System", denouncing the US for stealing Taoist geomantic omen knowledge and undermining the peace among heaven, earth and man. Soon, Liang Xingyang became online celebrity because of this article. Until recently talking to reporters about his famous work, Liang Xingyang still said proudly: "Feng Shui problems should still be answered by professionals like me."
After becoming a "online celebrity", Liang Xingyang took questions from netizens, even the most exotic ones. Liang Xingyang said that some people ask questions, which proves that there are still people concerned. Answering these wonderful questions is also conducive to eliminating public misunderstandings and guiding the public to the good side.
Liang Xingyang was very moved by being invited to Beijing this time. He thought that the six years of spreading Taoism through Weibo had been affirmed by the state.
Dialogue: I was commended for spreading positive energy.
Guangzhou Daily: What was your life experience before you became a monk?
Liang Xingyang: I was born in Shandong, and my parents were both primary school teachers. In 1999, I was admitted to the Department of Applied Chemistry of Yunnan University, because my brother had to study at that time, and my parents were not well off. By the time I was a sophomore, my living expenses were earned by my work-study program, and I gradually entered the society. I did e-commerce for a while, and later, I came into contact with the jewelry industry. After graduation, I started to do jewelry-related business and once made a lot of money.
In 2004, when my mother died suddenly and went home to attend the funeral, two college students who helped me took all my goods and money away, and left me in debt. If my brother hadn’t had to study at that time, I would have died. I started from scratch, but I lost everything. Why? I don’t want to live a life of mediocrity.
So in 2006, I packed my bags and went to Tengchong, the border between China and Myanmar, to do jade business. Because I knew some friends when I was doing jewelry business before, my business quickly stabilized. The most comfortable time in my life was in Tengchong, waking up naturally every day and playing mahjong every day. Because of the high profit of jade, I only work once every two or three months, and the kickbacks to Burmese people are all two or three thousand yuan.
Quietly thinking, I began to get in touch with Taoism. In 2009, a friend from Xi ‘an came to Tengchong. When I visited him, he said that he was going to go up the mountain to convert and become a Taoist layman. I am also stupid, and I followed the Zhongnanshan to learn from my teacher.
Guangzhou Daily: Did Master accept you so quickly?
Liang Xingyang: This is actually an own goal incident. Previously, a northerner about my age told my master several times that he would go to Jinxian Temple to learn from his master, but he never went. As soon as Master saw me, he mistook me for the former, quickly accepted me, and named me Liang Xingyang according to my seniority. On the second day of becoming a monk, I realized that I was "being a monk"; The next year, when I chatted with Master, he realized that he had taken the wrong apprentice.
Guangzhou Daily: Are you still in the jewelry business?
Liang Xingyang: I must do something. If I don’t do it, how can I get the money to do this? I don’t refuse money. I think with more money, we can do more things, as long as we don’t lose our principles and enrich ourselves.
600 yuan, the "basic salary" of Taoist life
Guangzhou Daily: As a Taoist, what’s your daily life like in the mountains?
Liang Xingyang: I write articles on the Internet all day now, and I can’t be a stable little Taoist. Most Taoist get up at 6: 00 in the morning, clean up and tidy up the temple. After breakfast, they start to attend morning classes, and then they can do their own things: play Tai Chi, read books or entertain visitors; From 12 noon to 12: 30, we will have lunch on time, and there will be classes at 3 or 4 pm. After that, we will have dinner at 6 pm and go to bed at 9 pm. Of course, the temple doesn’t prohibit us from surfing the Internet and playing games, and I usually stay busy until 11 pm.
Guangzhou Daily: Do you have any income in Taoist temple?
Liang Xingyang: The income given to me by Taoist Temple is one month’s 600 yuan. The income of Taoist priests is not high. 600 yuan is the basic cost that Taoist temples give you so that you can live. Besides, how much Taoist priests can earn depends on their own efforts. For example, if people invite you to chant Buddhist scripture, you can earn several hundred yuan. Like I sometimes write books, I can also earn royalties, and sometimes I am short of people to recite scriptures, so I will make up for it.
Guangzhou Daily: You come from Quanzhen religion. What are the similarities and differences between Quanzhen religion and martial arts novels?
Liang Xingyang: Many people, including Quanzhen Sect, I know, came from Jin Yong’s martial arts novels, but I actually came from Qiu Chuji’s ancestor, and I was his 30th generation Xuanzi disciple.
Many people also ask me about Jin Yong’s novels. For example, Yin Zhiping is actually a founder of Quanzhen religion, but Yin Zhiping in Jin Yong’s novels is different. On this matter, Quanzhen Sect also has a lot of arguments, and some people say that they want to crusade against Jin Yong. So in later editions of the novel, Jin Yong changed Yin Zhiping’s name to Zhen Zhibing. In my opinion, Jin Yong did make mistakes when writing novels, and he shouldn’t tease historical figures, but without Jin Yong’s martial arts novels, there will definitely be too many people who don’t understand Quanzhen religion.
I can’t tell fortune.
Guangzhou Daily: How did you get attached to the Internet at that time?
Liang Xingyang: When I first went to college in 1999, I came into contact with the Internet, and I haven’t left since. After becoming a monk, I hope to introduce our daily life through the Internet. I started to open Weibo in 2010, but I didn’t have much goals at that time, and I didn’t expect to be so popular today.
Everyone always thinks that we are mysterious, so that I dare not wear a cassock outside. As soon as I get on the train or plane, a group of people come around. "Taoist, please count my life?" When I say I can’t count, they will say, "You can’t even count your life, fake Taoist." Many people think that we just draw lots to tell fortune, but this is not the case. I share my thoughts, thoughts and experiences with you on Weibo, including our own reflection on feudal superstition. Since I started Weibo, I have determined the principle of not being superstitious, not being extreme, and being wise and clear-minded, and my later journey has become wider and wider.
Guangzhou Daily: You also have a column on the Internet called "Taoist takes you into science". Why do you want to do this column?
Liang Xingyang: Our traditional culture, including Taoism, actually contains many scientific contents. On April 22nd, the Ministry of Science and Technology and Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China issued "Standards of Scientific Quality of Chinese Citizens", which clearly stated that we should understand China’s traditional philosophical ideas such as knowing Yin and Yang, the five elements, the unity of man and nature, and understanding knowledge by grasping things. They are part of our traditional science, and these things may be flawed, but we should not blindly deny them, but look at them from a scientific dialectical point of view.
Find a partner because of positive energy
Guangzhou Daily: How did you receive the invitation of May 4th Youth Day?
Liang Xingyang: Others think that we may not be able to hit the gossip, but my friends with the Communist Youth League are doing positive things online. The Communist Youth League thinks that I am practicing socialist core values; I think I am spreading the essence from the virtues of China traditional culture.
At the end of April, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League contacted me and asked me if I had time recently and wanted to invite me to attend. I didn’t think much about it. I thought I would attend if I wanted to. I didn’t expect such a high-standard meeting, and I didn’t expect a vice president to attend at all.
Guangzhou Daily: On the Internet, you denounced the wrong remarks made by American and Japanese officials about the South China Sea issue. What was your consideration at that time?
Liang Xingyang: These remarks made by American and Japanese officials are intended to refute Chinese with the culture of China. When Americans talk about Feng Shui with us and Japanese talk about Tao Te Ching with us, leave this kind of thing to a "professional" like me. Tao Te Ching is a Taoist classic, and Feng Shui is our specialty, so it is only appropriate for us to come forward.
Guangzhou Daily: How are you going to continue to spread positive energy online in the future?
Liang Xingyang: Now we are concerned and encouraged by many people and officials. We will stick to our own path, and we will develop better on this road in the future. When we didn’t have much support in the past, we all came to today. Now with support, I will go higher. We will seek common ground while reserving differences, unite most people, and find the greatest common denominator of our exchanges, which includes patriotism, culture and recognition of the Chinese nation, and better serve.
Guangzhou Daily: You often interact with netizens and refuse to answer their wonderful questions. Why do you not hesitate to answer such questions?
Liang Xingyang: Since he asked, it proves that he still has the least curiosity about me. These people are not all malicious, but just misunderstood. I think as long as I answer, he may have a good understanding of us. And if I insult or attack this, I’m afraid his misunderstanding of us will be deeper. No matter how wonderful these problems are, at least we can deal with them, and we can also spread the correct ideas in dealing with them. Why not?
In the face of netizens’ questions, what we consider is not how wonderful the problem is, but how to deal with it. It is impossible for everyone in this society to like you and give others answers. You can’t just solve those puzzles that make you comfortable and uncomfortable, but you should also give others answers.
