Wife-beating Crazy English founder Li Yang says video games are a 'cultural problem'

Li Yang, the founder of China’s popular Crazy English training program, has gotten a reputation for being, well, crazy. Last year he made global headlines after his American wife Kim Lee divorced him, citing domestic abuse. Recently, he’s been in the headlines again after a baffling and very public religious conversion. Li Yang is now a Buddhist (he’s on the right in the image above), having gone through a conversion ceremony with the monk in charge of the Shaolin Temple.

Somehow, though, he’s managed to bring video games into conversation. Presumably using his newly-attained Buddhist wisdom, Li has reportedly pronounced that it is traditional Chinese culture that is responsible for the problems with Chinese youth. Those problems, according to Li: they’re irresponsible, out of shape, hate studying, and they play video games. The solution? That, according to Li, is to be found in ancient Eastern wisdom, whatever that means.

Granted, Li’s comments about games are easily dismissed as the barely-coherent ramblings of a wife-abusing scumbag. It’s not worth taking anything that man says seriously. But sadly, his comment about video games likely won’t come off as crazy to many in China’s older generation, who see gaming only as a potential threat to children’s study habits with no redeeming qualities at all.

Chinese gamers, of course, have a different take on the matter. On Netease games, his latest outburst about how games are a problem with traditional Chinese culture has already attracted hundreds of comments, and the most popular among them certainly share a theme:

Hunan user:

Beating your wife is perpetuating traditional Chinese culture…

Anhui user:

All I can say is that his understanding of games is definitely not as deep as his understanding of how to beat his wife.

Zhejiang user:

Li Yang is a moron who’s only good at teaching English and beating his wife. In terms of teaching people how to live their lives, you’d be better off eating shit [than learning from him].

(via Netease Games)