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William Zheng

Shi Yongxin, former abbot of the world-famous Shaolin Temple, has been sentenced to 24 years in jail for crimes including embezzlement and taking bribes, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Shi was also fined 3.5 million yuan (US$516,000).
Xinxiang Intermediate People’s Court in China’s central Henan province found that Shi, whose birth name is Liu Yingcheng, had embezzled more than 131 million yuan between 2003 and 2025.
Shi appeared in a public trial on Monday. The verdict was announced on Friday.
For decades, Shi served as abbot of Shaolin Temple and president of the Shaolin Charity and Welfare Foundation.
He was found to have appropriated 151 million yuan for his own use between 2012 and 2022 and to have taken bribes totalling 11.63 million yuan since 2006 to help others win contracts related to temple construction and related business operations.
Shi was also found to give more than 5.67 million yuan in bribes to officials to obtain “improper benefits” between 1995 and 2022, according to the court’s announcement.


It said his actions constituted the crimes of embezzlement, misappropriation of funds, accepting and offering bribes – all involving “exceptionally large sums of money”.
After his ousting in July last year, a Shaolin Temple social media post accused Shi of seriously violating Buddhist precepts by “maintaining long-term improper relationships with multiple women and fathering illegitimate children”.
The court said Shi should be “severely punished” according to law, calling the circumstances of his bribery “particularly serious” given the crimes lasted a long period, caused severe harm and had a negative social impact.
In mitigation, the court said he “truthfully confessed” to his crimes, proactively confessed criminal acts not yet known to the prosecutors, pleaded guilty and expressed remorse.
Shi did not appeal, it added.
The 60-year-old former abbot had led Shaolin Temple for more than 25 years when he was ousted in July last year following a joint government investigation.
The same month, the Buddhist Association of China revoked his Buddhist credentials, accusing him of “seriously undermining the reputation of the Buddhist community and the image of monks”.
Companies linked to him were also deregistered.
Following the investigation, local authorities in November last year announced the approval of his arrest on multiple criminal charges.

Prosecutors formally indicted him in March.
Shi, who holds a degree in business administration, turned Shaolin Temple into a multibillion-dollar global brand with business interests including real estate and entertainment, earning him the nickname “CEO monk”.
He joined the temple in 1981 and became its abbot in 1999, at the age of 34.
Despite facing criticism over the temple’s commercialisation, Shi justified his approach as necessary for protecting the monastic institution established more than 1,500 years ago.
Designated a Unesco World Heritage site, the temple is recognised as the cradle of Shaolin kung fu.
Shi’s downfall has dealt a major blow to the reputation of China’s monks, triggering a series of institutional reforms.
In a move to improve oversight of monks’ conduct, China’s official Buddhist association announced in December last year the establishment of its first supervisory body.
Wang Huning, China’s fourth-ranking official and head of China’s top political advisory body, urged the association to exercise “comprehensive and rigorous governance over the religion” and “intensify efforts to raise awareness of the rule of law and guide clerical personnel to abide by the law”, Xinhua reported in December.
The same month, the Communist Party chief of Henan province, Liu Ning, called for a clear boundary between the temple and business during an impromptu visit, according to Henan Daily.


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Shi Yongxin served as abbot of Shaolin Temple and president of the Shaolin Charity and Welfare Foundation. Photo: AFP

Shi Yongxin (third from right, in yellow and red robes) attends an opening ceremony at a community centre in Xian in 2015. Under his leadership, Shaolin Temple became a multibillion-dollar global brand. Photo: AP

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Disgraced leader should be ‘severely punished’ according to law, court says, calling circumstances of his bribery ‘particularly serious’


Disgraced leader should be ‘severely punished’ according to law, court says, calling circumstances of his bribery ‘particularly serious’.


Shi Yongxin

Xinhua News Agency

China sentences former Shaolin abbot to 24 years for corruption

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Disgraced leader should be ‘severely punished’ according to law, court says, calling circumstances of his bribery ‘particularly serious’

Disgraced leader should be ‘severely punished’ according to law, court says, calling circumstances of his bribery ‘particularly serious’