The former head of China’s renowned Shaolin Temple, widely regarded as the birthplace of kung fu, has been sentenced to 24 years in prison after being convicted of embezzlement, bribery and other corruption-related offences.
A court in central Henan Province found that Shi Yongxin, the temple’s former abbot, misappropriated assets worth more than 282 million yuan ($42 million) between 2003 and 2025.
The court said Shi also abused his position to obtain millions of yuan illegally from temple construction projects and paid substantial bribes to Chinese officials.
According to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency, Shi, whose birth name is Liu Yingcheng, admitted guilt during the proceedings. He later announced that he would not appeal the verdict.
The conviction marks a dramatic fall for one of China’s most recognisable religious figures. Shi became abbot of the 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple in 1999 and earned the nickname “CEO monk” for transforming the Buddhist institution into a global cultural brand.
Under his leadership, Shaolin expanded its international reach by opening schools overseas and establishing touring groups of monks who performed demonstrations of Shaolin kung fu around the world.
The temple, located in Henan Province, attracts thousands of disciples and visitors each year and remains one of China’s most famous religious and cultural landmarks.
Shi’s legal troubles have followed him for years. In 2015, he was investigated over allegations of embezzlement and fathering several children, although he was later cleared of those accusations.
At the time, he dismissed the claims and told BBC Chinese: “If there were a problem, it would have surfaced long ago.”
His fortunes changed last year when China’s Buddhist Association announced that he had been defrocked, stripping him of his monastic status.
The Shaolin Temple has long occupied a prominent place in global popular culture. Its name gained international recognition through the 1982 martial arts film starring Jet Li and has since been referenced in music by the Wu-Tang Clan and inspired characters and storylines in video games, including the Mortal Kombat franchise.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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