{"id":122335,"date":"2026-05-29T16:46:43","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T16:46:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=122335"},"modified":"2026-05-29T16:46:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T16:46:43","slug":"ex-head-monk-of-chinas-kung-fu-temple-jailed-for-embezzlement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=122335","title":{"rendered":"Ex-head monk of China\u2019s \u2018kung fu temple\u2019 jailed for embezzlement"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The former head of China\u2019s famous Shaolin Temple \u2013 known as the birthplace of kung fu \u2013 has been sentenced to 24 years in jail for crimes including embezzlement and bribery.<\/p>\n

Shi Yongxin had misappropriated temple assets worth more than 282m yuan ($42m; \u00a331m) from 2003 to 2025, a court in the central Henan province said.<\/p>\n

It said Shi had also used his official position to illegally obtain millions from temple construction projects, as well as offering huge bribes to Chinese officials.<\/p>\n

Shi \u2013 whose birth name is Liu Yingcheng \u2013 had earlier admitted his guilt, China\u2019s state Xinhua news agency reported. On Friday, he said he would not appeal against the verdict.<\/p>\n

The 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple \u2013 located on a mountain range \u2013 attracts thousands of disciples from China and elsewhere every year.<\/p>\n

Shi took office there as abbot in 1999, soon earning the nickname \u201cCEO monk\u201d for transforming the institution into a global brand.<\/p>\n

Under his leadership, the temple started opening schools outside China and formed a travelling troupe of monks who performed Shaolin kung fu shows \u2013 the temple\u2019s signature style of martial arts.<\/p>\n

Last year he was defrocked, China\u2019s Buddhist association said.<\/p>\n

Shi was investigated for embezzlement and fathering several children in 2015, but was later cleared of the charges.<\/p>\n

In an interview with BBC Chinese that year, he said: \u201cIf there were a problem, it would have surfaced long ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

The name \u201cShaolin Temple\u201d has gained prominence in pop culture over the years, including being the title of a 1982 film starring Jet Li.<\/p>\n

The temple is referenced in songs by American hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan and inspired a spin-off of the video game Mortal Kombat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The former head of China’s famous Shaolin Temple – known as the birthplace of kung fu – has been sentenced to 24 years in jail for crimes including embezzlement and bribery.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1910,10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international","category-politics","category-popular"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=122335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122335\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=122335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=122335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=122335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}