China Jails Former Shaolin Abbot 24 Years Over 131 Million Yuan Corruption Case
Updated
Updated · South China Morning Post · May 29
China Jails Former Shaolin Abbot 24 Years Over 131 Million Yuan Corruption Case
10 articles · Updated · South China Morning Post · May 29
A Henan court sentenced former Shaolin abbot Shi to 24 years in prison on Friday and fined him 3.5 million yuan after a public trial held Monday.
The court said Shi embezzled more than 131 million yuan between 2003 and 2025, misappropriated 151 million yuan for personal use from 2012 to 2022, and took 11.63 million yuan in bribes.
Those bribes were tied to helping others secure contracts linked to temple construction and related business operations, with the court calling the circumstances particularly serious and saying he should be severely punished.
Shi, born Liu Yingcheng, had led Shaolin Temple for decades and also served as president of the Shaolin Charity and Welfare Foundation, making the case a high-profile fall for one of Chinese Buddhism's best-known figures.
Was the Shaolin abbot jailed for corruption, or for becoming too powerful for Beijing to control?
With its 'CEO Monk' imprisoned, can the Shaolin Temple reclaim its spiritual soul from its global business empire?