{"id":59646,"date":"2025-07-28T19:12:01","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T19:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/head-of-chinas-shaolin-temple-removed-over-embezzlement"},"modified":"2025-07-28T20:19:34","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T20:19:34","slug":"head-of-chinas-shaolin-temple-removed-over-embezzlement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/head-of-chinas-shaolin-temple-removed-over-embezzlement","title":{"rendered":"Head of China’S Shaolin Temple Removed over Embezzlement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span>The head of the Chinese temple known as the birthplace of kung fu will be disrobed for \u201cextremely\u201d bad behaviour, Beijing\u2019s top Buddhist authority said Monday, after allegations of embezzlement saw him placed under investigation.<\/p>\n

The Shaolin Temple said on Sunday that Abbot Shi Yongxin, known as the \u201cCEO monk\u201d for establishing dozens of companies abroad, was suspected of \u201cembezzling project funds and temple assets.\u201d<\/p>\n

The monastery said Shi had \u201cseriously violated Buddhist precepts,\u201d including by allegedly engaging in \u201cimproper relationships\u201d with multiple women.<\/p>\n

\u201cMultiple departments\u201d were conducting a joint investigation, it said in a statement on WeChat.<\/p>\n

In response, the Buddhist Association of China, overseen by the ruling Communist Party, said Monday it would cancel Shi\u2019s certificate of ordination.<\/p>\n

\u201cShi Yongxin\u2019s actions are of an extremely bad nature, seriously undermining the reputation of the Buddhist community, hurting the image of monks,\u201d the association said in an online statement.<\/p>\n

The association \u201cfirmly supports the decision to deal with Shi Yongxin in accordance with the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shi had previously been accused by former monks of embezzling money from a temple-run company, maintaining a fleet of luxury cars and fathering children with multiple women.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s government exercises authority over the appointment of religious leaders, and \u201cimproper\u201d conduct is often grounds for removal from office.<\/p>\n

A hashtag related to the temple scandal had been viewed more than 560 million times on social media platform Weibo as of Monday morning.<\/p>\n

The last post to the abbot\u2019s personal account on Weibo declared: \u201cwhen one\u2019s own nature is pure, the pure land is here in the present.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shi faced similar allegations in 2015 which the temple called \u201cvicious libel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shi, 59, took office as abbot in 1999 and in the following decades expanded Shaolin studies and cultural knowledge overseas.<\/p>\n

He helped the temple establish dozens of companies \u2014 but received backlash for commercialising Buddhism.<\/p>\n

The temple, established in AD 495, is known as the birthplace of Zen Buddhism and Chinese kung fu.<\/p>\n

Shi was first elected vice-chairman of the Buddhist Association of China in 2002 and has served as a representative to the National People\u2019s Congress, the country\u2019s top law-making body.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Lesotho<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. The head of the Chinese temple known as the birthplace of kung fu will be disrobed for \u201cextremely\u201d bad behaviour, Beijing\u2019s top Buddhist authority said Monday, after allegations of embezzlement saw him placed under investigation. The Shaolin Temple said on Sunday that Abbot Shi Yongxin, known as the \u201cCEO monk\u201d for establishing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":59645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,9],"tags":[245],"class_list":["post-59646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-miscellaneous","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"\nHead of China'S Shaolin Temple Removed over Embezzlement - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The head of the Chinese temple known as the birthplace of kung fu will be disrobed for \u201cextremely\u201d bad behaviour, Beijin ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/head-of-chinas-shaolin-temple-removed-over-embezzlement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Head of China'S Shaolin Temple Removed over Embezzlement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The head of the Chinese temple known as the birthplace of kung fu will be disrobed for \u201cextremely\u201d bad behaviour, Beijin ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/head-of-chinas-shaolin-temple-removed-over-embezzlement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lesotho\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-28T19:12:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-28T20:19:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2025\/07\/sm_1753717597.556919.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"431\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/head-of-chinas-shaolin-temple-removed-over-embezzlement#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/head-of-chinas-shaolin-temple-removed-over-embezzlement\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Head of China’S Shaolin Temple Removed over Embezzlement\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-28T19:12:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-28T20:19:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/head-of-chinas-shaolin-temple-removed-over-embezzlement\"},\"wordCount\":377,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/head-of-chinas-shaolin-temple-removed-over-embezzlement#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2025\/07\/sm_1753717597.556919.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Lesotho\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"miscellaneous\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/head-of-chinas-shaolin-temple-removed-over-embezzlement#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/head-of-chinas-shaolin-temple-removed-over-embezzlement\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/head-of-chinas-shaolin-temple-removed-over-embezzlement\",\"name\":\"Head of China'S Shaolin Temple Removed over Embezzlement - 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