According to a report by mainland media First Financial on July 30, after the former abbot of the Shaolin Temple in Henan Songshan, Shi Yongxin, fell from grace, his brother Liu Yingbiao also went missing and is suspected of being involved in a case. Liu Yingbiao had been a shareholder in affiliated enterprises of the Shaolin Temple and held multiple positions, including Secretary-General of the Shaolin Calligraphy and Painting Academy.
Efforts to contact Liu Yingbiao were met with repeated call forwarding messages, and when the Shaolin Calligraphy and Painting Academy was reached, staff stated that they were unable to reach Liu Yingbiao and were unclear about the specifics of the situation following Shi Yongxin’s official investigation.
Liu Yingbiao, whose secular name is Liu Yingcheng and Buddhist name is Shi Yongsheng, previously held positions such as Secretary-General of the Shaolin Charity Welfare Foundation, Secretary-General of the Shaolin Calligraphy and Painting Academy, Chairman of the International Shaolin Temple Cultural Media Co., Ltd., and President of the International Shaolin Kung Fu Research Association.
It is known that Liu Yingbiao was once a shareholder in affiliated enterprises of the Shaolin Temple. At present, among the companies invested by Henan Shaolin Intangible Assets Management Co., Ltd., only Shaolin Huaxidi (Denfeng) Co., Ltd. remains active. Liu Yingbiao was a shareholder when Huaxidi was established in 2022, with a 35% ownership stake when he withdrew.
In 2015, Shi Yongxin was reported for allegedly transferring assets after accumulating debts of over 4 million yuan in relation to Shaolin Huaxidi. According to an insider cited by Southern Metropolis Daily in 2015, the company was actually operated by a layman on behalf of the Shaolin Temple, with Henan Shaolin Intangible Assets acting as a shareholder on behalf of the temple, and the remaining shares held by two other individuals. To comply with regulations, these individuals holding shares had no affiliation with the operational side, leading to Money Daliang and Liu Yingbiao becoming shareholders.
The insider revealed that due to Liu Yingbiao’s sensitive identity as Shi Yongxin’s brother, he later transferred his shares to Shi Yanjie, who was the director of the Shaolin Juvenile Care Institute at the time. However, Shi Yanjie held no actual equity rights.
Interestingly, on July 25, 2015, “Shi Zhengyi” accused the abbot of the Shaolin Temple, Shi Yongxin, of leading a chaotic personal life, having a mistress, and fathering a child, with one of the involved parties being Shi Yanjie, the Deputy Chair of the Henan Buddhist Association and Director of the Shaolin Juvenile Care Institute. The accusation suggested a questionable romantic relationship between Shi Yongxin and the nun at the Shaolin Temple, Shi Yanjie, resulting in a daughter. However, the official investigation that year “dispelled” these rumors.
On the evening of July 27 this year, the official website of the Shaolin Temple issued a statement, announcing that the abbot Shi Yongxin was suspected of criminal activities, including misappropriating project funds and the temple’s assets, flagrantly violating Buddhist precepts by maintaining improper relationships with multiple women and having an illegitimate child, and is currently undergoing a joint investigation by multiple departments.
According to reports from Caixin, someone familiar with the Shaolin Temple revealed that Shi Yongxin was “summoned” late at night on July 25. The next day, news began to spread regarding Shi Yongxin being taken away for investigation.
On July 26, there was an online circulation of a “police alert” claiming that “Shaolin Temple abbot Shi Yongxin attempted to flee to the United States with his mistress, children, and 34 others but was intercepted by relevant authorities.” The police in Dengfeng responded at the time that the circulating image was false.