China’s famous Shaolin Temple gets new abbot after predecessor removed

SCMP | July 29, 2025, 5:13 a.m. | Original

White Horse Temple abbot Shi Yinle is the new head of Shaolin temple in China’s Henan province. Photo: Baidu

in Beijing and in Hong Kong

China has appointed a new abbot to the country’s famous Shaolin Temple, two days after authorities at the Buddhist monastery announced its head monk for more than 25 years had been placed under investigation for alleged financial and sex scandals.

The abbot of White Horse Temple, Shi Yinle, will replace him, according to a brief statement from the Shaolin Temple on Tuesday.

“In accordance with the regulations on the appointment of abbots of Chinese Buddhist Temples, after democratic evaluation and approval by the Shaolin Temple and following the relevant procedures, Venerable Yinle was invited to be the abbot of Shaolin Temple,” the one-paragraph statement said.

Established over 1,500 years ago in Henan province, Shaolin Temple is the birthplace of Zen Buddhism and a Unesco World Heritage site, famed as the cradle of Shaolin kung fu.

White Horse Temple, which is also in Henan, was the first Buddhist temple in China. It was established in the year 68 under the patronage of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han dynasty.

President Xi Jinping visited the temple in May as part of an inspection tour to Henan, where he learned about the adaptation of Buddhism to the Chinese context and about local efforts to preserve historical and cultural relics.

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