The temple said that the mandarish of the world-famous Shaolin Temple is being investigated for crimes, including embezzlement, “inappropriate relations with many women” and “illegal children”, “having illegitimate children”.
In a statement on Sunday, the Shaolin Temple said that many departments were jointly investigating Mr. Xi and more information would be made public in the appointed time.
The 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple located in a mountain range in Henan province of Central China attracts thousands of disciples every year-from all over the world.
Mr. Shi, who has been the mandarish of Shaolin Temple since 1999, has earned the nickname “CEO monk” to convert the institution into a global brand.
Under his leadership, the temple began opening school outside China and formed a troupe to the monks who performed the Shaolin Kung Fu Show – the signature style of the temple’s martial arts.
The news being investigated by Mr. Xi was the most read topic on Weibo on Monday morning. The final post on his own Vibo account, which has more than 880,000 followers and was daily updated with Buddhist teachings, dated on 24 July.
Mr. Shi also came under investigation in 2015 to have sex with women and embezzlement of temple funds in 2015. He also received expensive gifts from companies and local governments allegedly, including a Volkswagen SUV and a rebel with gold thread.
He was investigated to embezzlement at that time and to make many children a father, but the allegations were later approved.
In an interview with BBC Chinese in 2015, Mr. Xi was asked about allegations of corruption and cases of women.
“If there was a problem, it must have surfaced long ago,” he said at that time.
The Sholine Temple was also set on fire on a plan to build a $ $ 300m temple complex in 2015, including a hotel, a kung fu school and a golf course.
The name “Shaolin” has gained prominence in pop culture over the years, including the title of the 1982 film starring Jet Lee. The temple is referred to in the lyrics of the American hip-hop group Wu-Tang clan and inspired a spinoff of the video game Mortal Combat.
