Shaolin Grandmaster Shi Yongxin
SHI YONG XIN
Shi Yongxin, originally named Liu Yingcheng, was born into a family in Yingshang, Anhui Province in 1965. In 1981, at the age of 17, he journeyed to Songshan Shaolin Temple, where he converted to the Three Jewels and received the Dharma name Yongxin under the guidance of Former Abbot Xingzheng, one of the revered Shaolin grandmasters. After three years of studies and cultivation in various Buddhist monasteries, he returned to the Shaolin Temple in 1984 to assist the abbot and elders with the daily operations. In September of that year, he received full ordination at Pu Zhao Monastery in Jiangxi Province.
Following the passing of the former Abbot Xingzheng in 1987, Master Yongxin took on the ceremonial alms-bowl and robes—symbols of Dharma transmission—and assumed leadership of the Shaolin Temple Management Committee, marking the beginning of his stewardship of the monastery.
In March 1993, he was elected to the Henan Provincial Political Consultative Committee and appointed as the Director of the Buddhist Association of China that October. In 1997, he was re-appointed as the director of the Shaolin Temple Management Committee and presided over Shaolin Temple. By March 1998, he was elected as a representative of the Ninth National People’s Congress and later became the Chairman of the Henan Province Buddhist Association in July. In August 1999, he was inaugurated as the Shaolin Abbot during an inaugural ceremony. By September 2002, he was elected as Vice Chairman of the Buddhist Association of China.
Between March 2003 and 2008, he was elected as a representative of the Tenth and Eleventh National People’s Congresses, respectively, and in February 2010, Ven. Yongxin was appointed as the Director of the Overseas Communication Committee of the Buddhist Association of China.
Ven. Abbot Yongxin has dedicated himself to preserving and reviving both the tangible and intangible heritage of Shaolin Temple. His efforts include renovating ancient architectures and compiling significant texts such as The Secret Book of Shaolin Kung Fu and Medicine, Shaolin Kungfu and Works of Shaolin Kungfu, Chan Dew Collections, and Selected Papers on Shaolin Study, among others. To promote Shaolin culture among global enthusiasts and followers of the Shaolin grandmasters, he has actively facilitated various Buddhist activities and engaged in cultural exchanges both domestically and internationally. Abbot Yongxin's contributions have been vital to the development of Shaolin Temple and the dissemination of Shaolin culture.
