The controversies reveal the increasingly precarious position of influential religious leaders in China, as the official support for the commercialisation of religious sites gives way to an emphasis on frugality and political obedience. View image in fullscreen Shi Yongxin at the Shaolin temple in Dengfeng. Born Liu Yingcheng, Shi joined the Shaolin temple in Henan province as a 16-year-old in 1981. “Without [Shi], the Shaolin temple would not have achieved so much. The Shaolin temple declined an interview request.