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释永信被判二十四年——少林寺的"CEO 和尚"出事了
Shi Yongxin Gets 24 Years — The Fall of Shaolin's CEO Monk
HSK 3 Chinese listening practice. The Shi Yongxin case in detail: the four charges, the ~300M yuan case total, his 1999 abbot tenure, the 706 trademarks, the 'CEO Monk' nickname, and what it means when a 1,500-year-old temple becomes a corporation.
This is an HSK 3-4 Chinese listening episode that runs about 8 minutes. The full Mandarin script is shown with tap-for-pinyin and a line-by-line English translation, so you can listen and read at once — comprehensible input in the sense of Stephen Krashen's i+1 theory. It teaches 12 key vocabulary words such as 历史、表演、关系 and walks through 6 grammar patterns, each explained in English with examples. The same news story is retold at 4 difficulty levels — use the level selector above to find the version that is challenging but still understandable for you.
最近有一个新闻，全中国都在看。
There's a recent news story that all of China is watching.
少林寺以前的大和尚，叫释永信。
The former great abbot of Shaolin Temple is called Shi Yongxin.
你可能听说过他。
You might have heard of him.
他是一个很有名的人。
He's a very famous person.
五月二十九号，法院给他判了。
On May 29, the court issued its verdict.
判他坐牢二十四年。
He was sentenced to twenty-four years in prison.
还要给三百五十万的罚款。
He also has to pay a 3.5-million-yuan fine.
这个新闻一出来，就上了热搜第一。
The moment this news broke, it hit the top of the trending list.
全中国都在讨论。
All of China was discussing it.
我的朋友圈里也是这条新闻。
My friend feed was full of this news too.
"释永信"这三个字，刷屏了好几天。
Those three characters "Shi Yongxin" filled the screens for several days.
我们今天就来聊一聊这件事。
Today we're going to talk about this.
为什么这件事这么大？
Why is this such a big deal?
为什么这么多人关心？
Why do so many people care?
我们慢慢说。
Let's take it slowly.
先说一下少林寺。
First, a bit about Shaolin Temple.
少林寺在河南。
Shaolin Temple is in Henan.
有一千五百多年的历史。
It has over fifteen hundred years of history.
非常老。
Very old.
也非常有名。
And very famous.
为什么这么有名？
Why so famous?
因为这里的和尚会功夫。
Because the monks here practice kung fu.
"少林功夫"四个字，全世界都听过。
"Shaolin kung fu" — those four characters — the whole world has heard them.
李连杰演的电影，很多就是少林寺的故事。
A lot of Jet Li movies are about Shaolin Temple.
很多电影都拍过少林寺。
Many films have been shot about Shaolin Temple.
很多外国人为了少林寺，专门跑到中国来。
Many foreigners come to China specifically for Shaolin Temple.
有的人学了几年功夫，才回家。
Some learn kung fu for years before going home.
所以少林寺对中国人来说。
So for Chinese people, Shaolin Temple is not just a temple.
不只是一个寺庙。
It's not only a monastery.
也是一个文化的招牌。
It's also a cultural banner.
是一张走出国门的"名片"。
It's a calling card that goes abroad.
释永信，就是这个寺庙的"老板"。
Shi Yongxin was the "boss" of this temple.
他一九九九年开始当大和尚。
He became the great abbot in 1999.
当了快三十年。
He served for almost thirty years.
他做了什么呢？
What did he do?
他让少林寺变成了一个大公司。
He turned Shaolin Temple into a big company.
准确地说，是很多个公司。
More precisely, into many companies.
他在一九九七年就开了第一家公司。
He set up the first company in 1997.
后来一家接一家。
Then one after another.
什么吃的、住的、卖东西的、表演功夫的，他都做。
Food, lodging, retail, kung fu performances — he did them all.
听说一共注册了七百多个商标。
He reportedly registered over seven hundred trademarks.
"少林"两个字。
The two characters "Shao Lin."
变成了一个全球的牌子。
Became a global brand.
门票也卖得很好。
Tickets also sold very well.
二零一七年，光是门票。
In 2017, just the tickets alone.
就卖了三亿五千万。
Sold 350 million yuan.
你想想，三亿五千万。
Think about it — 350 million.
一年。
In one year.
就是门票一项。
From ticket sales alone.
二零一九年，去少林寺的人有四百多万。
In 2019, over 4 million people visited Shaolin Temple.
那一年，少林寺一共赚了十二亿。
That year, Shaolin Temple earned a total of 1.2 billion.
这是很多很多钱。
That's a huge amount of money.
对一个寺庙来说。
For a temple.
这是不可思议的数字。
This is an unimaginable number.
所以很多人叫他"CEO 和尚"。
So many people called him the "CEO Monk."
CEO 就是公司的老板。
CEO means the head of a company.
也有人叫他"政治和尚"。
Some also called him the "political monk."
意思是说，他跟很多大人物有关系。
Meaning he had ties to many powerful figures.
对很多中国人来说，释永信本人就是少林寺。
For many Chinese people, Shi Yongxin was Shaolin Temple itself.
他一出来，大家就知道：这是少林寺的人。
The moment he appeared, everyone knew: this is a Shaolin Temple person.
但是从去年开始，事情变了。
But starting last year, things changed.
二零二五年七月二十七号，少林寺自己发了一个通报。
On July 27, 2025, Shaolin Temple itself put out a notice.
通报就是一种正式的消息。
A notice is a kind of official announcement.
通报上写：释永信有问题。
The notice said: Shi Yongxin has problems.
他用寺里的钱办自己的事。
He used the temple's money for his own affairs.
他还违反了和尚的规矩。
He also violated the rules of monkhood.
什么规矩呢？
What rules?
他长期跟好几个女人有关系。
He had long-running relationships with several women.
还有自己的小孩。
And he had his own children.
这两件事，一件是钱的问题。
These are two things — one is a money issue.
一件是个人生活的问题。
The other is a personal-life issue.
和尚的规矩里，这两件都是大事。
In the rules for monks, both of these are major matters.
通报出来以后，全中国都在讨论。
After the notice came out, all of China was discussing it.
有人不相信。
Some didn't believe it.
他们说：他是大和尚，怎么会这样？
They said: he's the great abbot, how could this be?
他们说：是不是有人陷害他？
They said: did someone frame him?
也有人说：我早就觉得不对。
Others said: I felt something was off long ago.
他每天那么有钱，跟大老板一样。
Every day he was so rich, like a big boss.
怎么会是真和尚？
How could he be a real monk?
两种声音，吵了好几个月。
The two camps argued for several months.
后来警察开始查。
Then the police started investigating.
查了三百多天。
They investigated for over three hundred days.
查得很仔细。
The investigation was very thorough.
查他每一笔钱。
They checked every transaction.
查他每一个公司。
They checked every company.
查他跟谁有关系。
They checked who he was connected to.
今年三月二十号。
On March 20 of this year.
案子被送到法院。
The case was sent to court.
法院说要开庭。
The court announced a trial date.
五月二十九号。
May 29.
判决出来了。
The verdict came out.
法院说他有四个罪。
The court said he had four crimes.
我一个一个说。
Let me go through them one by one.
第一个，"职务侵占"。
First, "occupational embezzlement."
就是说，他用大和尚的位置，把寺里的东西变成自己的。
That means he used his position as great abbot to turn temple property into his own.
法院查到，从二零零三年到二零二五年，他这样拿了一亿三千一百多万。
The court found that from 2003 to 2025, he embezzled over 131 million this way.
第二个，"挪用资金"。
Second, "misappropriation of funds."
就是说，他把寺里的钱借走。
That means he borrowed the temple's money.
自己用，超过三个月不还。
Used it himself, over three months without returning it.
跟"侵占"不一样。
This is different from "embezzlement."
"侵占"是直接拿。
"Embezzlement" is direct taking.
"挪用"是先用着，本来要还，但是不还。
"Misappropriation" is using first — supposed to return it, but doesn't.
从二零一二年到二零二二年。
From 2012 to 2022.
他这样用了一亿五千一百多万。
He misappropriated over 151 million this way.
第三个，"非国家工作人员受贿"。
Third, "bribe-taking by a non-state employee."
就是说，他收别人的钱。
That means he took other people's money.
帮别人办事。
And helped them with their affairs.
比如说，谁想在少林寺做工程。
For example: if someone wanted to do construction at Shaolin Temple.
给他钱，他就让他来做。
They'd give him money, and he'd give them the job.
从二零零六年到现在。
From 2006 to now.
他这样收了一千一百多万。
He took over 11.6 million this way.
第四个，"行贿"。
Fourth, "bribery."
就是他给国家的人送钱。
That means he gave money to government officials.
让对方帮自己。
To get them to help him.
从一九九五年到二零二二年。
From 1995 to 2022.
他送出去五百六十多万。
He gave out over 5.6 million.
四个加起来。
Four of them added together.
差不多三亿人民币。
Comes to almost 300 million yuan.
三亿。
300 million.
对一个和尚来说。
For a monk.
这是不可思议的数字。
That's an unimaginable number.
法院最后给他判了二十四年。
The court ultimately sentenced him to twenty-four years.
他听了，说：我服。
He listened and said: I accept.
他不上诉。
He won't appeal.
意思是，他接受这个结果。
Meaning he accepts the result.
法院还说：他不再是和尚了。
The court also said: he is no longer a monk.
"释永信"这个名字，不能再用。
The name "Shi Yongxin" can no longer be used.
他以后只能用他出家以前的名字：刘应成。
From now on he can only use his name before he became a monk: Liu Yingcheng.
听到这个新闻，我心里有几种感觉。
Listening to this news, I have several feelings.
第一，他做的事，是真的不对。
First, what he did is genuinely wrong.
钱是少林寺的，不是他的。
The money belonged to Shaolin Temple, not to him.
那些钱本来应该用在寺庙上。
That money was supposed to be used on the temple.
他拿来过自己的好日子。
He took it to live his own good life.
他还做了和尚绝对不可以做的事。
He also did things monks are absolutely not allowed to do.
这是事实。
That's a fact.
也是判决的基础。
And that's the basis of the verdict.
但是，第二，我也想到一个更大的问题。
But second, I'm also thinking about a bigger question.
那就是：寺庙到底应该不应该做生意？
That is: should a temple be doing business at all?
释永信不是一开始就这样的。
Shi Yongxin wasn't like this from the start.
他刚当大和尚的时候。
When he first became great abbot.
少林寺其实很穷。
Shaolin Temple was actually poor.
他想：要让少林寺活下去。
He thought: to keep Shaolin Temple alive.
就要赚钱。
We need to make money.
所以他开公司。
So he opened companies.
做商标。
Registered trademarks.
搞表演。
Did performances.
一开始，很多人觉得他做得对。
At first, many people felt he was doing the right thing.
他让少林寺被全世界看见。
He let Shaolin Temple be seen by the whole world.
他让很多和尚有饭吃。
He made sure many monks had food to eat.
他还让河南这边多了很多游客。
He also brought a lot of tourists to this part of Henan.
但是慢慢地，钱越来越多。
But slowly, the money grew and grew.
权力也越来越大。
The power grew bigger and bigger.
没有人能监督他。
Nobody could supervise him.
没有人敢说他不对。
Nobody dared to tell him he was wrong.
最后。
In the end.
他自己也分不清。
He himself couldn't tell apart anymore.
哪些是寺里的钱。
Which money belonged to the temple.
哪些是自己的钱。
Which money was his own.
所以这件事，不只是一个人的问题。
So this thing isn't just one person's problem.
也不只是"一个坏和尚"的问题。
It's not just a "one bad monk" problem.
是当一个寺庙变成一个公司的时候。
It's the question of what happens when a temple becomes a company.
会发生什么的问题。
What happens.
是当一个人有钱、有名、又没人管的时候。
It's the question of what happens when a person has money and fame and no one watching.
会发生什么的问题。
What happens.
当然，话说回来。
Of course, that said.
就算少林寺很商业化，也不是每一个和尚都会这样。
Even if Shaolin Temple is very commercial, not every monk would do this.
最后做错事的，还是他这个人。
The one who ended up doing wrong is still him as a person.
责任在他身上。
The responsibility lies with him.
我自己最后还想说一句。
And finally I want to say one more thing.
对很多中国人来说。
For many Chinese people.
看这个新闻，是有一点伤心的。
Watching this news is a little sad.
不是因为同情他。
Not because they feel sorry for him.
是因为少林寺。
It's because Shaolin Temple.
是大家心里的一个东西。
Is something in everyone's heart.
"少林"两个字。
The two characters "Shao Lin."
本来是干净的。
Used to be clean.
本来是代表传统、武术、和尚的。
Used to represent tradition, martial arts, monks.
现在你再看到少林寺。
Now when you see Shaolin Temple again.
心里多了一些东西。
There's something extra in your heart.
多了一些复杂的味道。
Something more complicated has been added.
这种感觉，慢慢消化吧。
This feeling — digest it slowly.
最后我想问你一个问题。
Finally I want to ask you a question.
你呢？
What about you?
你心里有没有这样一个地方？
Is there a place like this in your heart?
或者，这样一个人？
Or, a person like this?
他原来是你很相信的。
Someone you used to deeply trust.
后来你发现，他不是你以为的那样。
And later you discovered they weren't who you thought.
那个时候，你怎么办的？
At that time, what did you do?
你后来还相信别人吗？
Did you still trust people after that?
你慢慢想，不用着急。
Take your time, no rush.
HSK 2-3. 有一千五百多年的历史 = it has over fifteen hundred years of history.
HSK 3. 搞表演 = to put on performances. Shaolin sent its monks to perform kung fu around the world.
HSK 3 noun. 他跟很多大人物有关系 = he had ties to many powerful figures. Also used for romantic relationships.
HSK 3 verb. 他接受这个结果 = he accepts the result. Used to describe his decision not to appeal.
HSK 2 connector. 比如说，谁想在少林寺做工程 = for example, whoever wanted to do construction at Shaolin Temple. Often appears as 比如说.
HSK 3 adjective. 听这个新闻，我觉得很复杂 = listening to this news, I feel things are complicated.
Beyond HSK 1-3. The central religious noun in this story. Shi Yongxin lost his monk status as part of the verdict.
Beyond HSK 1-3. 三百五十万的罚款 = a 3.5-million-yuan fine. 罚 means to punish, 款 means a sum of money.
Beyond HSK 1-3. A formal announcement from an organization. The Shaolin management's July 27, 2025 通报 was the first time a Chinese temple system publicly denounced its own abbot.
Beyond HSK 1-3. 没有人能监督他 = no one could supervise him. A key word in the episode's analysis of how the situation grew out of control.
Beyond HSK 1-3. 他不上诉 = he does not appeal. A specific legal term — to take a verdict to a higher court for review.
Beyond HSK 1-3. 注册了七百多个商标 = registered over seven hundred trademarks. The aggressive trademarking was central to commercialization.
* beyond level超纲词
Subject + 让 + Object + Verb
让 = to let / cause / make. Marks causation — A makes B do something or causes B to be a certain way.
他让少林寺变成了一个大公司。
他让少林寺被全世界看见。
他让很多和尚有饭吃。
Verb + 得 + Adverbial / Result
Use 得 between a verb and its descriptive complement to describe how an action is done.
门票也卖得很好。
查得很仔细。
不是... + 是...
Correction structure: 'it's not X, it's Y'. Used to redirect or clarify what something actually is.
他不只是一个和尚。
钱是少林寺的，不是他的。
不是因为同情他。是因为少林寺。
Subject + 越来越 + Adjective / Verb
越来越 = 'more and more...'. Marks an ongoing tendency. Common in spoken Chinese.
钱越来越多。
权力也越来越大。
Subject + 应该 / 不应该 + Verb
应该 = should. 不应该 = shouldn't. Use before a verb to talk about obligation or moral correctness.
寺庙到底应该不应该做生意？
他还做了和尚绝对不可以做的事。
那些钱本来应该用在寺庙上。
Verb + 起来 can mark the beginning of an action or introduce a topic. 说起来 = 'when you talk about it'.
四个加起来。
话说回来。
我们今天就来聊一聊这件事。