5:49
少林寺的大和尚
Shaolin Temple's Great Abbot Is in Big Trouble
HSK 1 Chinese listening practice. A simple story about a child who once met the famous abbot of Shaolin Temple, and what happens when the news says the abbot did very bad things.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 6 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 钱、买、想 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.
说一个新闻。
Let me tell you a news story.
小明七岁。
Xiao Ming is seven years old.
他在中国。
He's in China.
他的家在河南。
His home is in Henan.
他爸爸说：今天我们去少林寺。
His dad says: today we're going to Shaolin Temple.
小明很高兴。
Xiao Ming is very happy.
少林寺很有名。
Shaolin Temple is very famous.
全中国都知道。
All of China knows it.
全世界都知道。
The whole world knows it.
他们去了。
They went.
路上人很多。
There are a lot of people on the road.
车也很多。
A lot of cars too.
大家都去少林寺。
Everyone is going to Shaolin Temple.
到了。
They arrived.
门很大。
The gate is big.
门是红色的。
The gate is red.
上面写：少林寺。
On it it says: Shaolin Temple.
他们进去了。
They went in.
里面也很大。
Inside is also very big.
有山，有树。
There are mountains, there are trees.
有很多人。
There are many people.
有很多和尚。
There are many monks.
和尚穿黄色的衣服。
The monks wear yellow clothes.
他们头上没有头发。
There's no hair on their heads.
小明看着，很奇怪。
Xiao Ming looks and finds it strange.
爸爸说：他们是和尚。
Dad says: they are monks.
他们在这里学。
They study here.
他们在这里住。
They live here.
他们也练功夫。
They also practice kung fu.
小明说：好。
Xiao Ming says: okay.
他们走到一个大房子。
They walked to a big building.
房子里有一个大佛。
Inside the building is a big Buddha.
佛很大。
The Buddha is big.
是金色的。
It's gold.
人们对着佛拜。
People bow to the Buddha.
小明也拜了。
Xiao Ming bows too.
他闭上眼睛。
He closes his eyes.
他想：我要做好人。
He thinks: I want to be a good person.
他们出来了。
They came out.
有一个和尚走过来。
A monk walked over.
那个和尚很有名。
That monk is very famous.
他是这里最大的和尚。
He is the head monk of this place.
大家叫他大和尚。
Everyone calls him the great abbot.
他对小明笑。
He smiles at Xiao Ming.
他说：你好。
He says: hello.
小明也说：你好。
Xiao Ming also says: hello.
小明很高兴。
Xiao Ming is very happy.
他想：大和尚真好。
He thinks: the great abbot is really nice.
他们买了一个东西。
They bought something.
是一个小小的佛。
It's a tiny little Buddha.
五十块钱。
Fifty yuan.
小明拿在手里。
Xiao Ming holds it in his hand.
他很喜欢。
He really likes it.
回家了。
They went home.
过了很多年。
Many years passed.
小明长大了。
Xiao Ming grew up.
他十七岁了。
He's seventeen now.
他在家看电视。
He's at home watching TV.
电视上有新闻。
There's news on TV.
新闻说：少林寺出事了。
The news says: something happened at Shaolin Temple.
小明说：什么？
Xiao Ming says: what?
他看新闻。
He watches the news.
新闻说：少林寺的大和尚做了不好的事。
The news says: the great abbot of Shaolin Temple did bad things.
他拿了很多很多钱。
He took a lot of money.
他拿了一亿。
He took a hundred million.
他还拿了一亿。
He took another hundred million.
还有一亿。
And another hundred million.
都是寺里的钱。
All of it was the temple's money.
不是他的钱。
Not his money.
他自己用了。
He used it himself.
小明很奇怪。
Xiao Ming finds it strange.
他想：他不是好人吗？
He thinks: isn't he a good person?
他不是大和尚吗？
Isn't he the great abbot?
为什么这样？
Why is it like this?
新闻又说：他还做了别的不好的事。
The news also says: he did other bad things.
他和很多女人有关系。
He had relationships with many women.
和尚不可以这样。
Monks aren't allowed to do that.
和尚不可以有女人。
Monks can't have women.
但是他有。
But he did.
他还有小孩。
He even had children.
小明听了，很难过。
Xiao Ming listens and feels sad.
新闻说：他去了法院。
The news says: he went to court.
法院说：你不是和尚了。
The court said: you aren't a monk anymore.
法院说：你要去坐牢。
The court said: you have to go to prison.
你要坐二十四年。
You have to sit there for twenty-four years.
你还要给三百五十万。
You also have to pay three million five hundred thousand.
小明听了，不说话。
Xiao Ming listened and didn't speak.
他想了很多。
He thought about it a lot.
他想了一个晚上。
He thought for a whole night.
他想：我小时候，他对我笑。
He thought: when I was little, he smiled at me.
我以为他是好人。
I thought he was a good person.
我以为他是好的大和尚。
I thought he was a good great abbot.
但是他不是。
But he wasn't.
他是坏人。
He's a bad person.
他骗了我。
He fooled me.
他骗了所有人。
He fooled everyone.
小明很难过。
Xiao Ming is very sad.
他打开他的小佛。
He opened up his little Buddha.
那个小小的金佛。
That tiny little gold Buddha.
他还留着。
He still keeps it.
他对小佛说：你还在。
He says to the little Buddha: you're still here.
但是大和尚不在了。
But the great abbot isn't here anymore.
他想了一会儿。
He thought for a while.
他对自己说：人会变。
He said to himself: people change.
你呢？
What about you?
你听过这个故事吗？
Have you heard this story?
你听过少林寺吗？
Have you heard of Shaolin Temple?
你去过这样的地方吗？
Have you been to a place like this?
你那里有没有这样的人？
Are there people like this where you live?
有名，但是不好的人？
Famous, but not good people?
你那时候，怎么想？
What did you think at that time?
这个新闻，叫"少林寺的大和尚出事了"。
This news story is called "Something happened to the great abbot of Shaolin Temple."
这个大和尚，叫释永信。
This great abbot is named Shi Yongxin.
他做了很多年的大和尚。
He was the great abbot for many years.
他做了快三十年。
He was the abbot for almost thirty years.
他让少林寺很有钱。
He made Shaolin Temple very rich.
他让全世界都知道少林寺。
He made the whole world know Shaolin Temple.
他自己也很有钱。
He himself also became very rich.
但是他拿的钱，不是他的。
But the money he took wasn't his.
是寺里的钱。
It was the temple's money.
是大家的钱。
It was everyone's money.
他还做了和尚不可以做的事。
He also did things monks can't do.
和尚不可以有女人。
Monks can't have women.
他有。
He did.
和尚不可以有小孩。
Monks can't have children.
他有。
He did.
所以他要坐牢。
So he has to go to prison.
要坐二十四年。
For twenty-four years.
他还要给三百五十万。
He also has to pay three million five hundred thousand.
他不是和尚了。
He's not a monk anymore.
他的新名字，是刘应成。
His new name is Liu Yingcheng.
钱是好东西。
Money is a good thing.
也是不好的东西。
It's also a not-good thing.
看你怎么用。
It depends on how you use it.
有名是好事。
Being famous is a good thing.
也是不好的事。
It's also a not-good thing.
看你是什么样的人。
It depends on what kind of person you are.
HSK 1 noun. Measure word: 块 / 元. Used throughout for 拿了很多钱 (took a lot of money) and 寺里的钱 (the temple's money).
HSK 1 verb. The opposite is 卖 (sell). In the script: 他们买了一个东西 = they bought something.
HSK 1 verb. Both 'think' and 'want to do something'. 他想：他不是好人吗？ = he thought: isn't he a good person?
HSK 1 adjective. 小明很高兴 = Xiao Ming is very happy.
HSK 1 verb. 他看电视 = he watches TV. 他看新闻 = he watches the news.
HSK 1 noun. 他在家看电视 = he watches TV at home. Measure word: 台.
Beyond HSK 1. Central topic word of the episode. The script teaches it: 他们是和尚 = they are monks. Monks shave their heads and wear yellow robes.
HSK 2, beyond the HSK 1 target. 看新闻 = to watch the news. The whole episode is framed as a news story.
Beyond HSK 1. 小明听了，很难过 = Xiao Ming listened and felt sad. Built from 难 (hard) + 过 (pass/go through).
Beyond HSK 1. Literally 出 (out) + 事 (matter). In the news, 出事了 = something has gone wrong / a scandal has broken.
HSK 2, beyond the HSK 1 target. 他拿了很多钱 = he took a lot of money. Also: hold something in your hand.
Beyond HSK 1. Literally 坐 (sit) + 牢 (jail). 坐二十四年的牢 = to serve 24 years in prison.
* beyond level超纲词
The basic identity sentence in Chinese — 是 links the subject to a noun (or noun phrase).
小明七岁。
他是美国人。
他是这里最大的和尚。
Subject + 不 + Verb / Adjective
Negate verbs and adjectives by placing 不 directly before them.
他不是好人。
他不是和尚了。
和尚不可以这样。
Subject + 也 + Verb
也 means 'also'. It always goes between the subject and the verb, never at the start of the sentence.
全中国都知道。全世界都知道。
小明也拜了。
他自己也很有钱。
Use 很 (very) before adjectives to form a simple descriptive sentence. Even when 'very' is not really meant, 很 is needed as a filler.
门很大。
他很有名。
小明很难过。
了 after a verb marks a completed action — often translated as past tense in English.
他们去了。
他们出来了。
他拿了很多很多钱。
Subject + 还 + Verb
还 means 'also / additionally / still'. Goes before the verb to add an action or to mark something still continuing.
他还做了别的不好的事。
他还有小孩。
他还要给三百五十万。