Shi Yanming is the 34th generation descendant of Shaolin Temple in Songshan, Henan. 1992, Shaolin Temple organized a martial arts performance group to perform in the United States. On the last night of the trip, all the monks returned to the hotel to rest. At that time, 28-year-old Shi Yanming suddenly made an amazing decision to stay in the United States. When the other members were asleep, he put on casual clothes, took his passport and some dollars, quietly walked out of the hotel and got into a taxi. Because of the language barrier. The driver had no choice but to ask the police for help. Seeing that Shi Yanming was from China, the police asked the driver to drive to Chinatown. There, Shi Yanming found a restaurant in China and borrowed the phone from his boss. He called a friend in the United States (Shi Yanming didn't explain who this person was and how he met him in the program) for help, and then applied to the US government for political asylum. The American government accepted his application, so Shi Yanming stayed in the United States and hid for some time. During this period, the China government sent someone to investigate, and Shi Yanming's other disciples found him, but Shi Yanming refused to return to China. After a round of hiding in Tibet, Shi Yanming finally came to new york and taught martial arts at the local Foen Temple for four years. 1996, he founded the American Shaolin Temple in a building on Broadway in Manhattan, teaching Kung Fu and philosophy of life. Almost all of his 500 disciples are "foreigners".

Shi Yanming's real name is Duan Genshan. When he was three years old, he got a strange disease, which got worse and worse. The doctors in the hospital can't help it. Just as Shi Yanming's parents were preparing to bury his dying child in Shan Ye, an acupuncturist suddenly appeared and cured Shi Yanming with acupuncture. So his parents thought that the Buddha had saved him, so they sent him to Shaolin Temple to become a monk. When Shi Yanming was five years old, his master was very strict.

Shi Yanming still cuts his hair, recites scriptures and practices kung fu, but his life has undergone earth-shaking changes. He drinks and eats meat, gets married and has children. When asked by a reporter why he no longer abides by Shaolin commandments, Shi Yanming said that he should choose his own life, enjoy it to the fullest, and not restrain himself, including his practice in the United States, especially when he gets married and has children. Shi Yanming explained that although he received a haircut, I never promised Buddha to abide by this commandment in my heart. Shi Yanming's wife is called Zhang Suxi, and they have a man and a woman. Zhang Suxi is an overseas Chinese living in Vancouver. Because she worships Shi Yanming's kung fu, she specially rushed from Vancouver to new york to study martial arts, and it was love at first sight.

Shi Yanming's wife, Zhang Suxi, unexpectedly combined Shaolin Kung Fu and Hip Hop, two products of different cultural backgrounds: Zhang Suxi was originally a pop music scout who had been wallowing in the mainstream music circle in the United States for many years. With her rich connections, she has become a think tank for the successful Americanization of Shaolin Temple. She introduced Shi Yanming to RZA, the soul of the American black chorus "Wu Tang clan". After learning Shaolin Kung Fu, Wutang people use Shaolin Kung Fu as the melody of their songs from time to time, such as shouting of practicing, chanting Buddhist scriptures and hip-hop music with strong sense of rhythm. The album Shaolin Stunt sells well in Europe and America, and Shi Yanming studies English hard. Now, the book "Shaolin stunts: changing body and mind in 28 days" has been published, and Zhang Suxi also explained it in the film through relationships.

As early as 1994, Shi Yanming applied for registration as a religious group. Shi Yongxin and Shi Yanming, the heads of Songshan Shaolin Temple, are both "teachers", but Songshan Shaolin Temple is not as good as Shi Yanming's "American Shaolin Temple" in name, scale and popularity. It is easy for foreigners to mistake it for "Shaolin Temple in America". Shi Yanming's two children are surnamed Shi. He said that they are all children of Sakyamuni, so they are also "Shi".