I like the idea of making Rattan Shields into mercenaries. There currently aren’t any shock infantry mercenaries so it would add some diversity.
Chinese maps could retain a shock infantry unit by adding in a Triad/Hongmen/Tiandihui outlaw.
My preference would be to make Shaolin Monks a Chinese unit that replaces Disciples. It would be a lot simpler than having a Shaolin Master, Disciple, and Shaolin Monk native.
The Shaolin Temples could just be replaced with Confucian and/or Taoist Temples. And a Theravada Temple with War Elephants could also be added so there’s still two types of Buddhist Temples.