In Taiwan, there should be no one who does not know Shi Wen-long. This is not only because Mr. Shi is a successful entrepreneur - he founded CHIMEI Corporation, the world’s largest vendor of ABS resins. But because, more importantly, Mr. Shi is a generous philanthropist. He devoted himself in building hospitals, investing in education, and in many cultural works. These philanthropic endeavors originated from Mr. Shi’s philosophy of life - ‘Everyone is happy together’ is the real happiness, the real blessedness.
Mr. Shi spent over USD$60 millions to build the Chimei Museum, which houses more than 12,000 pieces from his collection. Western art, paintings, sculptures, weapons, musical instruments, ancient relics, animal specimens, etc. The violins in particular already comprise the largest, most comprehensive, and systematic collection in the world.
What is more commendable is that after the completion of the museum, Mr. Shi gave up ownership and donated the museum to the Tainan City Government free of charge. In order to allow more people to appreciate the museum's famous instruments, the violins collected are also lent to talented children and performers at home and abroad for free.
Most people want to be as rich as possible. Once you have money, you want to invest it to make more money. After successfully accumulating more wealth, most people will try their best to accumulate assets for their children and grandchildren, hoping that wealth and prosperity flow in their future generations with inexhaustible resources. There are very few people who are as open-minded about money as Mr. Shi.
Mr. Shi's generosity and open-mindedness to money come from his philosophy of life (excerpted from Zero and Infinity - Shi Wen-long's 360-degree Philosophy of Life):
1. Philosophy of Fishing
Only when everyone has gained, can you be the happiest. If we went fishing together, and I was the only one who caught a lot of fish, and the others didn't catch any fish, it would be difficult for me to be happy on the way home. Conversely, if everyone catches fish, even if some people catch more and some catch less, the whole car will still turn over with joy.
Mr. Shi has thoroughly applied his fishing philosophy to running his business. He insists on "Gains Sharing" to ensure that everyone who does business with him is happy and satisfied, including his employees, customers, and raw material suppliers. In today's world, how many well-known business owners are willing to truly share gains with employees and upstream/downstream companies? Business owners are eager to put all the money they make into their own pockets. Happiness of employees? None of my business!
In addition to his own business, Mr. Shi has extended the philosophy of fishing (Gains Sharing) to the society. He treats the society as he treats his own business. He gives back to society and wants all Taiwanese to be happy and satisfied.
In today’s society, most people forget to appreciate things like: when you step out of the house, there is a smooth path to walk; when it rains, there is a ditch that flows, and the faucet can be used when it is turned. People thought they were the greatest. In fact, our ability to succeed in making money is only part of the reason. We all need the cooperation of various other conditions that cannot be seen. So, don't be too selfish, think more: How many people have helped us? How can we repay the society?
2. Philosophy of Blessedness
Where does a person's blessedness come from? Like a miser who is cheap and clings to money tightly, and is ignored by everyone around him, would he be happy?
If your purpose in life is only to pursue money, then you can just stare at the bankbook all day long. But life is to pursue blessedness, and blessedness also requires investment. This is very realistic, to be happy, you have to spend money.
Money is to be exchanged for blessedness, so that it will not be poison.
Mr. Shi believes that a good leader should be “the shaper of a blessed environment”. His job is to “create a good environment, let many people come here, fulfil their dreams, and make everyone happy.” Therefore, CHIMEI corporation has a company culture that everyone admires: “We are not only pursuing money; we are not here to win the first place either, but we are here to fight for the first place of blessedness.”
CHIMEI corporation implemented the two-day holiday nearly 30 years earlier than other Taiwanese companies. There is no layoff culture, and no complicated HR documents or management procedures - this, in itself, is amazing. Employees’ greater number of paid leaves, equal sharing of company profits regardless of position or level, and other enviable benefits all come from Mr. Shi’s philosophy of blessedness.
After having a happy enterprise, Mr. Shi conveyed this blessedness to the society. He established the Chimei Museum. The original intention of the establishment came from a heart of ‘sharing’, and the purpose of sharing was to “bring blessedness and warmth to the public”.
3. Philosophy of Three Loaves of Bread
For a half-starved person, eating the first piece of bread can sustain life, so the first piece of bread is life, and if you don’t eat it, you will die. When it's time to eat the second piece of bread, he slowly tastes the flavor of the bread, which brings the happiness of satiety, so the second piece of bread is happiness. But what about the third piece? After eating the third piece of bread, the person who is already full will be full to death! The third piece of bread becomes poison.
How to turn poison into non-poison? The answer is: you have to take out the money for everyone to share, and don't be a miser.
Wealth that cannot be exchanged for blessedness is poison.
To understand this philosophy, one must first start with ‘contentment’. Everyone wants as much money as possible. However, very few people can be content and know that if money accumulates, it will become poison and cause troubles and burdens to themselves or those around them (relatives, children, offspring, employees, etc.). Too many business owners would rather be full to death than share their surplus with the society.
”Enough is as good as a feast” explains Mr. Shi perfectly. That's why he can comprehend this philosophy and used it as the motivation for building the Chimei Museum.
4. There is no such thing as eternity in business
Running a business is not always successful. Otherwise, if the money is given to you for three generations, it would be unreasonable and unfair!
Life is limited, no matter how hard you work on your business, there will always be a day when it will be wiped out. On the contrary, nature and art are the only things that can last forever.
Mr. Shi has worked hard to build the CHIMEI Corporation throughout his life. But his attitude toward failure is extraordinary. He said, “It's okay to return to zero. I grew up in a slum. In terms of business, my capital is very small, so I don't have much to lose.” In this world, there are many entrepreneurs like Mr. Shi who started their business from scratch, and then got rich. But how many business owners can see wealth and fame so lightly like Mr. Shi?
Ordinary business owners try their best to run their businesses in a sustainable way. However, Mr. Shi is doing his best to contribute his heart and wealth to pass on the culture in a sustainable way.
During his lifetime, Mr. Shi collected 1,326 famous violins, including several ancient famous violins worth tens of millions of US dollars, spanning nearly 500 years of history. But Mr. Shi did not think that these precious world-famous violins belonged to him. He said, “These precious famous violins are the property of all mankind. I am only the keeper of those violins temporarily. These good things left by our ancestors should be shared and mutually beneficial with the society.”
Let us listen to Mr. Shi's warm narration (in Taiwanese with English subtitles) of how he established the Chimei Museum - a museum for the public, allowing the public to treat it as their own home, to go home at any time to enjoy spiritual feasts, and to feel a place of blessedness and warmth.