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Vinegar business in central China has a Catholic flavor

Avoiding the dog-eat-dog world of business on the mainland is easier if a person has faith
Vinegar business in central China has a Catholic flavor

Zhen Xiaojun, general manager of Luan City Shengtang Food Company, explaining the process of vinegar fermentation. (ucanews.com photo)

Published: July 03, 2017 06:02 AM GMT
Updated: July 03, 2017 06:02 AM GMT

In a country where business ethics have largely been abandoned, a company run by Catholics in central Shanxi province is trying to make a difference based on their faith.

In 1999, Zhen Ting'an established Luan City Shengtang Food Company which produces black vinegar products. "Shengtang," means church, and he has used it as part of his company's name as a reflection of his faith.

"As a food company, we should produce our products with honesty and trustworthiness," said Zhen of Changzhi Diocese.

"We also hope to become a well-established business, just like the century-old Nantiangong Church next door," he said.  

"We want Catholicism to exert a subtle influence on our corporate culture," he said.

Most of his 49 employees are also Catholics.

Zhen comes from a Catholic family of several generations and he naturally instills his faith into his business.

Mainland China has no religious holidays but Zhen grants his employees days off so they can celebrate major church feasts, such as Easter and Christmas. He also encourages them to share their beliefs and faith stories through the company's WeChat group.

 

Most of the 49 employees at Luan City Shengtang Food Company are Catholics. (ucanews.com photo)

 

Passing on faith and business

Before being formerly established as the company it is now, Zhen and his family began a small workshop in 1992. Seven years later it was formerly established and then in 2009, Zhen passed on the reins of the business to his son Zhen Xiaojun, 35.

"When my father began the family workshop, no one knew what business management really meant," said Xiaojun, who is also studying a postgraduate management program via Tsinghua University in Beijing.

"They just relied on God's blessing, with one such miraculous example that occurred in 1999," he said.

It's a story that both son and father like to recall.

Zhen, the father, said that yeast — an important ingredient in the fermentation of vinegar — was hard to come by in 1999.

"That year, Chen Guilu, our team leader and a fervent Catholic, came to tell me that we would be running out of yeast in a few days. So, I called all suppliers and all their replies were that they were out of stock," said Zhen.

"When we prepared to stop production one day, a stranger with a cart full of yeast approached us just as we walked out from the factory and asked if we wanted to buy some," he said. "It was even cheaper than the market price. Chen Guilu who happened to be next to me whispered: 'God is really helping us!'"

When times were difficult for the company, Zhen drew strength from his faith.

"When I felt hopelessness, I would pray to God and read the Bible to draw strength from it," he said.

But even when business is busy, there are other challenges.

"When business flourishes and it gets busy it is easy to forget to pray and rely on God," Xiaojun said.

But he added that he feels lucky that he is a part of a very religious environment as experienced in the company and he believes he will never lose his faith.

 

Watch this ucanews.com video to see how Luan City Shengtang Food Company's factory makes their black vinegar.

 

Business culture contradicts faith

Confucian values and ideas of virtuous leadership are no longer admired as a way of doing business across much of contemporary China. Such a modern mindset, often results in Catholic values colliding with current commercial and bureaucratic cultures.

Father Joseph, a priest in Shanxi, said that not all merchants in the province, including Catholic ones, have been affected. "Because people nowadays live for money, centering everything around money," said Father Joseph.

"Such a bad influence is nationwide and Catholics are not immune from it," said the priest.

During the company's early days, Zhen often felt trapped in modern China's atheist culture and how it affected the commercial world. But he never ran away from the challenges that he faced.

"Since I am the lay leader of the parish, I must be a role model to others," Zhen said. "I decided to make clear my faith to my business partners. They mostly show understanding and even respect to my religion," he said.

When officials and customers come to visit his factory, Zhen and his son Xiaojun  also show them the neighborhood church and introduce them to some church knowledge.

Xiaojun said that Catholic entrepreneurs in the neighborhood offer mutual help as they know each other well.

"Most Catholic entrepreneurs we know are also fervent in their faith," Xiaojun said. "They are frequent churchgoers, who often donate money if the church is in need. In recent years, they also have begun to study the Bible to renew themselves," he said.

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