Xu Wen-long: Tainan 1928, Chi Mei Corporation 1959, and the Founder of the World's Largest Violin Collection Museum

30-second overview: Xu Wen-long was born on February 25, 1928, in Tainan and passed away on November 18, 2023, at the age of 95.¹ In October 1959, he founded Chi Mei Corporation with a capital of NT$2 million, initially producing plastic raw materials.² Beginning in 1990, he systematically acquired antique violins, eventually amassing a collection of 1,362—the largest private violin collection in the world.³ On January 1, 2015, the Chimei Museum officially opened in Tainan Metropolitan Park.⁴ The museum was initially announced as free and open to the public (current policy P0⚠️ please check the official website for the latest announcement).

A Childhood in Tainan and Growing Up During the Japanese Colonial Era

Xu Wen-long was born on February 25, 1928, in Tainan. His family was poor, and he grew up in a slum along the Tainan Canal during his early years, working his way through school while studying.¹ From a young age, he showed a passion for music and taught himself the violin—a habit that stayed with him throughout his entire business career and ultimately grew into the world's largest private violin collection.

As a young man, he entered the business world, observing Taiwan's trend toward industrialization. At age 31, he decided to found Chi Mei Corporation and entered the plastics industry. He later said that if anyone asked what he did for a living, his answer would be: "If people ask me what I do, I would say I am a person who collects violins."³ Business was the means; music was the soul.

1959: Founding Chi Mei Corporation — A Starting Point with NT$2 Million in Capital

In October 1959, Xu Wen-long founded Chi Mei Corporation with a capital of NT$2 million, initially specializing in the production of plastic raw materials (acrylic), earning him the later title "Father of Acrylic in Taiwan."² Chi Mei's business empire later expanded into electronics, optoelectronics, medical devices, and food. Chi Mei Optoelectronics once became the fourth-largest panel manufacturer in the world, and at age 63, Xu Wen-long made Chi Mei's ABS (engineering plastic) the world's number one.

His management philosophy overturned conventional corporate cost thinking. He said: "A manager who cuts costs through wages is an incompetent manager."⁵ For him, employee salaries were the last cost that should be suppressed. True efficiency comes from system design—pay must be higher than the industry standard so employees can devote themselves fully without worrying about their next job.

As early as 1984, Chi Mei Corporation implemented a two-day weekend policy in Taiwan, nearly two decades before Taiwan's statutory working hour regulations.⁵ His management logic was: if employees leave, it must be because of poor compensation or a bad environment. If employees do something wrong, the leader should first reflect on whether the system itself has a problem. This attribution of responsibility was an anomaly in Taiwan's corporate culture of the 1980s, yet it kept Chi Mei's employee turnover rate consistently below the industry average.

Starting from plastic raw materials, Chi Mei's industrial footprint spanned ABS engineering plastics, medical consumables, food, electronic displays, and other cross-sector fields. Xu Wen-long is one of the rare entrepreneurs in Taiwan to leave a deep imprint on both manufacturing and arts and culture.

The Fishing Philosophy: Business as a Means to Happiness

Xu Wen-long's business philosophy, in his own words, was "business is a means to pursue happiness."⁵ He compared management to fishing: "Most mornings, I am out at sea. If the weather is bad, I fish in the river. Everyone catching fish—that is the happiest outcome."⁵ Ensuring that employees, customers, and suppliers all benefit from the partnership was his definition of a "good company."

📝 Curator's note: The common narrative describes Xu Wen-long as "optimistic and carefree" and "more passionate about the arts than about management." But a more precise reading is this: he established a philosophy of "profit sharing" rather than "cost squeezing" very early on—a contrarian approach in 1959 Taiwan. Chi Mei's employee loyalty, low turnover, and high stock allocations were all products of this philosophy.

From 1990: 1,362 Violins, the World's Largest Collection

Beginning in 1990, Xu Wen-long systematically acquired antique violins from around the world, including masterpieces by Stradivarius.³ He ultimately amassed a collection of 1,362 violins, the largest private violin collection in the world, which was featured in a CNN report.⁶ These violins later became one of the core collections of the Chimei Museum. Rather than being displayed as static exhibits, they are loaned out to support performances by young musicians. Xu Wen-long believed that the value of a violin lies in being played, not in being locked away.

The Chimei Museum's violin collection has been recognized as "the world's largest and most comprehensive violin collection," including multiple Stradivarius instruments over 300 years old. Xu Wen-long once allowed musicians in need to borrow these treasures for free to perform—one of the largest individual acts of cultural sponsorship in Taiwan's history.

Chi Mei Electronics: The Peak of the Panel Industry and the Exit

In the 1990s, the Chi Mei Group entered the panel industry by establishing Chi Mei Optoelectronics, which at one point became the fourth-largest panel manufacturer in the world. In the 2010s, amid the consolidation wave in Taiwan's panel industry, Chi Mei Optoelectronics merged with Innolux Corporation, forming today's "Innolux Corporation."² The entry into and exit from this business is one of the microcosms of the rise and fall of Taiwan's panel industry.

Xu Wen-long chose to gradually step back from the decision-making layer during the peak of the panel business, passing the baton to the next generation. His reasoning was: a business should be handed over when you are at your strongest, not when you are weak and only then thinking about retirement.

He also emphasized that doing business requires "knowing how to share profits": establishing a mutually beneficial relationship with surrounding customers, employees, and raw material suppliers is the only way to build a long-term commercial structure.⁷

Chimei Museum: Turning Corporate Wealth into Public Wealth

On January 1, 2015, the Chimei Museum officially opened in Tainan Metropolitan Park.⁴ The museum building is modeled after a European palace style, covering an area of three hectares. Its collections include Western paintings (replica collection), sculptures, antique weapons, and the violin collection.

It was initially announced as free and open to the public (current policy P0⚠️ please check the Chimei Museum official website for confirmation). Xu Wen-long's vision for the museum was to allow children from every corner of Taiwan to see world-class Western art—not a place only the wealthy could enter.⁴

Passing at 95 and the Two Legacies Left Behind

On November 18, 2023, Xu Wen-long passed away at the age of 95.¹ He left behind the Chimei Museum as a cultural legacy, along with his philosophy of "business takes from society and gives back to society."

People in Tainan were accustomed to describing him as "a person with a heart." At the peak of his commercial career, he spent the most money on violins and the museum. In an era when "making money first" was the prevailing ethos in Taiwan, he insisted that employee happiness mattered more than shareholder returns. These choices were not mainstream at the time, but viewed through today's "ESG" framework, they read like the prophecy of a pioneer.

From the slums along the Tainan Canal to the world's largest private violin collection, Xu Wen-long's story is this: a person who insisted that "sharing" mattered more than "keeping" ultimately built a museum that everyone could enter.

Over 95 years, he left a node in both business history and cultural history: in the business domain, the node is Chi Mei; in the cultural domain, the node is the museum and those 1,362 violins. The intersection of these two nodes is his most fundamental philosophy—business is a means to pursue happiness, not an end in itself.

After Xu Wen-long's passing, the Chimei Museum continues to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. The violins are still being loaned out, and the music is still being played. He carved his name into Tainan's cultural landscape.

Further reading: Xu Wen-long — Wikipedia ｜ Chimei Museum official website ｜ CNA: Xu Wen-long passes away

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