Nian Guangjiu is a founder of the Anhui Fool Group, Nian Guangjiu is known as ‘number one vendor in China.’ Nian was the chairman of the Fool Economic Development Company, which holds the trademark Shazi, one of the most famous brands for roasted seeds, a tradi- tional Chinese snack. The trademark Shazi, meaning ‘fool’ in Chinese, was taken from his childhood nickname.
Background
Nian was born in 1937, the year in which the Sino-Japanese war erupted. A heavy flood in the Huaihe River region displaced Nian’s family, forcing his parents to live as beggars. The family moved to Wuhu, Anhui Province, where, without any other source of income, Nian’s father set up a vending stand at a street corner and Nian started learn- ing business. However, doing business was not glorious in those days.
Education
Nian Guangjiu was educated locally.
Career
In 1963, Nian was thrown into prison for a year on charges of speculation and profiteering. During the Cultural Revolution, Nian was again sent to prison for ‘taking the capitalist road’. Nonetheless, it was at that time that Nian started his ‘underground’ watermelon seeds business. By the late 1970s, although still a street peddler, Nian had developed special seed-roasting skills, and was ready to set up a firm to challenge state-run roasted-seed producers.
Wuhu is known to many Chinese as the ‘hometown of roasted seeds.’ In 1981, Nian Guangjiu invented a special formula to roast melon seeds and named it after his nickname, ‘Shazi Seed.’ Roasted seed was one of the three products that the Wuhu municipal government wanted its self-employed producers and traders to develop as local specialties. The city government sponsored special reports on the ‘Shazi Seed’ in news- papers and on television. As a result of its special taste, reduced price and advertising, ‘Shazi Seed’ became a popular product in Anhui and other parts of China. In the following years, Nian expanded production and hired more workers. Gradually his employees increased from just three workers in 1981 to a sizable labor force of 103 in 1983, and the yearly output of ‘Shazi Seed’ climbed from several tons up to several thousand tons. Nian’s profits also grew from just RMB1000 to more than RMB1 million.
As his products were both delicious and inexpensive, the ‘Shazi’ brand took a giant slice of the seed snack market in China, and Nian became one of the country’s first millionaires. However, Nian has had his ups and downs in both his business career and personal life. In 1983, he hired more than 100 employees, far more than the 20 employees allowed by the government, which was a serious issue in the early years of reform. Some people accused Nian of ‘capitalist exploitation,’ and feared that his expanding enterprise would have a negative impact on state-owned or collective businesses. After the issue was investigated and reported to high-level officials in Beijing, however, then leader Deng Xiaoping, commented at a meeting on 22 October 1984 that the ‘Shazi Seed’ business should be allowed to operate for another two years to see what would happen next. This is the first time Nian’s name was mentioned by Deng, who believed that private business would neither harm Chinese socialism, nor damage the overall economy and cause social instability.
Nian’s business career appeared to be over, but in 1992, Deng Xiaoping again mentioned his name, this time during the famous Southern tour that put Chinese economic reform back on track. After serving 30 months in jail, Nian’s name was cleared without any formal charge of economic crimes. Although Nian tried to make a comeback by resuming his old business, his influence was largely over. In 2000, he sold his shares to his two sons, and has since lived a quiet life in Wuhu, where even locals rarely mention his name any more.