Interview with Chu Shijian (The Tobacco King of China)

Synopsis: In the first half of his life, through extreme management and technological innovation, he transformed a small factory on the verge of bankruptcy into the number one tobacco empire in Asia, creating nearly 100 billion in tax revenue for the country. However, at the peak of his career, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for embezzlement. He endured imprisonment and the pain of losing his daughter. In the second half of his life, at the age of 74, after being released for medical treatment, he returned to the barren mountains to recreate the "Chu Orange" miracle, interpreting a spirit of never giving up that transcends punishment, systems, and age.

Interview Chief Writer: Fa Ning

July 24, 2026

Chu Shijian:

Namo Amituofo, I am the famous Tobacco King of China. Those of you who smoke should remember me, right?

After I turned fifty, the Hongta Group I managed was thriving at the time, and it was one of the top enterprises in the country. Although it was a state-owned enterprise and I was not the owner, because the state entrusted me with a heavy responsibility to lead the restructuring of this tobacco group, I invested myself in it very actively. With my innate courage, strategy, and the wisdom I applied during the restructuring, this crumbling tobacco group, which was almost on the verge of bankruptcy, was able to recover and was promoted to become the largest tobacco company in all of Asia.

This shocked many people in society and my peers at the time. I, a person without much practical background or fame, achieved such great success after the state entrusted me with this arduous task.

I was not young at the time. When I was appointed by the state to restore this tobacco group, I was already fifty-one years old. I had originally thought that I could retire after a few more good years, but I did not expect that I would work until I was in my seventies.

Indeed, it is a pity that I was involved in imprisonment at that time. It can be said that I have experienced days from heaven to hell. For someone like me who has made mistakes, my arrogance remained, yet I could receive the salvation of Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su and come to the Western Land of Dharma Nature. I am truly grateful and ashamed.

Looking around, many of the people saved by Practitioner Su in the Western Land of Dharma Nature are national-level great figures. Everyone has contributed their lives to the country, working hard without complaint, and working directly for the country. As an entrepreneur, I once committed the crime of embezzling public funds for private use. At the age of over seventy, I was sentenced to prison and spent several years in prison life.

All these past events are truly shameful to talk about, and I also know that I have many shortcomings in my character and personality. Once my mindset was distorted and I went astray, everything I did was truly biased, which is why I was stripped of this big hat and made to withdraw from the tobacco world.

Today, I am saying these words to everyone, which can be considered my confession.

I once used many high-sounding reasons to defend myself, but now I have learned to be humble and modest. During this time of purification in the Western Land of Dharma Nature, I truly know that I did wrong, and I sincerely repent before Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su.

Relying on my strong social influence, I gave the people of the world a wrong example. As the Tobacco King who once made mistakes, I believe that none of this needs to be hidden; it should be honestly disclosed so that all the people of China know. It also lets everyone understand that as entrepreneurs, whether we are working for the country or as private entrepreneurs, we must uphold the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way as stated in the Buddha’s teachings, and we cannot be biased. Even a little bias has a very profound and vast impact that cannot be compensated for.

Although I have experienced ups and downs, at the lowest point of my life, I once restarted my business. The "Chu Orange" business I started at that time was indeed very successful, and everyone called me the "founder of Chu Orange." Yes, I am the founder of Chu Orange.

From the "Tobacco King of China" to the "founder of Chu Orange," everyone praised me, believing that I could reorganize in the trough and successfully manage a business from scratch again. At that time, it became a good story in society.

However, this could not dissipate the negative karma I created by embezzling public funds. Although I received the corresponding punishment, this, after all, represented a major stain on myself. After leaving the human world, I did indeed report to the heart-gouging hell and spent a period of time suffering. The suffering of hell made me wake up completely. It turned out that I not only did wrong in embezzling public funds, but also had major mistakes and distortions in my mindset, which led to the result of my committing sins.

When we did not receive Buddhist education, we always thought that our actions represented everything, but in fact, it is not so. Many times, it is this heart that has already made a mistake first. This heart has already gone the wrong way, which led me to the edge of error step by step, until I committed sins.

Because I did not have Buddhist education at the time, every business I managed in my life was based on "myself." That is to say, I always used my own subjective thoughts, views, feelings, and what I considered to be right and wrong, benefits and advantages, to defend my actions and manage all these businesses in a way that protected myself. Although I achieved success, the arrogance in my heart also arose, thinking that all this was achieved because of my overly intelligent brain, and from beginning to end, I never admitted my mistakes.

"Tobacco King of China" is a very deep hat! In the twenty years I managed it, I thought I was working for the country with trepidation. Although this is a big business, it is a public enterprise after all, and it has nothing to do with my personal interests. I wanted to use my own strength to manage it well and wanted to prove to the world that with my ability, Chu Shijian, I could rescue a crumbling, near-bankrupt group business and achieve such great development. At that time, almost half of the tax revenue of Yunnan Province came from our tobacco company, which is something I am very proud of. Because of this tobacco business, I led Yunnan Province to a higher level of economic breakthrough.

In my eyes, everything at that time was measured by money, and all achievements were considered by the amount of money earned and the profits obtained.

The reason why I was convicted of embezzling public funds for private use was also because the achievements I obtained after working hard to manage the tobacco business for twenty years were very different from the salary I received at that time, and I thought I should get greater profits and benefits. Therefore, in extreme injustice in my heart, I embezzled public funds into my own pocket, thinking that I could disappear and be unknown.

But what I didn't know was that the net of heaven is vast and sparse, but it never misses. In the end, I was caught red-handed and became a joke to the people of the whole country. I was extremely angry and unfair in my heart at that time, but with the laws of the country in front of me, there was no chance to turn over, so our whole family was imprisoned and sentenced.

When I was in prison, because I was sick, I had the opportunity to be sent out for medical treatment, which gave my life a turning point. At that time, I used some borrowed funds to start my own new business. As for oranges, I liked this industry at that time and started to manage this industry.

In the last ten or twenty years of my life, I did manage this industry very successfully, founded the grand business of "Chu Orange," and obtained very high profits.

When I felt satisfied with everything, I fell ill again. This time I left the human world directly and came to hell to receive retribution, suffering endless torture. If I had not received the salvation of Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su today, I think I would still be in hell, suffering infinite suffering, unable to leave for a long time.

In the Western Land of Dharma Nature, I did deeply repent, knowing that all this was a mistake caused by my greed and various temperaments of injustice in my heart.

For the country's cultivation, giving me the opportunity to have such a big stage to develop my business, and also being able to bring higher tax revenue to the country and better quality of life for the people, this should have made me satisfied. But because I always wanted more, under this greed, I stepped into such a situation step by step.

When I was in the world, I suffered in prison; after leaving the human world, I had to go to hell to receive retribution. This also caused my arrogance, which was high above, to be knocked down at once, making me realize again that I really did something wrong.

In such a situation, I am a very lucky one. There are many entrepreneurs in China who, without understanding the Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way, have committed sins or caused harm to the people, which is actually incomparably huge. In our society at that time, at the beginning of economic reform and opening up, many people, because their hearts did not receive real education, went on many wrong paths and did many wrong things. In order to get their own benefits, everyone produced many fake goods or toxic goods, which threatened people's lives and health after they ate them. Such things were everywhere at that time.

Today, I have received real Buddhist education, and I also want to advise all those who have done the same wrong things: everyone must turn back to the shore, and must prioritize the country, the people, and the public. If you only prioritize your own interests and cause trouble for others in health or various aspects, the negative karma created in it is truly incomparably huge and difficult to repay!

We as entrepreneurs, should be vigilant. If we hold a force, if we eat the country's food but do not think about the country and the people, the debt owed in this is impossible to pay off.

China has a population of more than 1.4 billion. If you embezzle even a cent of the country, you will be heavily in debt to these 1.4 billion people! Practitioner Su once mentioned in lectures that as long as you do such things, the debt owed will still gather together after immeasurable and boundless calamities, and if the conditions are ripe, you will still need to repay this debt. In addition, Practitioner Su also mentioned in lectures that this debt must be added with immeasurable and boundless interest, rolling in it. How can the karma caused throughout these many lives be paid off? This is really too difficult!

If it were not for the help of the Buddha today, and if Practitioner Su had not attained Buddhahood in the human world and helped immeasurable and boundless beings to achieve liberation, I think my sins could not be repaid. The Universal Principle, the Truth, and the Right Way are just like this. Everything I have done is clearly visible, and now I know the importance of Buddhist education.

In my life, I can say that I have experienced countless life and death and ups and downs from childhood to adulthood, but I did not know that there were many bits and pieces hidden in it, especially the development of character, which step by step led to the wrong path.

Because of selfishness and habits, layered and intertwined, my character was covered with layers of filth, which is why I committed this wrong thing. In fact, it is not that I did not know that all this was wrong, but under the temptation of profit, it is very easy to go on such a wrong path.

When I was young, I also had a heart to serve the country and wanted to do things for the country. In this, I stumbled into this path by mistake. After being appreciated by the country, I thought I had the ability to manage all this, but after the event was completed, I still could not suppress the greed in my heart.

In the Western Land of Dharma Nature, watching all the Chao Du performed by Practitioner Su, and all the work of saving the world performed by everyone at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre under the leadership of Practitioner Su every day and every moment, I am very moved.

I never knew that the human world could achieve such skills. Without any selfishness and attachment, it turns out that people can reach the highest realm of spirits, which is Awakening and attaining Buddhahood, by relying on this pure, good heart that only wants to save beings and let go of the "self".

Compared with any move to save beings and help all people move towards brightness in the human world, it is really better than anything else!

In the human world, everyone wants to repay the kindness of the country and do things for the people. Everything done is only in the limited things of the world: perhaps it is to let everyone get rich, perhaps it is to lead people in one area to get rid of poverty and move towards living and working in peace and contentment. All this seems very beautiful, but it is also very short-lived. In this long spiritual world, this only represents a field of blessings once planted.

And Practitioner Su can now use the skills of no-mind and no-thought to help all beings who have been deposited in space and in immeasurable and boundless time and cannot be saved, allowing them to achieve spiritual liberation, and can rely on his own great heart and Ultimate Vow to feel the help of Namo Amituofo, establish the Western Land of Dharma Nature, and let us spirit realm beings find a home.

I think this is so very far removed from the values and outlook on life I once held in the human world! I never imagined before that what is said in the Buddha’s teachings—that "the Buddha’s teachings are the science of sciences, the technology of technologies"—could be truly manifested in the human world and could save immeasurable and boundless beings.

Today, I have broken free from the past where I committed errors that cast shadows in my heart, and I have received true Buddhist education in the Western Land of Dharma Nature.

Since then, I have opened my heart step by step. Although I know I once made mistakes, I also know that all of this was caused by not having received true education.

I know that today, far too many Chinese people have also walked the same path as I did. The unease experienced over the past century, and the restlessness in their hearts, are all part of this. At the founding of the nation, because the public could not find true stability and lived in such a complex environment, it was inevitable that they would contract improper habits, with no way to be corrected. Even if there were opportunities for correction, the methods were often very harsh; yet, deep down, there was no true admission of fault, no understanding of one's own errors, and no realisation that one should not harbour selfish attachments. Therefore, everyone continued to walk the same path, deeply mired in it without ever realising it.

I am now following Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su, letting go of all the dust and defilements of the past. Practising with the Buddha has truly opened my eyes, allowing me to see clearly so many Universal Principles, the Truth, and the Right Way that I never knew before, and I have also come to understand the principle that everyone can become a Buddha.

After knowing all of this, my heart has become much calmer. Because I know that I truly have a way out, I no longer need to suffer the pain of the six realms of rebirth, and in the future, I can rely on my own continued purification practice to help more sentient beings with karmic affinity.

Looking back on this life, it is neither long nor short. Reaching the end with a complicated heart, it is inevitable to suffer the fruit of the hells, because this heart had long ago gone astray and deviated, and by letting many people witness the mistakes I committed, I set a bad example. This is the karmic retribution I must accept for influencing the mental notes of others.

Today, my life has been reborn, and I hereby make an Ultimate Vow to follow the Buddha in my practice. The many mistakes I committed in the past can all be compensated for once I have the ability to save beings, so that others no longer have to suffer unjust grievances because of my errors; if they cannot be compensated, it would not only delay my own progress but also pollute the character of the public and offend countless beings.

I believe that when I initiate my vow, everything will surely fall into place. This is the confidence and strength that Namo Amituofo and Practitioner Su have given me.

Gratitude to Namo Amituofo, gratitude to Practitioner Su.

Namo Amituofo

Chu Shijian