The People’s Republic of Desire

62 Class Differences in Communist China

Being called xiaozi, or petit bourgeois, was dangerous during the Cultural Revolution. Although not as bad as being labeled counterrevolutionary, the petit bourgeois were condemned and assaulted by Red Guards if they so much as wore high-heeled shoes, permed their hair, or committed some other "offense" against the People's Fashion.

Gone are the days when beauty and fashion are deemed counterrevolutionary. Today, xiaozi is one of the most glorious words in the Chinese lexicon, representing an emerging army of cool people. They read the Chinese versions of Elle and Cosmopolitan instead of the Peoples Daily and take pride in drinking coffee rather than tea. They may not be rich enough to own cars or condos, but they own taste. They don't hesitate to spend a third of their monthly salary on a Luciano Pavarotti concert.

Lulu proudly calls herself a xiaozi. During a break in our weight-loss class, Lulu chats with Beibei and me about the new class concepts in China. "Because China is changing so fast, the society has become more segmented than ever," Lulu lectures. "Everybody is looking for a new label. Our magazine has to constantly study demographics to get a handle on our readers. Results show that our magazine serves xiaozi people like me, but not people like Beibei."

"I'm not a petit bourgeois?" asks Beibei.

"Of course not," Lulu replies, as if it was obvious. "You're a xingui, a member of the new elite who reads Fortune magazine or BusinessWeek. "

"What makes me a member of the new elite?" asks Beibei.

I interject: "Your income and your lifestyle. You drive a BMW. You have lovers. You attend banquets every week."

"Who are we?" Beibei wonders.

Lulu explains: "You're the group that has benefited most from the open-door policy. You can be Communists or Capitalists, but often the combination of the two are the big gest winners."

I ask, "What type of people are both communists and capitalists? I read Karl Marx's Capital. They are certainly not in there."

Lulu explains: "They are the kids who grew up in upper-class families in Beijing or Shanghai, then received an education in the West, and later work for multinational investment banks or Fortune 500 companies. Chief executives and presidents of privatized companies that were formerly state-owned. Popular singers, actors…"

Beibei asks Lulu: "What about Niuniu? Which group does she belong to?"

"I'm definitely an antielitist. I'd never drive a BMW to show off," I say to Beibei.

"Niuniu, you're a bobo!" Lulu says, as if she is a scientist classifying rare animals.

"A bobo?" I laugh.

"Yes," says Lulu, "the most fashionable group, better sounding than the middle class or the petite bourgeoisie. The bobo concept, of course, comes from an American book called Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There. "

"What does it mean?" I ask, not having read the book.

"Bourgeois bohemians," Lulu explains. "The next issue of my magazine is a special issue about the bobos. I know everything about this group."

"Bourgeois bohemians. I love the sound of it. So what makes me a bobo?" I ask.

"You drive an SUV," says Lulu.

"Yes. I love camping." I nod.

"You read Time magazine. Your English is perfect. You love to travel and toss around words like Tibet, Bali, and Shangri-la. You're almost a vegetarian. You have more than fifteen years of education. You sleep under down quilts. You are often seen with a Sony or an Apple laptop at Starbucks. You have an iPod. You listen to new age music and do yoga. You're no different from those bobos in New York except that you carry the latest cell phone model and they don't really care much about cell phones. You pay less for manicures and derm-abrasion and rentals than they do. The whole point is that among the Chinese, bobos are the most cosmopolitan group."

I say: "It does sound like me. But I don't like stereotypes."

"You even sound boboistic!" Lulu says, smiling at me, proud of the word she has just coined. "You believe in individualism and refuse to be categorized. But you should feel lucky to be categorized in the bobo class. You might have been born into the hobo class, like the migrant workers who live in the south of the city."

I reply: "Communism's goal is to eliminate class differences. But now Chinese people seem to enjoy classifying themselves."

Lulu continues the analysis: "I guess China is on the move. Young people will go wherever it is fashionable."

I put my arm around Lulu. "And if they aren't sure what is fashionable, they can always buy Lulu's magazine."

XIAOZI: Petite bourgeois; refers to an emerging group of young people who enjoy things Western, from coffee to jazz. They are not rich, but pay attention to their lifestyle. They would fit in quite well with their counterparts in the West.