Word of the Week: Poor Second Generation

Word of the Week: Poor Second Generation
A “rich person” holds his child aloft next to a tiny “poor person.” Both sit on the bench of “society's resources.”

A “rich person” holds his child aloft next to a tiny “poor person.” Both sit on the bench of “society’s resources.” (artist unknown)

贫二代 (pín èr dài): poor second generation

Before China’s reform and opening up, communism had substantially leveled the playing field, placing most people on more or less the same economic level. With Deng Xiaoping’s free market reforms, the gap between rich and poor began to widen. The children of those who prospered during the reform and opening up period are call the “rich second generation,” while the children of those who did not prosper are the “poor second generation.”

Commentators complain that institutional barriers, such as the high cost of education and the importance of connections, hinder economic mobility.

See also governing second generation and rich second generation.

The Grass-Mud Horse eBook is your guide to the Chinese Internet. Available from KindleiTunes, and Google Play.

The  comes from China Digital Space’s Grass-Mud Horse Lexicon, a glossary of terms created by Chinese netizens and frequently encountered in online political discussions. These are the words of China’s online “resistance discourse,” used to mock and subvert the official language around  and political correctness.

CDT EBOOKS

Subscribe to CDT

SUPPORT CDT

Browsers Unbounded by Lantern

Now, you can combat internet censorship in a new way: by toggling the switch below while browsing China Digital Times, you can provide a secure "bridge" for people who want to freely access information. This open-source project is powered by Lantern, know more about this project.

Google Ads 1

Giving Assistant

Google Ads 2

Anti-censorship Tools

Life Without Walls

Click on the image to download Firefly for circumvention

Open popup
X

Welcome back!

CDT is a non-profit media site, and we need your support. Your contribution will help us provide more translations, breaking news, and other content you love.