From China Daily:

“Peasant, the hardworking and simple, should not be considered a derogative word,” said Yuan Chunqing, Governor of Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, on a nationally televised talk show.

The noun “peasant” has been using as adjective as part of a posh Chinese vocabulary for many, describing those who are unstylish and ill-informed…

Yuan, who had been a peasant in the late 1960s, noted it is “uncivilized” to affix derogative connotations to peasant, which for him usually means guilelessness, diligence, and the down-to-earth spirit.[Full Text]