ASIAN AFFAIRS How long has China’s Red Dynasty really got?

Since paramount leader Deng Xiaoping proclaimed, “to get rich is glorious”, the economic revolution in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has lifted 850 million people out of absolute poverty, a great social achievement. This, however, is relative. The people to benefit most are those with an urban hukou. A hukou is a residence permit. The middle class, as we understand the term, constitutes some 12 per cent of the population, almost exclusively residents of big towns and cities. The country dwellers are referred to as Lao Bai Xing, or Old Hundred Names. There are relatively few surnames in China,…