土豪 (tuhao): The uncouth rich

The uncouth rich 土豪 (tuhao)

A new term, tuhao, has become very popular on the Internet. The first character, tu, means uncouth and the second, hao, referes to bold or bullying. The combination tuhao was originally used to mean "local lords". But now it is being used as a term to mock China's nouveaux riches.

After Apple released the new iPhone 5S, the gold-colored set became a must-have item for many Chinese. Consumers in China have become passionate about the gold-colored iPhone 5S sets, prompting the media to nicknamed them tuhao jin (or tuhao gold) which denotes the lavish and garish tastes of China's rising nouveau riche class.

People find tuhao to be aptly worded, because nouveaux riches have garish tastes and lack good cultural traits and sophistication. Although tuhao is a derisive term, it is being widely used by netizens to poke fun at the rich who are like luxurious products with little use or content.

Tuhao has gone viral on Chinese social media in recent weeks. The popularity of the term can be a manifestation of the social phenomenon in China: the widening wealth gap and social stratification, which has made the public disdainful of the uncouth rich. But it also reflects money worship prevalent among some people because "let's be friends with tuhao", too, has become popular on weibo.

(China Daily 10/18/2013 page9)