The Zhao family refers to dignitaries in China, such as the top bureaucrat, the rich, leaders in-system and their offspring. The phrase originates from Lu Xun's "The True Story of Ah Q". In December 2015, an article in WeChat public account described dignitaries as the Zhao family. Immediately, the phrase "the Zhao family" became an Internet meme. Soon after, the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party prohibited the use of such words as "the Zhao family". Medias which have used such words got punished.[1] Accordingly, such words as "the Zhao family" are no longer visible from main websites in China.
The phrase "the Zhao family" has its origins in Lu Xun's "The True Story of Ah Q," published in 1921. In the story, old Grandpa Zhao spits out, when Ah Q (who shares the same surname) dares to cheer along with the Zhaos: "You think you're worthy of the surname Zhao?" (Nǐ yě pèi xìng Zhào?)[2]
On December 19, 2015, a public account in WeChat published an article titled "The argument between Vanke and Baoneng: Barbarians in the front, and the Zhao family in the shadow" which divided the hierarchical China capital market into four ranks: retail investor, banker, plutocrat and the "Zhao family." The Zhao family is in the highest rank which refer to dignitaries. The barbarians refer to people who are rich but powerless.[3] This article made the word "Zhao family" attract extensive attention.
As the word spreading widely, there have come up derived usages such as "the Zhao family empire", "the Zhao king". Here are some examples:[4]
| Original words | Words after deconstruction | Chinese (Simp/Trad) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| the Zhao family empire, the Zhao family | 赵国/趙國 and 赵家/趙家 | ||
| the Zhao king | 赵王/趙王 | ||
| the Zhaos' army | 赵家军/趙家軍 | ||
| the Zhaos' police | 赵家警察/趙家警察 | ||
| the Zhaos' court, the Zhaos' procuratorate | 赵家法院/趙家法院 and 赵家检察院/趙家檢察院 | ||
| the Zhaos' government | 赵家政府/趙家政府 | ||
| serve the Zhao family | 为赵家服务/爲趙家服務 | ||
| the Zhaos' Daily | 赵家日报/趙家日報 | ||
| the Zhaos' sovereignty | 赵家主权/趙家主權 | ||
| the Zhaos' Security Law | 赵家安全法/趙家安全法 | ||
| Inciting subversion of the Zhaos' power | 煽动颠覆赵家政权罪/煽動顛覆趙家政權罪 | ||
| the Zhaos' old friends | 中国赵家的老朋友/中國趙家的老朋友 | ||
| the Zhaos' spiritual members (not a part of the Zhaos) | 精赵/精趙 | ||
| Oppression in the name of national stability | the Zhaos' nuke/missile | 赵弹/趙彈 |
While having words with 50 Cent Party, some people used "You think you're worthy of the surname Zhao?" as a taunt and response.