When his home becomes a house

In current Chinese society, house is no longer merely a sweet place for family being together, but also a vital representation of one’s social status. As Zhang (2008) points out, the stratification of urban residential space provides a tangible place for people to seek status recognition and create their cultural milieu. As the new rich in China succeed economically, they still lack a sense of social insecurity and yearn for respect from others. Therefore through the consumption of private property, the invisible socioeconomic differences are externalized. Besides a demonstration of one’s wealth, spatial location is also considered as an implication of one’s lifestyle and taste, at least that what real estate advertising tells people.

References:

Zhang, Li (2008) ‘Private Homes, Distinct Lifestyles: Performing a New Middle Class’, in Li Zhang and Aihwa Ong (eds) Privatizing China: Socialism from Afar, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, pp. 23-40.

Living Space=Social Class?

In her article ‘private homes, distinct lifestyles’, Li Zhang said that the rise of the commercial real estate industry in China is vital to the formation of a ‘new urban middle-class’ culture. On the one hand, the private homeownership reflects class difference to some extent, as Li Zhang said, an ‘index of status’. On the other hand, a ‘class milieu’ is also being created and influenced by the privatization of living space. I agree with her argument that in China nowadays, there has not emerged a distinct class culture shared by those so-called ‘middle class’ in economic aspect. Class making in China will be a ‘long and confusing’ process.