Rank level for conspicuous spenders

For tuhao are not just the targets of derision, but also the objects of admiration. The following story is a testament of the love-mock relationship the Chinese public has with this small but eye-catching demographic:

A man asked a Buddhist priest: "Master, I'm wealthy but I'm unhappy. Can you give me some guidance?"

"But what is wealth?" retorted the priest. (Spiritual men talk in this way to enhance their mystique.)

"The money in my bank has reached eight digits, and on top of that I have three apartments at Beijing's most expensive location. Does that make me wealthy?"

The priest did not say anything, but put out one hand. The man said: "You mean I should learn to be thankful?"

"No," said the priest in a timid voice. "Can I, I mean, can we be friends?"

Tuhao may be laughing stocks, but those who laugh at them often turn out to be hypocrites. They put on a face of disdain when talking about the flagrant profligacy, but once face to face, they want some of tuhao's glitter, or glittering gold, to rub off on them.

There is one pervasive custom in China that may puzzle outsiders. When you visit a friend in another city, he as a gesture of hospitality will take you out to a banquet. It's usually one of those expensive places fit for business functions. You'll say to your friend: "It's unnecessary because we are personal friends, not business acquaintances." He may respond: "Oh, it's nothing. I have a friend you may want to know." Well, that friend sits there and may or may not actively join your conversation, which often is not within his area of expertise or interest.

It took me a long time to realize that the reticent third party is neither a spy from a secret agency nor a true friend's friend whom I might take a liking to, but a private businessman who, in some way, is beholden to my friend and is at the dinner to quietly pay the bill. He is the tuhao who willy-nilly plays a role that probably does not exist in any other society. Sometimes he will say things like how honored he is to be in our company. I just hope he can put it in his corporate expense account.

China's new rich are not unique in finding it difficult to adjust to their quick rise in affluence. They crave for respect, but often in unwise ways. The more they attempt to buy respect with money, the more they are ridiculed. But they are also victims of the overall culture. Many are driven to such flaunting out of necessity, because modesty is often perceived as a sign of business failure.

Even people with experience and good judgment are impressed with the parade of riches — if conducted in slightly ingenious ways. Unless you are famously well-heeled as Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, it is pretty hard to use frugality and providence as a marketing strategy. For society is structured like a pyramid in terms of aesthetic discrimination. Only a few well-grounded people will be able to resist crass, material indulgence while the majority will be swept up in a sea of envy and loathing for it — and for the tuhao who personifies it better than anyone else.

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