The Zhao family (Chinese: 赵家人) 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 (Chinese: 赵太爷) 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?" (Chinese: 你也配姓赵？ 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" (Chinese: 万科宝能之争：门口的野蛮人，背后的赵家人) 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.[4]
As the word spreading widely, there have come up derived usages such as "the Zhao family empire", "the Zhao king". Here are some examples:[5]
While having words with 50 Cent Party, some people used "You think you're worthy of the surname Zhao?" as a taunt and response.[5]