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From parvenu to “highbrow” tastes: the rise of cultural capital in China’s intergenerational elites

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  • Li, Gordon C.

Abstract

A new generation of elites distinguished by their cultural endowments has emerged in China. Unlike the older generation of elites who signaled status through the display of wealth but shared similar tastes, the new generation of cultured elites has sophisticated, often Western-oriented “highbrow” tastes in their cultural consumption. By comparing the upbringings and the tastes of interviewees from various backgrounds, this study suggests a widening taste-chasm between the elites and the underclasses in urban cities. The social process behind this is argued to be the rapid formation of cultural capital in China, in which parental privileges accumulated in the market economy converted into cultural privileges in the new generation of new elites.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Gordon C., 2021. "From parvenu to “highbrow” tastes: the rise of cultural capital in China’s intergenerational elites," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 110737, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:110737
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/110737/
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dennis Tao Yang, 1999. "Urban-Biased Policies and Rising Income Inequality in China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 306-310, May.
    2. ZHAO, Guochang, 2015. "Can money ‘buy’ schooling achievement? Evidence from 19 Chinese cities," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 83-104.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    China; cultural capital; cultural consumption; intergenerational mobility; music taste;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics

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