"He writes with two pens", one for literary works and the other for essays and reviews. In 1997, he published "An Analysis of All Social Strata in China". In this book, he leveraged the advantage of a writer’s intuitive thinking and used vivid and lively language to "paint portraits" of people from all social strata. In his view, the imbalance in wealth distribution has led to the frequent occurrence of events that violate moral norms. He said, "If we do not confront some of the real - life problems, society will be in great danger". Liang Xiaosheng also once thought about "minding his own business", but his inner conscience drove him to keep thinking and writing.
—People’s Daily (Overseas Edition)

The same age as the People’s Republic, he has witnessed the changes of the times with his writing. Fond of the 1980s, he laid a solid foundation with his educated youth literature; compassionate towards the fate of the underprivileged, he pointed his pen at the bureaucrats and the powerful to uphold justice. He rejected the hustle and bustle of the times, yet the times took away the readers’ patience; he paid attention to the livelihood of the people and spoke for them, but felt powerless; as reality moved forward reluctantly, his writing remained sharp and vigorous.
—Phoenix News

Liang Xiaosheng has sharply satirized those "new rich" who became extremely wealthy by taking advantage of the social background, positions, and power during the period of social transformation. He not only exposed the despicable means by which they became rich but also revealed the emptiness of their spiritual lives. In contrast, those who live at the bottom of society, though busy making a living every day, enjoy a fulfilling spiritual life. On this level, it reflects Liang Xiaosheng's struggle and return in the dual opposition of "spirit and flesh" and "material and spiritual". He advocates returning to a simple, content, and righteous human nature, and discarding that cold rationality and those beautifully - decorated promises.
—"Chinese You Should Pay Attention to in 21st Century"

★ A classic bestseller for nearly 30 years. A seminal work by Liang Xiaosheng, winner of the Mao Dun Literature Prize, recommended by "People's Daily"!

★Celebrated author Liang Xiaosheng depicts the developmental realities of China's social classes, revealing the survival logic of each stratum.

★In-depth analysis of social issues, exposing the survival logic of China's class structure to help readers grasp reality:
Drawing on his rich life experience and profound insights, the author examines China's social development through historical and contemporary lenses, authentically presenting the living conditions of each class. He offers unique perspectives on land, real estate, the stock market, commerce, rural issues, and more, delving into the realities of the propertied class, the middle class, the urban working class, and rural populations, while contemplating future societal opportunities and challenges — provoking deep reflection.

★Profound humanistic value:
The author analyzes China's class dynamics with compassion for the disadvantaged, optimism for the nation's future, and earnest recommendations — fully embodying his humanistic concern and sense of literary responsibility.

Liang Xiaosheng's "Four Books on Chinese Humanities Observation" includes:
"An Analysis of Social Strata in China"
"The Character of Chinese Culture"
"The Humanity and Life of the Chinese People"
"The Chinese People: A Look at Daily Life"

If you belong to the propertied class, what changes lie ahead?
If you are part of the middle class, what challenges will you face?
If you are an urban working-class citizen, how can you navigate societal shifts?
If you are from rural China, how can you achieve upward mobility?
Here, you may find answers...
With sharp insight, the author reflects on the present through the interplay of history and reality.
Amid the tides of our era, be a clear-minded thinker.

This book is a classic masterpiece by Liang Xiaosheng, a recipient of the Mao Dun Literature Prize, focusing on the themes of Chinese society.
Based on the characteristics of people from different social strata, their common living conditions, and psychological traits in Chinese society, the author categorizes the social structure of China into several classes. He examines the normal phenomena and underlying issues in life and society from the perspective of ordinary people. The book provides an in-depth analysis of the current social situation from both realistic and spiritual aspects, resonating with readers through the reverberation of historical events. It offers profound insights, valuable references for understanding contemporary society, and demonstrates the author's social concern.
With the rapid development of society, individual class anxiety has become a hidden pain in the era. The book's rich and detailed descriptions help readers accurately position themselves in the times. It allows readers to broaden their horizons, savor the depth of thought, appreciate the thickness of history, and experience the warmth of emotions while reading this classic. It also teaches readers to positively view and cope with social changes, thus enabling them to live more calmly and optimistically.

Liang Xiaosheng

He was born in 1949 in Harbin with ancestral roots in Rongcheng, Shandong. He is a renowned contemporary Chinese writer and scholar. Currently, he serves as a senior professor at the School of Humanities of Beijing Language and Culture University, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and a researcher at the Central Research Institute of Culture and History. To date, he has authored over ten million words of literary works, including essays, novels, commentaries, and documentary literature. His representative works include "Tonight There’s a Snowstorm", "The Rings of Time", and "Educated Youth". In 2019, he won the 10th Mao Dun Literature Prize for his novel "A Lifelong Journey".

New Edition Preface

Introduction
Chapter 1 The Contemporary Propertied Class
Appendix: A Bird's-Eye View of the Commercial Era
Red Veil • "The Bride"
History Once Made Merchants Notorious
What Do Merchants Represent to the Chinese?
China Through My Childhood
Where Are the Opportunities for Business?
The Ugliness of the World
Chapter 2 The Contemporary "Comprador" Class
Chapter 3 The Contemporary Middle Class
Appendix: China's Middle Class: An Inevitably Hard Path
With Urban Civilians Being Vulnerable, How Can the Middle Class Emerge?
China's Middle Class: Less Than a Few Percent
Where Is Our Universal Middle-Class Values?
The Western Middle Class: Progress Driven by Humanistic Forces
Can China's Middle Class Speak for the Underprivileged? Unlikely.
Chapter 4 Contemporary Intellectuals
Chapter 5 Urban Working Class and the Poor
Chapter 6 Farmers
Chapter 7 China's Migrant Workers
Chapter 8 China's Contemporary "Underworld"
Chapter 9 China's "Gray Society"
Chapter 10 National and Economic Development Opportunities
Appendices

Reflections on Land

Reflections on Youth and New China
Society Need Not Obsess Over "Second-Generation Rich"
The Present and Future of "Rich Second Generation"
Children of Middle-Class Families
Children of Urban Working-Class Families
Children of Poor Families
Children of Rural Families

Thoughts on "Decency" and "Dignity"
Humanities Education: The Defibrillator for a Conscientious Society
Even Technical Talent Must Meet Cultural Standards
The Last Resort: Promoting Humanities in Universities
Three Enemies of Humanities Education: Technocracy, Commercialism, Bureaucracy

Postscript for the Reprint
2010 edition Preface

In the commercial age, it is inconceivable to be without a bourgeoisie, just as it is inconceivable to be without a comprador class. It is like an aquarium without sharks, without giant sturgeons or without whales, without dolphins, or like a zoo without lions, tigers, leopards, bears, rhinoceroses, and elephants. They are the most indispensable species in the aquatic and beast categories. Without their existence, an aquarium cannot be called an aquarium, and what would a zoo be without them? The bourgeoisie and the comprador class are the most important links in the chain of prosperity of the commercial age and the yeast of the commercial age. Without their existence, the commercial age can only be a fantasy, a legend, a wish. Those who fear their existence are like Ye Gong who claimed to love dragons — only to recoil in terror when facing the real thing. What we have reason to oppose should only be the breeding, formation, and existence of the "bureaucratic bourgeoisie" and the "bureaucratic comprador class". And we must oppose them unwaveringly. Because these two "hybrid classes", with bureaucracy as the matrix and conceived by the bourgeoisie and the comprador class, are incomparable in their corrosiveness to power, extremely destructive to general commercial principles, and inevitably amount to the rape of the society's sense of fairness. They make commerce subservient to power, thus making the behavior of commerce almost like "adultery". They make power prostitute itself to money, thus making power akin to a hidden prostitute. The result is that both commerce and power become despicable, base, and dirty at the same time. A society where "bureaucratic bourgeoisie" and "bureaucratic compradors" emerge endlessly, even if they have not yet formed into classes, is essentially incapable of truly building so - called "spiritual civilization". Their pollution and harm to the whole society are in no way inferior to that of the underworld and hooligan gangs. Although they appear more refined than the underworld and more decent than hooligan gangs on the surface.
China's bourgeoisie and compradors have, of course, become class-based.
Among the bourgeoisie, there are, of course, no shortage of "class elements" defined by my French journalist friend. In fact, there is no particular need for further analysis of them. Because their private property mainly depends on the size of their fathers' power to accumulate. The process is often so simple that it is astonishing, and there is almost no real commercial significance to speak of. "Chinese characteristics" are extremely ironic on this point. In the years when China's economic order had not yet been formed in time, they were often able to easily borrow large sums of money from banks, and they were often free or low-interest, and then quickly speculated in the initial stock trading or real estate trading. There is no such thing as risk for them, because they are favored by nature, well-informed, smooth in buying, and timely in selling. When others have no time to react and act, they have already reacted and taken action. When others are "trapped", they have long since taken their profits and left. When some places call for the establishment of economic order, their figures have already appeared in other places where there are opportunities. For them, the "rules of the game" are almost always a thing that comes later. And the so-called opportunities always seem to be created specifically for them; or, reserved for them. Behind them, there seems to be an "opportunity service team", or "opportunity scalpers".
In the 1990s, a small coastal city in China launched a development boom. I have seen their fleeting figures there. Because it was another place in China at that time that provided a great opportunity for land speculation, it almost became their "rendezvous point". I was invited to participate in a TV drama planning session, and they went there for the business "game" of land speculation. Some of them were even accompanied by officials of no small rank, who acted as "senior consultants". When I arrived, all the prime locations had already been taken. Of course, it was a matter of a piece of paper. They resold the land deeds, took the opportunity to return, and sat back and reaped the profits. The price of an acre of land soared by fifty to sixty times or even nearly a hundred times, and their "revenue generation" can be imagined. In just a few short days, they became rich once and enjoyed a pleasant sightseeing tour at the same time.
However, all of this was carried out within the bounds of legality. It's just that this legally conducted commercial "game" is something others can't and aren't qualified to "play".
Now the development boom in that small city has long since cooled down, because the land prices soared during the speculation process and lost the profit for development. Of course, some people went bankrupt there, but it definitely wouldn't be some of them.
Steel, timber, coal, oil, cement, tobacco, alcohol, any goods that were once in short supply, even if they belong to state - controlled materials, have almost all been touched by some of these people or some of those people. The phenomenon of "selling approval documents" and "selling notes" was once a common occurrence in China. Didn't Wang Baosen embezzle twenty million yuan for his mistress to do business? Didn't he first become a prisoner before this crime was investigated? Otherwise, "embezzlement" would not be a crime and could be said to be "approved" by the Vice Mayor of Beijing. For an official who has the power to allocate tens of billions of dollars, granting someone 20 million yuan for business is a trivial matter, isn't it? The public facade for external audits is often "collective ownership", but in reality, it is 100% individual ownership. When they say "collective", it refers to their own small "collective". Profits are all credited to personal accounts, and losses are considered as the state paying "tuition fees" for the prosperity of "collective economy". Losing everything is considered as fully paying "tuition fees", and squandering is also considered as fully paying "tuition fees". During the years when China's economic order was chaotic and tangled, the state paid many unclear "tuition fees" in this way. Of course, it cannot be said that it was completely in vain, as it did allow them to become wealthy first. Moreover, it cannot be said that the payments were entirely "unclear".