Zhao family (Internet slang)

the Zhao family
Traditional Chinese趙家人
Simplified Chinese赵家人
Literal meaningthe Zhao family
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhàojiārén
Wade–GilesChao-chia-jên

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. Accordingly, such words as "the Zhao family" are no longer visible from main websites in China.