Beijingers have become accustomed to being bombarded with grandiose advertising for the new luxury developments that continue to spring up across the capital. The property companies behind the gated complexes entice would-be buyers with phrases like 'princely living', 'utmost prestige' and 'supreme pleasure'. But with house prices in Beijing rising by 9 per cent in the first quarter of this year, only the rich can afford to buy such properties. Most locals have to make do with less glamorous places in the far-flung suburbs.
That though, is what the developers want. The whole point of such advertising is to convince buyers that they are in an exclusive gang. For Beijing's mayor, Wang Qishan , and the city government, though, such advertising is a threat to social harmony. Earlier this month, a notice appeared on a Beijing government website branding the ads 'unhelpful'. It went on to say that they failed to 'conform to the simple traditional virtues venerated by the Chinese nation'. Now, the property developers face having to find new ways to sell their apartments.
The move to crack down on the ads has resulted in a lively debate in the press and on the internet about the evils of ostentation. But it's hard to accept that any media commentators, or the mayor and his officials, believe that people remain in thrall to the Confucian ideal, where no one makes more money than they need and greed is frowned upon.
Judging by the feverish speculation in the stock market, the pursuit of money has replaced table tennis as the mainland's national sport. But making your pile is just the start. Once you are rich, it's essential to flaunt your wealth. Mr Wang knows this. A few weeks ago, he is reported to have joked that 'some people wish they could carve the word 'rich' right on their face'.
Nor can they be blamed for showing off: most of the mainland's new rich are just one or two generations removed from working on the land. For them, poverty isn't an abstract thing you read about in newspapers, but part of their recent family history. Plunging into a lifestyle dominated by material comforts helps erase that past.
Those whose business it is to persuade people to buy fancy apartments know that the use of words like 'distinguished' and 'luxury' induces a Pavlovian reaction.
