Consumption culture of the Chinese middle class

The consumption culture of the Chinese middle class has experienced many and varied inputs, and has not fully matured yet. Therefore, the analysis of the current Chinese middle class consumption culture is quite difficult to follow using western research methods, which arise from social strata consumption history, childhood educational methods, different consumption experiences, family consumption background, and parents’ cultural capital guidance, as well as educational and cultural contexts. Considering the formation of the Chinese middle classes consumption culture, the key factors of the following 3 aspects must be paid attention to: Chinese traditional consumption culture; influence by external culture under the background of globalization; as well as a lack of mainstream culture and the variations in moral standards.

In view of the close relationship between consumption patterns and different social strata, as well as the direct influence on people's values by capital possession status, the present middle class can be divided into two big communities according to the similarity of taste, life style and culture. One community is ‘Pan’ - white-collar workers who have superior cultural capital. This community includes company staff, government officials, professionals, and cultural media people. The other community is the ‘New Rich’ who have superiority of economical capital. It includes private entrepreneurs, state-owned contractors and other outstanding business people.

The consumption tastes and consumption culture of the new rich and ‘Pan’ white-collar workers, who have simultaneously rapidly emerged under basically the same social development background, present the characteristics of coexistence between identity and difference. From an overall view of consumption tastes, pursuits, and values, modern and post-modern consumption culture has basically formed into the ‘Pan’ and white-collar worker groups, while the status of traditional consumption culture unceasingly drops. The esthetics, feeling, psychological joy, and cultural tastes of consumable goods are regarded more and more valuable, which is manifested in consumer’s behaviors and patterns. Among the new rich stratum, traditional consumption culture still occupies the highest status position, but it has already evolved into a variation of traditional consumption culture. The new rich prefer to obey a principle of pragmatism. The practical use of daily consumption products, and a practical benefit to social relations, is the value orientation of their consumption culture.

The common characteristics of Chinese middle class consumption culture are:

1. Foreign brands and culture are pursued, and brands’ function of giving personal identity distinction is increasing

Historically, it hasn’t been easy for Chinese people to always maintain ordinary foreign relations, and there has always been a contradictory cultural tendency of both worshiping and loathing foreign things. Many people actually prostrate themselves before foreign commodities, culture and life style, but they express loathing and distain with their behavior.  After the opening of Chinas economy, another kind of foreign-worshiping extreme emerged. People have a very strong approval of foreign commodities, western culture and life style. Imported goods symbolize purchasing power, status, personal taste as well as fashion. The ‘Yang consumption’ (consumption of foreign things) is becoming a kind of cultural value tendency. Among this kind of foreign product consumer, the middle class is the community who has the strongest acceptability of foreign commodities and western consumption culture. The majority of them belong to a mixture of two kinds of culture and have dual views. Their preference of choosing foreign brands and a western lifestyle constitutes a commodity symbol of their social status. Through their consumption choice of different foreign brands and life styles, they demonstrate their social status.

2. Consumption influence gradually deepens, and actual living demands are giving way to consumption desire

A consumption pattern based on life’s necessary purchases is gradually substituted by a consumption of desirable luxuries. The functionality of consumable goods is declining and yielding to fashion. This is just the core of consumerism culture, i.e. the purpose of consumption is not to meet the actual needs, but to satisfy a created and stimulated desire. The Chinese middle class is the impetus of Chinese fashion consumption. As a social stratum which has already passed through the needs of life stage, their purchasing desire is inflated under a offence of tempting fashion, taste, romance, and wealth from the media. They unceasingly pursue and imitate the consumer life style, not only surpassing actual needs, but also exceeding actual economic ability.

3. A new consumption view is forming

For the last 30 years in China, there has been an attitude of 'there is only life, but no consumption'. This resulted in the taste preference of the new Chinese middle class lacking any inherited cultural background. They observe consumption as they grow, and form new consumption views. This kind of new consumption view originates from China’s traditional consumption culture, grows in the present policy environment, and is influenced by modern consumption culture, especially consumerism culture. These factors decide Chinas modern cultural uniqueness. Chinese traditional characteristics of ‘thrift’ and ‘expenses proportional to income’, are being substituted by the ideas of ‘moderate luxury’ and ‘moderate overdraft’. But in the frame of traditional culture and under the present system, it is nevertheless different from western consumption views of ‘zero deposit’ and ‘high overdraft’. Traditional opinions of ‘restraint’ and ‘Zhongyong (Doctrine of Mean)’ is being substituted by unbounded and individualized style, but is different from western views of ‘open-ness’ and ‘doing something unconventional or unorthodox’.  This is a kind of new consumption culture consciousness, which not only has a big difference from Chinese traditional ideas, but is also different from western consumption views.

4. Gradual change from imitative consumption, to style and individuality

Formation of a kind of life style is often the result of imitating popular icons. In the consumption society, division of people's personal status and social stratum is no longer according to a traditional basis of family status and family background, but is closer related to ways of consumption, life style and cultural taste. Cultural taste can just be ‘learned’ by means of imitation. Therefore, learning consumption from imitation and gradually forming one’s own style which is consistent with belonging to a social status, is the way adopted by the majority of the Chinese middle class. This is also an important reason why the Chinese middle class community pays close attention to popular fashion, brands, and tastes. Some people even study all the brands and tastes of wines or famous brand names, for the purpose of demonstrating their high-level consumption ability. In China, consumption patterns of the middle class community, although still at the formation stage, is starting gradually to form its own characteristics. In the community where cultural capital is regarded as superior, expression of rationality consumption, style, and individuality has started to substitute blind imitation.

5. Hedonistic culture of luxury consumption and showing-off consumption is spreading

The enhanced income of many Chinese and unceasing plenty of consumable goods, together with the influence of media advertisement and trend towards consumerism, has created a growth of hedonism culture among wealthier Chinese. Enjoying their time, fully experiencing life’s pleasures, attitudes like 'I consume so I exist' and 'We are living in a time of ‘greediness is good', provide a reference to the popularity of hedonism culture. Drinking Hennessey, dressing in Louis Vuitton, wearing OMEGA and driving Ferrari cars, the Chinese middle class are showing off their consumption ability at all different levels. The stimulated desire is unceasingly increased, and the wind of luxury spending is spreading and evolving into a fashion culture.

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