From Little Emperors to Lost Generation: What’s Behind China’s Shrinking MZ Generation
China’s ‘Little Emperor’ Generation: The Shrinking Inner Self of East Asia’s Children
In China, people born after the 1980s are known as the ‘Little Emperor Generation’. The meaning of the Little Emperor is ‘spoilt and unruly child’.
However, this term is being replaced by a new phrase: ‘East Asian child’. This self-deprecating expression is used by those born in the 1990s and 2000s who became adults, but it also refers to everyone who grew up after the 1980s.
The One-Child Policy and its Impact
In 1979, the Chinese government implemented a strong birth control policy that allowed families, except ethnic minorities, to have only one child. People born later in China were labeled ‘little emperors’.
As they grew up, whenever a new social issue arose, such as a rising divorce rate or parents being rude to teachers, there was criticism saying, “The problem is the Little Emperor’s generation.”
The Rise of the ‘East Asian Child’ Phenomenon
Xiaojun, a university student in Beijing, considers himself an ‘East Asian kid.’ He believes that the anxiety of the youth generation is a phenomenon that occurs not only in China but also around the world, including in the United States and Europe.
However, Xiaojun thinks that there are unique characteristics of East Asia. “In Korea, China, and Japan, the word of the elders is absolute and the value of family integrity is emphasized,” he said.
The Characteristics of East Asian Youth
Xiaojun’s view of the characteristics of Chinese and East Asian youth was far from the image that comes to mind when thinking of the ‘Little Emperor’. Rather, the trait is said to be a shrinking inner self that controls your desires and is weighed down by expectations.
Xiaojun talked about the high cost of education, the family situation which is more affluent than the previous generation but not enough considering the cost of education, and the reality of having to sacrifice and meet the family’s expectations.
The Influence of Popular Culture
The widespread use of the phrase ‘East Asia’ is also a typical phenomenon since the late 2010s. Zhou Xiaolei, a professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said, “In China, the term ‘East Asia’ was not often used before because it was reminiscent of the ‘Greater Eastern Co-prosperity Asia’ introduced by Japan when it invaded Manchuria.”
However, the emotional impact of the word ‘East Asia’ changed, which was reminiscent of the Japanese invasion, was mainly due to the influence of popular culture, especially movies.
The Use of ‘East Asia’ in Reviews and Criticism
Xiaojun said he often saw the phrase ‘East Asia’ in reviews of Korean and Japanese dramas in the 2020s, such as Korean dramas and Japanese youth dramas dealing with school violence and revenge.
East Asians mostly appear in dramas highlighting timidity, ambiguous emotions, dark emotions, and social problems of teenagers.
Xiaojun said, “I think we had a common experience,” and “I was able to feel more emotional and resonant resonance when using the phrase ‘East Asia’ rather than ‘China.'”
The Satire of Negative Elements in ‘East Asia’
On film stages, ’East Asia’ is also widely used to satirize negative elements. It appears mainly in criticizing hunger, an authoritarian work culture, a culture of stressing blood ties, and the practice of postponing present happiness for future happiness.
In the review by director Hayao Miyazaki, which was released in China in April this year, the comment “There was another East Asian in space too,” generated a lot of sympathy in the search for a blood-related successor.
The Concept of ‘East Asian Child’ Created by the Younger Generation
Professor Zhou said, “If ‘Little Emperor’ is a concept created by the older generation to criticize those born in the 1980s, ’East Asian child’ is a concept created by those born in the 2000s to criticize the home, the school, and the society in which they were brought up.”
As feminist literature is translated and published in China, phrases like ‘East Asian patriarchy’ are actively used.