Desmond Shum on how China’s red aristocracy were defeated by Xi Jinping

The red aristocrats of modern Communist China behave very similarly to the blue-blood aristocrats of the Western world in medieval times. This elite group is distinguished by its hereditary bloodlines: it includes descendants of revolutionaries who fought alongside Mao Zedong and the children of those who ran China after the Communist takeover in 1949. Because of their high social standing, these red aristocrats—sometimes referred to as “princelings”—enjoy privileged access and influence in every aspect of Chinese society. Their awareness of their status can sometimes instil in them a sense of noblesse oblige.

This is an extremely exclusive group—and its archetype would be Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (ccp) and the country’s president. As a son of Xi Zhongxun, a member of Mao’s ruling cadre, Mr Xi was segregated from normal society at birth: he was most likely born in the special ward of a hospital in Beijing reserved for ccp aristocrats. He grew up in a gated compound reserved for senior party figures. He was admitted to Tsinghua University not on merit but because of who he was.