Old Qian

Author: (American) Nelson W. Aldrich, translated by Fan Liya
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: Wealth earned through personal struggle is regarded as "new money," while inherited wealth is called "old money." Those who possess "new money" are seen as new money elites, whereas only those with "old money" can be considered part of the upper class. So, is the difference between new money elites and the upper class merely one of wealth's age? Similarly, once-fashionable praise like "prosperous," "wealthy," and "expensive" are now becoming increasingly dim and faded, showing that the difference between "wealthy" and "prosperous" is not just one of pronunciation and writing. Although there is no difference in the accumulation of wealth's characteristics, "prosperous" carries an additional, deeply ingrained sense of nobility and refined taste. The author of this book, Nelson W. Aldrich, hails from a noble family. Through his narration of his family's history and anecdotes from many distinguished families, he explains the values, aesthetic preferences, and unique tastes upheld by the prosperous class. He analyzes how and why these values differ from those of self-made success stories and demonstrates how this value system has influenced personal lives and the social landscape.