Little Emperors and Material Girls

Book excerpt: China is the world's fastest-growing economic powerhouse. But behind the headlines a once-in-a-generation sexual and cultural revolution is taking place - all in the bars, cafes and streets of China's growing mega-cities. Welcome to this new China. Writer and journalist Jemimah Steinfeld meets the young people behind the world's fastest-moving nation to unveil their attitudes towards love, life and sexuality. Young Chinese have new words to describe the world they live in: 'little emperors' - single men who have grown up under the one child policy - they're bossy and selfish; 'bare branches' - those without children; 'leftovers' - women over twenty-six who aren't married; 'comrade' - how the gay community identifies itself; 'love markets' - weekend gatherings across China where parents attempt to find husbands and wives for their children, and others show up to match-make young singles and even offer boyfriends for hire. Jemimah Steinfeld introduces the people at the heart of this world, from the woman starting China's first online dating agency to the mistresses of the rich and powerful; from the company trying to sell sex toys to China's middle-classes to the sino-punks of Beijing's bar scene. Little Emperors and Material Girls is the book which will change the way you see China.