The Stinking Old Ninth () is a Chinese dysphemism for

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator o ...

s used at two major points. The term originated during the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongols, Mongol-led Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Division of the M ...

where the

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

conquerors identified ten "

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural ...

s" of Chinese: bureaucrats, officials, Buddhist monks,

Taoist priest A daoshi (道士 "master of the Tao"), translated as Taoist priest, Taoist monk, Taoist master or Professional Taoist, is a priest in Taoism. Along with Han Chinese priests, there are also many practicing ethnic minority priests in China. Some ...

s, physicians, workers, hunters, prostitutes, (ninth)

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

scholars and finally beggars, with only beggars at a status below the intellectuals. The Yuan dynasty believed that Confucian scholars did not bring productivity to society and even hindered the development of the economy, so it was classified as the ninth social class at that time. In the 1960s and 1970s, the term "Stinking Old Ninth" was often used as a synonym for intellectuals, and it expressed society's disgust at the time. Intellectuals were distrusted during the revolution and pushed to undergo self-transformation. During the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated go ...

the "Nine Black Categories" were

landlord A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, ...

s, rich farmers, anti-revolutionaries, bad influences, right-wingers, traitors, spies, capitalist roaders and (ninth) intellectuals. While often attributed to

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the List of national founde ...

, in 1977

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. Aft ...

argued that it was the Gang of Four who came up with the phrase and that Mao himself saw intellectuals as having some value in society.

References

Cultural Revolution Chinese words and phrases Dysphemisms Ideology of the Chinese Communist Party Political repression in China Persecution of intellectuals {{China-stub

See also

References