They may buy a book or two a year, from corner stores or mobile carts that sell pirate copies that contain numerous typos. Guo Jingming is their indisputable Nobel laureate as he provides fond descriptions of a luxury life that fits their imagination like a glove. You don't have to juggle a hundred luxury brand names in your novel, you can make up soundalike names as you go along and may even hit the bull's eye, the name of a knockoff that happens to be misspelled the same way.

I used to wonder who would wade through those terribly written online fantasy novels that are churned out faster than pirate movies and run longer than daytime soap operas. Now I know. It's probably a better use of leisure time than getting addicted to online games.

From what I have observed, Hunan Satellite Television offers the holy grail of programming for these young dreamers. It had a socially conscious reality show that swapped rural and urban teenagers. And its entertainment hits are larger-scale experiments in upgrading all youngsters to the same level of schmaltz - free from class divisions.

Clearly, this channel has a wider audience than the "smart" demographic, but I include the example here to illustrate that cultural taste is relative. When the almost urban "smart" guys diverge from the born smart urbanites, they stand out for their supposed bad choices. Very often, it is the result of consumption power. While urban youths can afford iPhones and iPads, the "smart" ones have to settle for counterfeits with a vague semblance of their pricier brands.

Urban teenagers go to North America or Europe for summer camp; their "smart" brothers and sisters hang out at theme parks cluttered with miniature models of world landmarks. Urban Gen X wind down by frequenting multiplexes and stadium concerts; "smart" Gen X express their obsession by shaming everyone online who dares badmouth their idols.

The "smart" leaders want to be champions of an alternative lifestyle. But they should not be ashamed. Not only are fads relative and ephemeral, but the whole country in its initial stage of economic growth is fundamentally stuck in a prolonged stage of feeling "smart" about itself. The upwardly mobile mentality on eye-popping display in the past three decades is exhibited in a thousand acts of bad imitation. Every boorish habit by basement-squatting youths has an equivalent in the nouveaux riches. Until China is made up mostly of the middle class, self-confidence in cultural and entertainment choices will be as elusive and precious as clean air.

Contact the writer at raymondzhou@chinadaily.com.cn.

By Raymond Zhou (China Daily)