A new term for the filthy rich sums up the uncomfortable relationship China has with its newfound wealth.

A few days ago, I stumbled upon a posting by an editor of the Chinese website of The Wall Street Journal. She was asking about the English translation of the word tuhao and whether "country baron" was good enough.

She got an avalanche of propositions, from the mundane "nouveau riche" and "upstart", to the more vivid "silly rich" and "vulgarich", and sound-alike "too hot" or "two houses". (I guess if you own two houses within Beijing's Second Ring Road, you qualify for that status.)