Hot Words

下海 (xia hai)

Jumping into the Sea

A term used to describe government employees leaving their jobs to do business.

In the early years of the reform and opening up, the government allowed people to set up and run their own businesses to break the planned economy. As a result, small privately-run businesses mushroomed in the 1980s. The zeal to chase money soon saw government officials, employees from State-owned enterprises and institutions rushing to quit their jobs to do commercial businesses. People usually compared the commercial market they engaged in to the vast sea in which one had to swim or sink. So, the phenomenon of people giving up their "iron rice bowl" jobs to start their own businesses was described as xiahai or "jumping into the sea".

(China Daily 12/30/2008 page8)