little emperor

A calque of Chinese 小皇帝 (xiǎohuángdì).

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little emperor (plural little emperors)

1. (idiomatic) In contemporary China, a child with no siblings who is regarded as overly protected and spoiled. (Seen as belonging to a generation which is a product of China's "one-child" policy.)
   • 1988 November 2, Edward A. Gargan, “Beijing Admits Easing of Birth Limits”, in The New York Times, page A3:

     Chinese psychologists recently have also written extensively about the emergence of so-called little emperors—arrogant, spoiled children who grow up without siblings.

   • 2004 October 4, Clay Chandler, “Little Emperors: China's only children—more than 100 million of them—make up the largest Me Generation ever”, in CNNMoney.com, retrieved 28 May 2007:

     The Chinese have a special name for those tots: xiao huangdi, or "little emperors."