Five years ago, Luo Huazhong made an important discovery: he loved doing nothing. After quitting his factory job in Sichuan Province, he biked over 1,000 miles to Tibet and found he was able to survive on odd jobs and his savings of $60 a month. Luo’s post on the internet forum Baidu Tieba, entitled “Lying Flat is Justice”, described this way of life. As Luo put it, “I have been doing nothing and I don’t feel like there’s anything wrong”. Before long, the post had gone viral and captured the attention of both China’s youth and the government.
The idea behind ‘Tang Ping’ is simple: advocating for the movement expresses a desire for personal autonomy and freedom from societal expectations, prioritising personal happiness and fulfilment over external markers of success. They seek a more harmonious balance between work and leisure, challenging the societal expectations and pressures placed on young individuals. This message has struck a chord with large parts of China’s young and disillusioned workforce, which has been hit especially hard by the national economic slowdown, intensified by trade tensions with the West and the COVID-19 pandemic.
A generation ago, hard work, marriage, and children were seen as a route to success in China. Enforced by its authoritarian leaders, this system was viewed by many as a fair compromise for lifting millions out of poverty. This was followed by years of being force-fed Xi Jinping’s “Chinese dream”, a rose-tinted piece of propaganda which promised a bright future for the Chinese nation. This dream became especially difficult to swallow for the millions of workers who faced the ‘nightmare’ of the 996 schedules in China; a culture of overwork: 9 am-9 pm, 6 days a week. Now, many young Chinese fear that they may be the first generation to not do better than their parents.
Tangping comes in the wake of an increasingly high-pressure environment for young people, a demographic which has grown up under the one-child policy and who are expected to work longer hours than their predecessors; a community twice as large, who are retiring more and more. Even before entering the corporate world, students must flourish in China’s notoriously rigorous and competitive education system. Many urban high school students attend classes six or seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. During the school day, they engage in tutoring, prepare for tests such as gaokao, and do home tasks like food preparation and dishwashing in addition to spending time doing group activities. Given this highly intense, structured life it’s no surprise to see the growing turn towards a slower pace of life.
The desire to exit the ‘rat race’ is without a doubt gaining traction, but analysts warn this concept may struggle to become widely adopted, particularly since authorities feel it goes against ‘communist values’. President Xi declared in 2018 that, “the new era belongs to those who work hard,” and “happiness can only be achieved through great endeavours.” The government has targeted the ‘lying flat’ movement as a threat to China’s social and economic stability. Indeed, Mr. Luo’s blog post was removed by censors, as well as any mention of ‘lying flat’ being heavily restricted across Chinese media.
Yet, it is not only corporate efficiency that the Chinese powers are concerned about. Economists and social commentators suggest that a flat Chinese economy could impact consumption, growth, and lower the birth rate, which is already consuming the country’s demographic dividend and threatening its social welfare system. Prolonged inactivity in China is causing concerns among psychologists and doctors, who warn that it can lead to life-threatening physical and mental disorders, such as heart disease and depression. Dr Gavin Chiu Sin-hin, an independent commentator, believes that, “if it becomes widespread, [lying flat] will affect young people’s expectations of income growth, consumption, marriage, and childbirth, which will be detrimental to China’s ability to avoid the middle-income trap where growth stagnates and incomes stall”.
The lying flat social narrative has been redirected by authorities using all available tools. State news companies have labelled Tangping as “shameful”, warning against “lying flat before getting rich.” Well-known educational services billionaire Yu Minhong urged people not to “lie flat,” because “otherwise who can we rely on for the future of our country?” To channel the energies of the younger generation, the government has also promoted entrepreneurship and innovation. Policies were introduced to support startups and technological advancements, offering alternative paths to success beyond traditional career routes.
Today, Luo Huazhong lives with his family, passing his time by reading philosophy and news, and going to the gym. He expresses satisfaction with this lifestyle, saying it allows him to have a minimalistic way of life and to, “think and express freely”, encouraging followers of the movement to do the same. In the face of growing government opposition to his ideals, Mr Luo remains committed: “those people who say lying down is shameful are shameless” he said. “I have the right to choose a slow lifestyle. I didn’t do anything destructive to society. Do we have to work 12 hours a day in a sweatshop and is that justice?”
The Tangping movement has prompted international discussion about the pressures faced by the younger generation and has been received with a mix of caution and monitoring by the Chinese government. With this in mind, it remains to be seen how the government will reconcile its shrinking economy with a population that wants to ‘lie down’.
By Lucy Mortell