Tang ping
Tang ping is a Chinese slang term that describes a personal rejection of societal pressures to overwork and over-achieve, such as in the 996 working hour system, which is often regarded as a rat race with ever diminishing returns. Tang ping means choosing to "lie down flat and get over the beatings" by adopting a "low-desire life."
Novelist Liao Zenghu described "lying flat" as a passive-aggressive resistance movement, and The New York Times called it part of a nascent Chinese counterculture. It has also been compared to the Great Resignation, a surge of resignations that began in the West at roughly the same time. The National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center, an institution affiliated with the Education Ministry of China, listed the phrase as one of the 10 most popular memes for 2021 in the Chinese Internet. Chinese search engine Sogou also listed the neologism at the top of its list of most trending memes for 2021.
Those who choose to "lie flat" may lower their professional commitment and economic ambitions, simplify their goals, while still being fiscally productive for their own essential needs, and prioritize psychological health over economic materialism.
The phrase "quiet quitting", meaning doing only what one's job demands and nothing more, which became popular in the United States in 2022, was thought to be inspired by the tang ping movement. Another newer related phrase is bai lan, which means "to actively embrace a deteriorating situation, rather than trying to turn it around". Basically, it refers to a voluntary retreat from pursuing certain goals because individuals realize they are simply too difficult to achieve. An extreme version of lying flat dubbed "rat people" had surfaced in 2025. In 2025, the Cyberspace Administration of China mandated that social media platforms censor expressions of lying flat and other "negative worldviews".
Origin
The term first appeared around February 2020 on the Chinese Internet. The movement began in April 2021 with a post by Luo Huazhong on the internet forum Baidu Tieba, in which he discussed his reasons for living a low-key, minimalist lifestyle. In 2016, 26-year-old Luo quit his factory job because it made him feel empty. He then cycled from Sichuan to Tibet, and now back in his home town Jiande in eastern Zhejiang Province, spends his time reading philosophy, and gets by doing a few odd jobs and taking US$60 a month from his savings. He only eats two meals a day.In a post entitled "Lying Flat is Justice", Luo writes:
Luo's post and story quickly gained a following on social media, being discussed and soon becoming a buzzword on Sina Weibo and Douban. The idea was praised by many and inspired numerous memes, and has been described as a sort of spiritual movement. Business magazine ABC Money claimed it resonated with a growing silent majority of youth disillusioned by the officially endorsed "Chinese Dream" that encourages a life of hard work and sacrifice with no actual life satisfaction to show for it, spawning the catchphrase "a chive lying flat is difficult to reap".
Background
In April 2021, a truck driver committed suicide due to fines and the impoundment of his vehicle, which sparked widespread discussion on the internet about the hardships of life at the grassroots level. Despite official emphasis on "poverty alleviation success" and the narrative of achieving a "moderately prosperous society," his death drew attention to the lack of significant improvement, and even decline, in labor conditions amidst the rapid pace of social development. The exacerbation of domestic social problems in mainland China due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 also played a role. Some commentators argue that similar incidents are commonplace and that the working class has not truly benefited from rapid economic growth.In May 2021, due to the changing trend in population structure, the government of the People's Republic of China announced the introduction of a three-child policy. However, some analysts believe that many young people today face challenges such as long working hours, stagnant wages, difficulties in homeownership, mental and physical exhaustion, and heavy burdens of elderly care, leading to a widespread decline in willingness to marry and have children.
From April to May 2021, a video circulated on the video-sharing website Bilibili featuring a speech by well-known media personality Bai Yansong. When asked about the phenomenon of contemporary young people feeling patriotic and optimistic about the country's future while also feeling powerless in the face of life and employment pressures, Bai Yansong responded with a rhetorical question: "Do we now expect housing prices to be low, jobs to be easy to find everywhere, no pressure at all, and as long as you pursue the girl you like, she will agree?" This statement sparked a barrage of criticism and ridicule from numerous netizens.
Response
The Chinese Communist Party moved quickly to reject the idea. The CAC internet regulator ordered online platforms to "strictly restrict" posts on tang ping and had censors remove Luo's original Tieba post while a discussion group of nearly 10,000 followers on Chinese social media site Douban is no longer accessible. Selling tang ping-branded merchandise online is forbidden.In May 2021, Chinese state media Xinhua published an editorial asserting that "lying flat" is shameful. In May, a video clip of CCTV news commentator Bai Yansong criticizing the low-key mindset circulated on the popular video-sharing website Bilibili, and had attracted thousands of mockeries and slurs on the danmu commentaries in response. The same month, a commentary of Hubei Radio and Television Economic Channel said, "you can accept your fate, but you mustn't lie flat." An October article by CCP general secretary Xi Jinping, published in the Communist Party journal Qiushi, called for "avoiding 'involution' and 'lying flat.
However, there were official voices offering more empathic opinions on the tang ping phenomenon. Beijing's party-affiliated Guangming Daily newspaper added that tang ping should not be discounted without reflection—if China wants to cultivate diligence in the young generation, it should first try to improve their quality of life. Huang Ping, a literature professor who researches youth culture at East China Normal University, told Sixth Tone that official media outlets may be concerned about the tang ping lifestyle because of its potential to threaten productivity, but "humans aren't merely tools for making things... when you can't catch up with society's development—say, skyrocketing home prices—tang ping is actually the most rational choice."
Comments
Negative comments
In May 2021, Sina Weibo's "Communist Youth League Central Committee" posted a Weibo message stating that "contemporary young people have never chosen to lie flat." The Nanfang Daily published a commentary article titled "Lying flat is shameful, where does the sense of justice come from?" by Wang Qingfeng, which criticized the "lying flat philosophy," condemning it as harmful and "toxic chicken soup". This article was reposted by Xinhua News Agency. The Guangming Daily's "Guangming Commentary" column criticized the "lying flat" phenomenon in an article titled "Rejecting 'involution,' are young people starting to believe in 'lying flat-ology'?". A commentary from the TV Economic Channel of Hubei Radio and Television stated: "Accepting fate is okay, lying flat is not". The Global TimesLi Fengliang, an associate professor at Tsinghua University, believes that "lying flat is an extremely irresponsible attitude that not only disappoints one's parents but also millions of taxpayers.... People can still achieve upward social mobility through competition."
On December 27, 2021, the Guangming Daily published a commentary on its front page titled "Lying Flat is Not Advisable," rejecting the behavior of lying flat.
Positive comments
Financial scholar He Jiangbing believes that lying flat is a kind of "helpless activism". Although it will have a negative impact on the economy, reducing consumption helps reduce waste and carbon footprint, which is conducive to achieving carbon emission reduction targets. People who "lie flat" are usually very gentle, not rebellious, and mostly do not retaliate against society, which helps maintain stability. He believes that it is unreasonable to accuse young people of lying flat as being decadent, and that a system of rigid hierarchy and lack of fair competition is the real decadence. "Lying flat" can be extended to describe a state of inaction with low desire, low social participation, and not catering to secular expectations or mainstream views, in order to resist or withdraw from formulaic social norms.On August 3, 2021, former U.S. Central Intelligence Agency employee and NSA contractor Edward Snowden posted on Twitter, sharing the song "Lying Flat is King", and encouraged young people to "never forget that you are not alone: the exploitation of the emerging generation is a global struggle."
Huang Ping, a professor in the Department of Chinese at East China Normal University, believes that "lying flat" is a way for young people to put down their burdens. When people cannot keep up with the distorted development of society, "lying flat" is not a bad choice as the most rational option, and the official media's attention to this trend is due to concerns that the lying flat philosophy may pose a potential threat to productivity. There is also a view that although "lying flat" is only an emotional social response, it also poses new issues for the healthy development of society, such as how to improve the working environment and career development ecology of young people.
Columnist Chang Ping commented that "lying flat-ism" is "an awakening of rights consciousness and identity consciousness." Sinologist Mieke Matthyssen further describes tangping as a "courageous resistance" that expresses a desire for a mentally healthy lifestyle and balanced personal development. It is a form of "self-preservation" against the harmful inputs of excessive materialism and submissive citizenship.