Young Chinese take a stand against pressures of modern life — by lying down

Young Chinese are rebelling against society through a simple act of resistance: lying down. Examples of the tangping, or "Lying flat," way of life include not getting married, not having children, not buying a house or a car and refusing to work extra hours or to hold a job at all. Internet users identified themselves as "Lying flatists," posting photos of cats and seals lying supine. The government-backed Guangzhou paper Nanfang Daily called the philosophy "Shameful."\xad The state-run Global Times made light of it, describing "Lying flat" as "Not a serious philosophy." The Communist Youth League pointed out that young medical workers on the front lines during the pandemic "Never chose to lie down." The original Lying Flat manifesto was taken down, and other posts republishing the content were deleted. For Zhang in Wuxi, lying flat is not about giving up or withdrawing from society. On Douban, the social networking website, new groups have emerged that describe themselves as support alliances for "Lying down and then standing up." Zhang, who is thinking about getting into media, says she has started sending out resumes.