Tang ping or “flying flat” is a social movement in China whereby young adults are rejecting the intense work culture of the “996” jobs that are the norm in China (9am-9pm 6 days a week), to instead live a minimalist lifestyle, minimizing desires and ambitions to meet only their immediate needs. The movement seems to have been started by Luo Huazhong whose story of quitting a factory job in Sichuan to return to his home town and “lie flat” gained a lot of traction on social media, with the catchphrase “a chive lying flat cannot be reaped”. Lying flat is often described as a form of protest or resistance movement against the Chinese Communist Party’s rule; however we have also seen a strikingly similar occurrence in the United States and to some extent in Europe. The US is seeing an ongoing trend of employees quitting work throughout 2021 in response to the global pandemic, massive levels of growing inequality, and a rising cost of living, which has been dubbed the Great Resignation. What is the significance of the Great Resignation and tang ping?
