More and more Chinese 20-somethings are rejecting the rat race and ‘lying flat’ after watching their friends work themselves to death

By going prone both literally and metaphorically, China’s young people are protesting against 9–9–6 work culture.

Some Chinese youths are rejecting the idea of a 9–9–6 working life, opting to “lie flat” instead. Photo: John W Banagan/Getty Images

By Cheryl Teh

It is 8 a.m. in Shanghai. Scores of office workers are pouring into the dizzying network of the city’s metro lines, toting heavy briefcases and steaming cups of coffee. Meanwhile, Zhiyuan Zhang, 27, is tucking himself into bed.

“8 a.m. means it’s time to lie down,” Zhang told Insider. “Though I don’t have a job to go to, so I can lie down anytime. It’s great.”

Zhang is a Chinese millennial who has joined the ranks of a social movement called 躺平主义 — the “lying flat movement.” It’s a mindset, a lifestyle, and a personal choice for some disillusioned Chinese youth who have given up on the rat race and are staging a quiet rebellion against the trials of 9–9–6 work culture.

Why are some Chinese youths “lying flat”?

The idea of “lying flat” is widely acknowledged as a mass societal response to “neijuan” (or involution). “Neijuan” became a term commonly used to describe the hyper-competitive lifestyle in China, where life is likened to a zero-sum…