What "lying flat" is really all about

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”Lying flat”, or Tang Ping, is a concept that started to become popular around 2021 in China. At its simplest, Tang Ping means doing the bare minimum to get by. It is a rejection of the traditional Chinese rat-race culture. Instead of working 996 (9 am to 9 pm, 6 days a week) to afford a house or a car, a person “lying flat” chooses to work only enough to cover basic needs, reject marriage, children, and property ownership, and prioritize personal time and mental health over career advancement.At Baiguan, we’ve been covering this social phenomenon many times in the last couple of years.Recently, the concept has taken on a political tone, with authorities redefining it from a social trend to a critical national security concern. In April 2026, the Ministry of State Security (MSS) released an unprecedented official warning, labeling the "lying flat" rhetoric as a form of "ideological infiltration" orchestrated by hostile foreign forces to brainwash and destabilize China's youth and made it clear that "lying flat" is no longer just a lifestyle choice, but a political act that the state is prepared to actively suppress. (You might want to read this satire piece by related to this topic.)Why has “lying flat” become such an important topic? Apart from the economy being in a slower-growth mode, what else explains it?We offer face-to-face discussions with Baiguan Pro subscribers. A few weeks ago, I had such a meeting with a Baiguan Pro subscriber from Europe at our Shanghai office. We discussed the economy, generational differences, and employment.Clearly, household confidence in C…