China Is Eating Itself Alive

Like a dragon eating its own tail, China is slowly devouring itself as socialism

with Chinese characteristics slowly goes the same way socialism has always gone.

Welcome to China Uncensored. I’m Chris Chappell.

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and everyone’s favorite Pooh Bear. Chinese netizens have found a lot of

different buzzwords to express the hopelessness that is consuming them and their country.

There’s “tangping,” or “lying flat,”

And “Lai ban,” or “letting it rot,”

Both of which have gotten a fair amount of attention from Western media.

But one buzzword hasn’t gotten so much attention. And that’s because it’s a little bit complicated.

The word is “neijuan,” translated as “involution.”

It's actually a concept from sociology that refers to a society that can no longer evolve,

no matter how hard it tries. Like a Charmander that already became a Charizard.

And it’s the perfect word for what’s happening in China right

now. Let me give you a little background.

Back in 2020, this video popped up on Chinese social media – it’s a student at the prestigious

Tsinghua University working on his laptop while riding a bike. Because texting and driving isn’t

dangerous *enough* for some folks. The footage instantly struck a chord with a lot of young

Chinese people that feel that they have been working ridiculously hard their whole lives

but have little to show for it. He couldn’t even afford to work on his laptop while driving a car!

The video quickly went viral in China, and the student became known as

“Tsinghua’s Involuted King”.

with “involution” quickly going viral on the Chinese internet.

For most Chinese people, involution has come to mean an endless struggle that leads nowhere.

Kind of like playing Pac-Man. It just loops over and over until

the game — like the people in China — eventually crashes out.

This definition is closely tied together with the insane competition,

grueling work hours, and meager rewards that young Chinese people

face today in the education system and then later on in the job market.

The CCP has fought back against the rising popularity of the word, of course,

With the CCP’s media mouthpieces pitching the country as an “oasis

of certainty” in a turbulent world…

And glorious leader Xi Jinping himself telling burned out youth to

“abandon the finicky lifestyle and complacent attitude”,

reaffirming that “China’s socialism is won by hard work, struggles, and even the sacrifice of lives.”

Yeah, you tell those lazy millennials,