Chinese Youth Disillusionment: Managing Revolution & Crisis

art of war ccp china business chinese culture chinese employees chinese psychology covid-19 Oct 10, 2024

We live in a transitional period in geopolitics and world history. In the abstract, the Thucydides Trap is converging with the race for AI general intelligence in the post-COVID new normal of great power competition between the United States and China. Information is the only currency and weapon that matters in our collective future.

In reality, a war in Ukraine and a crisis in Gaza function as proxies causing strategic disruptions and inconveniences within the US-China rivalry, where the control of information shaping perceptions will ultimately determine which way the world tilts. As individuals, we have a role to play in shaping this future. While we cannot control narratives that flow from natural, artificial, and alien intelligence, we can recondition how we perceive things we don't know (known unknowns) and things we don't know we don't know (unknown unknowns).

In Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI, Yuval Noah Harari explores how information networks have shaped human history and civilization. In this context, the concept of alien intelligence refers to artificial intelligence (AI) as a new form of intelligence that is not human but has the potential to significantly impact our world, much like an "alien" presence would.

When The Chinese Honeymoon Period was published in 2022, I wrote, "I didn't write this book to address geopolitical issues affecting US-China relations. Instead, my mission is to improve our collective harmony, one cross-cultural relationship at a time, by highlighting key cultural differences that can be reconciled for more constructive cooperation." This vision of constructive cooperation, facilitated by understanding the dichotomies of ten Chinese cultural concepts, is essential for navigating the complexities of our cultural differences. Business was the vehicle, and the Guanxi engine was the proverbial invisible hand influencing and orchestrating everything inside the Chinese arena. I finished TCHP amid COVID-19 before Xi Jinping began his third term as president of China, essentially anointing himself as ruler for life. Shortly after its publication, draconian COVID-19 lockdowns in China abruptly ended in December 2022. ChatGPT's generative artificial intelligence accelerated the AI race globally, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine reached its one-year anniversary.

As tensions rose, academic exchanges ceased, and China's economy was hit with one crisis after another, the Chinese propaganda machine became indistinguishable from Western mainstream media in its paranoia towards its main geopolitical rival, America.

China's elderly continue to age more rapidly than in most other countries, while Chinese youth are increasingly lying flat and letting it rot. Everyone in between is desperately searching for optimism and reminiscing China's wild Wild West period with nostalgia. The heyday of finding riches in China may be gone, but new opportunities will sprout within the crisis of our collective imaginations.

To maximize these opportunities, it is now essential to understand how the attitudes of your Chinese counterparts have changed, which cultural elements endure, and how to manage their perceptions within a Chinese arena littered with the art of war machinations.

Lying Flat (Tang Ping) is a movement that has emerged among young people in China. It rejects the grueling 996 work culture and societal pressure to overachieve. It involves opting for a low-desire, minimalist lifestyle, embracing a state of doing the bare minimum, and maintaining an indifferent attitude toward societal expectations.

Letting It Rot (Bai Lan) takes this concept further, where individuals adopt a more extreme approach by actively embracing their situation without striving for improvement. It reflects a growing disillusionment with the lack of meaningful opportunities and a conscious decision to allow things to deteriorate, doing just enough to get by without seeking success or advancement. Both movements highlight a deep sense of dissatisfaction with contemporary life pressures.

As discontent grows, additional phrases have entered the Chinese lexicon. "The Chosen Laborers" (Da Gong Ren) and "Bai Lan 2.0" take the mindset of resignation and disillusionment even further. "The Chosen Laborers" refers to individuals who accept their fate and continue working under the existing system without striving for change or improvement, embodying a sense of acceptance of their situation. Meanwhile, "Bai Lan 2.0" represents an even more extreme level of cynicism and resignation, indicating a complete disengagement from societal and professional pressures. These phrases underscore a deepening sense of dissatisfaction and a growing trend of opting out of the relentless pursuit of success, instead embracing a minimalist and indifferent lifestyle.

What misperceptions might we create when we ignore our geopolitical realities, and how do we prevent them from becoming ideological chasms that impede more constructive cooperation?

My upcoming book will analyze cultural psychologies within the constraints of our awareness with those of our Chinese counterparts to help readers develop a framework for navigating today's US-China rivalry into the future. Stay tuned for The Post-COVID Chinese Honeymoon Period in 2025.

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