In April of 2021, a user with the pseudonymous username, Luo Huo Chong, posted to the Chinese web forum Baidu Taiba, a summary,

partially in the form of a narrative, of his reasons for engaging in what he called Tang Ping,

or lying flat. His post was entitled, Lying Flat is Justice, and it explained why he, a 26-year-old man, quit his job at a factory, adopted a

minimalist lifestyle, and essentially opted out of the life path that was offered to him as a 20-something

growing up in China in the 2020s. According to his post, he pays his now comparably meager bills by doing odd jobs and pulling down tens of dollars worth of yuan from his savings each month.

And he consequently has almost complete freedom of time.

He says that he spends his day's reading philosophy for personal enjoyment and fulfillment.

He rode his bicycle, about 1,300 miles,

which is around 2,100 kilometers, from Sichuan to Tibet, and now he lives back in his hometown

on the eastern Chinese coast, eating two meals a day and enjoying life by all indications.

This concept of lying flat, which he defines as being a sort of low desire, low exertion,

lifestyle, in which one sticks with simple things and thus experiences less stress and has fewer

expenses, dramatically contrasts with what's become known as the Chinese dream, which is the

term that China's leader,

Xi Jinping, began to promote back in 2012 before he was the country's leader, and which is

associated with the rejuvenation of the country through hard work, ascension to the economic

middle class, and the creation of generational wealth that one's kids and grandkids can benefit from.

The Chinese dream is similar in many ways to the concept of the American dream,

which likewise dangles the promise of economic flourishing and generational wealth,

often at the expense of working hard.

And almost always, that means working hard from the beginning of one's adulthood

all the way through life until retirement,

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