tang ping

Young people in China exhausted by a culture of hard work with seemingly little reward are highlighting the need for a lifestyle change by "lying flat". The new trend, known as "tang ping", is described as an antidote to society's pressures to find jobs and perform well while working long shifts.

2021 June 4, “China’s New ‘Tang Ping’ Trend Aims to Highlight Pressures of Work Culture”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 07 Mar 2026

“Tang-Ping” (TP), referring to “lying flat” literally, has been a buzzword in China web media since 2021. As the opponent of effort-making (EM) behaviors which have both instrumental and purpose values in Confucian culture, TP has a negative moral implication in China and has been criticized by the state-owned media.

2022 November 16, Han-Yu Hsu, “How Do Chinese People Evaluate ‘Tang-Ping’ (Lying Flat) and Effort-making: The Moderation Effect of Return Expectation”, in Frontiers in Psychology, volume 13, Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland: Frontiers Media, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, →PMID, article ID 871439, abstract

Ji is a deadbeat that occupied the protagonists' house lying in their sofa all day in the 1993 Chinese sitcom I Love My Family. Images of Ji lazily "lying flat" on the sofa has become a viral internet meme, and even leading to the posture receiving a nickname "Ge You tang", or Ge You-esque slouching, since 2016, when the "tang ping" culture was on the rise in China.

2023 April 1, Fran Lu, “‘Making money while lying flat’: Chinese movie star Ge You pockets US$1.1 million from hundreds of lawsuits over famous ‘tang ping’ TV character”, in South China Morning Post, Hong Kong: South China Morning Post Publishers, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 01 Apr 2023