Professor Biao Xiang becomes a generational icon for Gen Z in China

Why Gen Z in China Views Biao Xiang as a Cultural Lifeline

Young people in China face intense pressure to succeed in a hyper-competitive environment, prompting phrases like "if in doubt, ask Biao Xiang" to circulate across social platforms like RedNote. Zihan Han, a young Chinese resident, described Xiang in BBC interviews as a “star sent from the sky” for his willingness to dissect daily hardships. Xiang has addressed packed auditoriums at prestigious institutions, including his alma mater Peking University, and traveled internationally to speak to diaspora groups, drawing crowds who treat his academic lectures like fan meetings.

Xiang points to systemic validation—such as competitive exams and stable jobs—as a grueling trap that young people use to measure their self-worth. Instead, he encourages individuals to seek meaning through direct human connections. In a society where dissent can trigger state censorship, Xiang approaches these topics through an academic lens. “All everybody knows where the problem is, but they’re reluctant to look at it,” Xiang told the BBC during a recent speaking engagement in Singapore. “Sometimes the reality is too painful to face, or they don’t know how.”

Economic Pressures and the Roots of Youth Burnout

Growing up in Wenzhou as China shifted toward global trade following the era of Mao Zedong, Xiang witnessed the rise of practical entrepreneurship focused heavily on financial success. However, the economic slowdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic shattered the traditional formula where hard work reliably guaranteed stable employment. Prior to mid-2023, when officials stopped publishing the metric, China’s youth unemployment rate hit a record 21.3%.

Even graduates who secure coveted jobs face exhausting work hours, toxic corporate cultures, and the “age 35 curse,” an informal hiring bias that shuts older workers out of new positions. This widespread disillusionment birthed viral cultural movements like “lying flat”—opting out of the rat race—and “involution,” which describes severe competition yielding minimal reward. Xiang identifies the property market and higher education expansion as twin accelerators of this distress, noting that when 1.4 billion people chase the exact same milestones, the resulting race burns out the participants.

Key Concepts Coined by the Anthropologist

To help young people articulate their exhaustion, Xiang created specific vocabulary that resonates deeply with the digital generation:

• Floating: Describing individuals who work endlessly merely to stay alive, likened to a hummingbird constantly flapping its wings just to remain airborne.
• The Nearest Environment: The physical and social space immediately surrounding an individual. Xiang argues that youth fixate too much on the micro-level of personal pressure and the macro-level of distant systems, completely ignoring the middle ground of local community.

Common Questions About the Phenomenon

Who is Biao Xiang?

Biao Xiang is a 54-year-old Chinese anthropologist serving as the director of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Germany, where he studies social change across China and Asia.

Why is Biao Xiang popular among Chinese Gen Z?

Young adults in China revere him because he openly addresses systemic anxiety, job market pressures, and the mental toll of intense societal competition rather than offering generic motivational advice.

What do terms like ‘lying flat’ and ‘involution’ mean?

‘Lying flat’ refers to young people completely opting out of high-pressure societal competition, while ‘involution’ describes intense, exhausting competition that produces very few meaningful rewards.

What specific concepts has Xiang introduced to explain modern stress?

Xiang coined the term “floating” to describe endless survival labor and “the nearest environment” to highlight how youth neglect their immediate surroundings while obsessing over personal stress and macro-level pressures.