This disillusionment isn't unique to China. It's also true for Gen Z in the US and probably across the globe. For young Americans fresh out of college, the current job market feels as abysmal as 2008. When the weight of tens of thousands in student loans no longer guarantees a white-collar career, it serves as a universal wake-up call. The structure is clearly unstable, which probably propels the doomer and accelerationist mindsets online.
The pressure is only the symptom, the real issue is that this system doesn't work anymore. The Chinese government is trying to encourage more blue-collar workers and reduce the number of college graduates to combat this problem, but it's hard to say whether that will show quick promising results. I think both the US and China are trying to find a way.
Afra, Ray, et al: a great conversation and very stimulating (not to mention spooky as). “After the future” is a haunting topic and one that I first encountered in the work of Mikhail Epstein, the post-Soviet cultural theorist. Thank you! Geremie
Realmente esto habla volúmenes del poder simbólico de la imagen, creo que honestamente es la única manera de llegar a un lenguaje universal. Yo no se nada de chino y apenas se algo sobre china pero con un pequeño título debajo de la imagen hasta un pequeño occidental como yo puede entenderlo. El significado y origen pueden haberse diluido pero a pesar de los contextos tan aparentemente diferentes de la juventud china y la juventud occidental el remanente de esa sensación de angustia y cansancio permanece y es común a los dos. Pese a lo triste de la situación me enternece, es como si dos personas separadas por un muro se comunicasen arrojando un papel con un dibujo sobre el muro.
Chinese social classism has always been a really uncomfortable concept to me. Parents literally buying houses just so their child can attend a certain school and then the whole pressure of a family's future on the shoulders of a child that may or may not have the necessary mental capacity to climb the educational and corporate ladder to fulfill their parents' aspirations.
Then even if the child turns out smart and educated enough to actually pull this stunt off but all of a sudden the outside conditions are not okay and there you go 送外賣 is your new job
I subscribe to the belief there is a vibecession due to a lack of meaning or social structure. I'm from the southwest and a middleclass background, and taking Crusius as an example, I don't believe that there aren't working class jobs there making 50-60k a year, upon which someone could eventually afford a house, and have a family. It's just not a glamorous life, and requires a lot of restraint. I'm not convinced this is what these people really want even if its what they post online, and economics feels like a convenient scapegoat. Perhaps the Chinese side is very different, and/or I'm out of touch on this topic in a broader sense. I can't help but also feel Zhang was brokering in these sorts of emotions.
Excited to read more on these sorts of intersections from you guys.
I should ask how my zoomer/millennial Chinese cousins consume this media given that none of them actually took the gaokao (most did vocational college...).
Zhang reminds me of a chuddier version of Kim Joo-young from SKY Castle. Reminds me, I met a guy the other day in Shenzhen who had a PhD in engineering and ended up as a Meituan driver.
DO NOT define US. The original meaning of the CHUD meme is not what you claim it is. Please do a deep dive into the history and discussions on 8chan and Endchan before writing this article.
With Bilibili / XHS’s content policies on ‘ugly’ content, seems that this meme spun right past moderators due to cultural context gap. Is our chud moderated yet?
I don’t think we’ve seen an inverse from China -> US internet culture (yet). Just Stan Twitter absurdity ft Jiafei and TaoBaoslop & Chinamaxxxing on TikTok 😗
This disillusionment isn't unique to China. It's also true for Gen Z in the US and probably across the globe. For young Americans fresh out of college, the current job market feels as abysmal as 2008. When the weight of tens of thousands in student loans no longer guarantees a white-collar career, it serves as a universal wake-up call. The structure is clearly unstable, which probably propels the doomer and accelerationist mindsets online.
The pressure is only the symptom, the real issue is that this system doesn't work anymore. The Chinese government is trying to encourage more blue-collar workers and reduce the number of college graduates to combat this problem, but it's hard to say whether that will show quick promising results. I think both the US and China are trying to find a way.
yes, in this sense the US and china are uncannily similar. thanks for the thoughtful comment
Another day, another afra writing that makes me feel like a fake Chinese Gen Z lol. Learned so much!
Credit goes to our in-house Gen Z internet niche culture expert Ray for discovering this connection and penning the majority of this group chat!!
All: I added a link to your insightful conversation to the “Further Reading” list in this, some thoughts on May Fourth:
https://chinaheritage.net/journal/lying-flat-on-may-fourth-2026/
Afra, Ray, et al: a great conversation and very stimulating (not to mention spooky as). “After the future” is a haunting topic and one that I first encountered in the work of Mikhail Epstein, the post-Soviet cultural theorist. Thank you! Geremie
Realmente esto habla volúmenes del poder simbólico de la imagen, creo que honestamente es la única manera de llegar a un lenguaje universal. Yo no se nada de chino y apenas se algo sobre china pero con un pequeño título debajo de la imagen hasta un pequeño occidental como yo puede entenderlo. El significado y origen pueden haberse diluido pero a pesar de los contextos tan aparentemente diferentes de la juventud china y la juventud occidental el remanente de esa sensación de angustia y cansancio permanece y es común a los dos. Pese a lo triste de la situación me enternece, es como si dos personas separadas por un muro se comunicasen arrojando un papel con un dibujo sobre el muro.
Chinese social classism has always been a really uncomfortable concept to me. Parents literally buying houses just so their child can attend a certain school and then the whole pressure of a family's future on the shoulders of a child that may or may not have the necessary mental capacity to climb the educational and corporate ladder to fulfill their parents' aspirations.
Then even if the child turns out smart and educated enough to actually pull this stunt off but all of a sudden the outside conditions are not okay and there you go 送外賣 is your new job
Fantastic article guys!
This was a great read with really great wriing.
I subscribe to the belief there is a vibecession due to a lack of meaning or social structure. I'm from the southwest and a middleclass background, and taking Crusius as an example, I don't believe that there aren't working class jobs there making 50-60k a year, upon which someone could eventually afford a house, and have a family. It's just not a glamorous life, and requires a lot of restraint. I'm not convinced this is what these people really want even if its what they post online, and economics feels like a convenient scapegoat. Perhaps the Chinese side is very different, and/or I'm out of touch on this topic in a broader sense. I can't help but also feel Zhang was brokering in these sorts of emotions.
Excited to read more on these sorts of intersections from you guys.
vibecession is 🙂↕️🙂↕️🙂↕️🙂↕️🙂↕️🙂↕️
Chinkjak
It's the binary endgame from silicon valley now running wild in China. It's both illusory and extinction-prone.
I should ask how my zoomer/millennial Chinese cousins consume this media given that none of them actually took the gaokao (most did vocational college...).
Zhang reminds me of a chuddier version of Kim Joo-young from SKY Castle. Reminds me, I met a guy the other day in Shenzhen who had a PhD in engineering and ended up as a Meituan driver.
DO NOT define US. The original meaning of the CHUD meme is not what you claim it is. Please do a deep dive into the history and discussions on 8chan and Endchan before writing this article.
Enjoyed the view into meme culture - thank you :)
With Bilibili / XHS’s content policies on ‘ugly’ content, seems that this meme spun right past moderators due to cultural context gap. Is our chud moderated yet?
I don’t think we’ve seen an inverse from China -> US internet culture (yet). Just Stan Twitter absurdity ft Jiafei and TaoBaoslop & Chinamaxxxing on TikTok 😗
Ching wong wei!