Beyond Anti-Work: Tangping and the Crisis of Social Reproduction in China

This paper examines tangping (“lying flat”), a widespread expression of anti-work sentiment among Chinese youth, through the lens of feminist political economy and social reproduction theory. It argues that tangping represents not only a withdrawal from productive labor but also a refusal of the gendered and affective reproductive work that sustains China’s state-capitalist order. As the state promotes “positive energy” discourse to moralize diligence, optimism, and self-sacrifice, tangping emerges as an affective refusal of these reproductive pressures. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with university and vocational students, young professionals, and those outside employment, as well as analyses of online discussions, the study shows how class, gender, and social background shape the ways young people articulate and morally evaluate tangping. By foregrounding affect and social reproduction, the paper explains why tangping resonates broadly among Chinese youth and argues that anti-work in China is not merely a utopian fantasy but an ongoing political movement that contests the affective and moral foundations of its growth regime. The paper contributes to political economy by broadening the concept of “work” in anti-work debates to include the domain of social reproduction and affective labor.