Explainer | What is ‘light living’? New China lifestyle choice with a twist on ‘tang ping’, how to practise it, reap benefits
A new social category has emerged in China which reflects a desire among the country’s young people to follow the path of least resistance in life.
The popularity of the phenomenon has become clear on the Xiaohongshu social media platform where the hashtag “light people” has attracted 175,000 views.
Young people are adopting a lifestyle characterised by an indifference to everything that happens to them, a stable mental state and a strong sense of personal boundaries.
Some have likened the trend to that of tang ping, or lying flat, a viral way of living that sees people do nothing more than what is absolutely essential to get by.
The origins of tang ping lie in the reaction of people to the slings and arrows of modern life.
However, the new light people living concept differs from tang ping in a number of ways.
Here, the Post explains.
What is light living?
Light people tend to adopt an emotion-free approach to life and treat everything that happens to them, especially negative experiences, as simply matters of fate which should be dealt with elegantly.
They have little desire for the trappings of material success and are not obsessed with relationships.
If they have a crush on someone, they simply let it pass in the expectation that if they embraced it, the relationship would eventually falter.
This approach can be encapsulated in the expression: “Forget it. Let it be.”
Some describe light people as “half dead” and say their lifestyle is bland.
Dense living
“Dense” people are the antithesis of those favouring a “light” lifestyle, as such they tend to be extroverts.
They have an outgoing personality, including in their fashion choices, and are the type of people who end every chat message with one, or several, exclamation marks.
People of the “dense” persuasion are also like to express their ideas and hope to inspire or move others.
Light life vs tang ping
The tang ping notion went viral a few years ago as increasing numbers of young people retreated to their comfort zone.
This reflected a tiredness with hard work and dissatisfaction with not being able to afford a place to live.
In China’s first-tier cities, to buy a flat costs 40 to 50 times the average annual salary.
However, it can be argued that the so-called light living is not the same as its exponents do not really lie flat.
They sometimes take the opportunity to “stand up” and enjoy life, but only to an extent because they do not want to use up too much energy.
Light idols
Light people adore celebrities with carefree personalities such as the mainland actress Yan Ni, who often forgets her lines in public speeches.
They also like American rapper Ice Spice, whose calm rapping style, described by the New York Times as “drawing you in before pushing you away”, is seen as a perfect expression of the light lifestyle.
