“躺平”是什么意思？
What does 躺平 (lying flat) mean?
Name: ________________ Date: ________
2021年4月，一个年轻人在网上写了一篇文章，题目是《躺平即是正义》。他给自己起的名字叫“好心的旅行家”。他说，自己已经两年多没有正式工作了，一个月只花两百块钱左右，一天吃两顿饭，一年只打一两个月的零工。他不想为任何人拼命，觉得人不用活得那么累。
这篇文章很快引起了很多人的讨论。没过多久，“躺平”这个词就传遍了中国的网络。
“躺平”的字面意思很简单：躺在那儿，不起来。可是在网上，它说的是一种生活态度：不再拼命工作，不再追求更高的工资、更大的房子，只要日子过得下去，身体和心情好，就够了。
为什么这么多年轻人喜欢这个词呢？要理解“躺平”，还得知道另外两个词。一个是“996”，意思是早上九点上班，晚上九点下班，一个星期工作六天。另一个是“内卷”：大家都在拼命竞争，付出越来越多，得到的却没有变多。比如，别人都加班，你不加班，好像就落后了；可是所有人都加班以后，谁也没有比以前过得更好。
在这样的环境里，有人选择不再参加这场比赛，干脆“躺平”。当然，也有很多人不喜欢这个词。一些官方媒体发表文章批评，说“躺平”是可耻的。那篇最早的文章，后来也被删掉了。
后来，网上又出现了一个新词：“摆烂”。如果说“躺平”是不想再拼命，那“摆烂”的意思是：反正事情不会变好了，干脆不管了。
今天，“躺平”已经成了一个很普通的词，意思也轻松多了。周末不想出门，你可以说：“这个周末我就在家躺平了。”工作太多，也可以开玩笑说：“我也想躺平，可是房租不同意。”
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 篇 | piān | piece of writing; chapter |
| 文章 | wénzhāng | article; essay |
| 正式 | zhèngshì | formal; official; officially |
| 顿 | dùn | suddenly; immediately (as in 顿时) |
| 任何 | rènhé | any; whatever |
| 活 | huó | work; job |
| 引起 | yínqǐ | to cause; to give rise to; to arouse |
| 讨论 | tǎolùn | discussion; to discuss; to talk over |
| 躺 | tǎng | to lie (down); to recline |
| 态度 | tàidu | attitude; manner |
| 工资 | gōngzī | wages; salary; pay |
| 心情 | xīnqíng | mood; state of mind |
English (for the teacher)
In April 2021, a young man posted an essay online titled “Lying Flat Is Justice”. The name he went by was “Kind-Hearted Traveller”. He said he hadn't had a proper job for over two years, spent only about two hundred yuan a month, ate two meals a day, and did odd jobs for just a month or two a year. He didn't want to wear himself out for anyone, and felt that people didn't have to live such exhausting lives.
The essay quickly got a lot of people talking. Before long, the word “lying flat” had spread across the whole Chinese internet.
The literal meaning of “lying flat” is simple: lying there and not getting up. But online it means an attitude to life: no more working yourself to the bone, no more chasing a higher salary or a bigger home; as long as you can get by and your body and mood are fine, that's enough.
Why did so many young people take to this word? To understand “lying flat”, you need to know two other words. One is “996”: starting work at nine in the morning, finishing at nine at night, six days a week. The other is “involution”: everyone competes harder and harder and gives more and more, but what they get back doesn't grow. For example, if everyone else works overtime and you don't, you seem to fall behind; but once everyone works overtime, nobody is any better off than before.
In a world like that, some people choose to drop out of the race and simply “lie flat”. Of course, plenty of people dislike the word, too. Some state media published criticism saying that “lying flat” is shameful. The original essay was later deleted.
Later, another new word appeared online: “let it rot”. If “lying flat” means not wanting to push yourself any more, then “letting it rot” means: things aren't going to get better anyway, so you simply stop caring.
Today “lying flat” has become an ordinary word, and its meaning has grown much lighter. If you don't feel like going out at the weekend, you can say: “This weekend I'm just lying flat at home.” If you have too much work, you can joke: “I'd love to lie flat too, but my rent won't let me.”