What does involution mean in China

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Neijuan means working harder and harder, but nobody actually wins. Let me show you. You study 8 hours a day. Someone studies 10. So, you push to 12. Then someone goes 14. And suddenly, nobody is sleeping anymore. Congratulations.

[00:00:17]You're not ahead. You're just exhausted.

[00:00:21]That's Neijuan. It's like a race where the finish line keeps moving. In the US, people call it the rat race. But in China, it's the rat race on extreme mode. Nobody wants it, but if you stop, you fall behind instantly. So, everyone keeps running. Faster, harder, longer.

[00:00:41]And in the end, everyone is tired and nobody is happy.