Special report | Subcultures
How to rebel in China
The alternatives are rave or pray
A CHINESE APHORISM teaches that “the young should never go to Sichuan, and the old should never leave”. It is but the first rule broken by a wave of youthful newcomers. The ancients reasoned that Sichuan’s joie de vivre would sap adolescent ambition. But today the stressed and the free-spirited come to Chengdu, the provincial capital, to go against the grain. For many, this means rejecting China’s rigid formula for success in work and life.
This article appeared in the Special report section of the print edition under the headline “How to rebel in China”
From the January 23rd 2021 edition
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