letting it rot

In June last year I blogged on the Chinese phenomenon of the lying flat movement, the increased trend with young people to opt out of the competitive rat race.  Well, things have gone from bad to worse. Lying flat has progressed to letting it rot.  Whereas a person who was lying flat had swapped materialism and the striving for success for a simple life with few possessions and no ambitions, the person who is letting it rot is embracing a decadent and nihilistic way of life which cuts them out from mainstream life in China completely.

‘Let it rot’ is a translation of the Chinese bailan which is a strategy in basketball in which a losing team stops trying to win in order to bring the game to an end more quickly.  The images on social media for letting it rot convey complete collapse with a tinge of sadness. It is taking the process of withdrawal from society a step further.