China: young people, crushed by their careers, rediscover monasteries and religion

After graduating at the height of the pandemic in 2021, Lu Zi landed an enviable job at an e-commerce giant. A year later, he has given up everything and lives in a Buddhist temple in eastern China.
Like many of her peers, Lu was ambitious and had spent her college years planning her career: with a degree in Chinese, she saw a future in high tech, but 12 months into her first job, she needed a break and decided to volunteer at the Jiaxing Temple in Zhejiang Province.
Lu is among a growing number of young graduates who, feeling disillusioned or burnt out, have temporarily withdrawn from the highly competitive job market to rethink their path.

“The pandemic has disrupted not only the economy, but also many of our life prerequisites,” said Lu, who is now 25 and intends to spend a year at the temple.
“The economic crisis and rising unemployment have caused great anxiety in many of my peers. With all the uncertainties, many are choosing to keep a secure and stable job. But there are also those, like me, who want to take a break and rethink what I really want in life”.
China's economy has started to show signs of recovery in recent months as the country emerges from three years of strict Covid-19 controls. But the youth unemployment rate reached 17.5% last year, rising further to 18.1% in the first two months of 2023. Young people aged 16-24 were often hardest hit by the loss of jobs. work during the pandemic. In the US, youth unemployment rose to 27.4% in April 2020, before falling below 9% last year.
Chinese experts have expressed concern that the lack of job opportunities for young people could have a negative effect on the country's economic development prospects. At the same time, competition for careers among young workers is very high with significant levels of stress which lead to rethinking one's career and life.

In recent months, with the reopening and strict Covid-19 rules being lifted, Buddhist and Taoist temples have become a popular destination for young Chinese people like Lu, who are looking to escape the pressures of life and pray for good fate. Visits to temples across the country have increased 310% since the beginning of 2023 compared to a year ago, with Millennials and Gen Zers accounting for half of the bookings,

Buddhism and Taoism are, together with Confucianism, the major philosophies and religions of ancient China that continue to have some influence in modern Chinese society.
In the past, the temples were frequented only during major holidays and festivals, but this is changing rapidly. Visiting temples has become a trendy activity for young people who don't want to take their vows, but simply reconnect with the Buddhist and Taoist lifestyles. For many young temple-goers, this is a weekend excursion. Others, like Lu, volunteer for months, receiving spiritual and emotional support as they help with daily chores and attend classes.

The Lama Temple, or Yonghe Palace, in Beijing – a Tibetan Buddhist temple – is among the most visited. Part of it used to be an imperial palace where two emperors of the Qing Dynasty lived while they were heirs to the throne, and it is known as a temple where worshipers express wishes for career development. This made him popular among Chinese youth. In recent months there have been regular long queues of visitors outside the temple, even on weekdays. According to the temple, there have been around 40,000 visits a day since the beginning of March. These visits often include a stop at souvenir shops, where visitors spent an average of 200 to 1,000 yuan ($29 to $145) to purchase "blessed items" such as beaded bracelets for good luck, according to social media posts. average.

Such is the demand for temple souvenirs that they are also resold online on shopping platforms such as Taobao – run by Alibaba Group, which owns the South China Morning Post – and Xiaohongshu, a popular lifestyle app similar to Instagram.
Practices such as censing and chanting have also emerged in the form of apps. There are several apps available for the "digital wooden fish", which takes its name from a percussion instrument made from a hollow block of wood, used to mark the rhythm of the chanting of the scriptures in Chan Buddhism,

This tendency towards religious estrangement is not welcomed by the government, because it leads to a minor employment contribution of young people to the benefit of the national economy. An official newspaper has urged Chinese youth to work hard rather than pin their hopes on "lighting incense." Tian Wenzhi, a commentator for the state-run Beijing Daily newspaper last month, took a more sympathetic view, saying the focus should be on trying to understand the pressures young people face and what they are looking for.
“A hectic and uncertain life in today's society has created greater challenges and anxieties among young people who are preoccupied with their career and marriage choices and the pressure of caring for older members of their families,” he said. written, referring to the difficulties that many families with only one child have to face.
For the Chinese, it's more about turning to whatever god is perceived to be most helpful to them

Fan Zhihui, an expert on philosophy and religious issues at Shanghai Normal University, said the Chinese have long taken a more pragmatic and utilitarian attitude towards religion, in contrast to the more organized and monotheistic tradition of Western religions.
"Buddhism and Taoism have been a part of traditional Chinese culture, and now Buddhist and Taoist temples are a major pillar of national tourism," Fan said. Some young people may be intrigued by these religions, but it is not the same thing as the much stricter adherence to religious teachings and practices found in Christian churches in the West”.
“For the Chinese, it's more about turning to whichever god is perceived to be most helpful in dealing with life's challenges.”
The new interest in temple life is evident on Chinese social media. There are currently nearly 900,000 posts on the subject on lifestyle app Xiaohongshu alone, with people sharing their experiences of visiting temples and looking for information.

Another recent graduate, Yao Fenfen, 23, said she decided to spend a few days at a Shenzhen temple she found via social media: "I was made redundant earlier this year and wanted to use this free time to do other experiences and relax a bit before starting a new job. I saw some posts on Xiaohongshu about temple volunteering and thought it would be an interesting experience.” “I made many new friends during the stay. Many of them are my age and have recently left their jobs: they too have come to experience life in the temples after reading similar posts".
The new generations are no longer afraid of hunger and misery like their grandparents, so they are looking for a quality of life that also allows inner fulfillment that can no longer be reached only with the frenzy of a career, but which requires a religious and inner revival.

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The article China: young people, crushed by their careers, rediscover monasteries and religion comes from Scenari Economici .

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This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/cina-i-giovani-schiacciati-dalla-carriera-riscoprono-i-monasteri-e-la-religione/ on Tue, 11 Apr 2023 09:00:49 +0000.