Young People Hard to Find Jobs, Self-Mockery “Kong Yiji Literature” Rises in Communist China

Recently, a literary trend called “Kong Yiji （孔乙己）Literature” has emerged in the online communities of Communist China, inspired by the character Kong Yiji from the works of Lu Xun (鲁迅）. Kong Yiji is an educated individual who is destitute. Following the trends of “neijuan内卷” (involution) and “tangping躺平” (lying flat), young people in Communist China are expressing their dissatisfaction with the current high unemployment rate through self-deprecating writings, which led to the rise of this online literary movement. The trend has caught the attention of the CCP authorities, and the Communist Youth League Central Committee and state media CCTV has attempted to steer the trend towards a more positive energy tone, but have faced criticism from netizens instead.

Some netizens said that when they were young reading the works of Lu Xun, they saw the antiquated and poor image of Kong Yiji as amusing, but upon rereading it as adults, they could only lament that “I didn’t understand Kong Yiji when I was young, but now I am Kong Yiji”. Even the official commentary has to admit that in the past three years, the number of university graduates in Communist China has continued to increase, with a record high of 10.76 million in 2022. However, due to the increasing pressure of economic downturns, university graduates find it difficult to find a job that matches their major and pays a decent wage. Even if one is employed, they may still experience anxiety due to uncertainty such as a decrease in income.

On March 15th, the National Bureau of Statistics of Communist China released data indicating that the average unemployment rate in urban areas of the country between January and February 2023 was 5.6%, while the unemployment rate for young people aged 16-24 was as high as 18.1%. Many university graduates have taken to online platforms to express their grievances about the difficulty in finding jobs and the decline in salaries. Heated debates are triggered as it is becoming increasingly common with examples of highly educated individuals being forced to take low-paying jobs.