[1] Involution was developed as a sociological concept by American anthropologist Alexander Goldenweiser in his 1937 book Anthropology: An Introduction To Primitive Culture.
Huang explained involution using the economic concept of diminishing returns in his book The Peasant Economy and Social Change in North China (《华北的小农经济与社会变迁》), published in 2000, which has deviated from Geertz's original explanation.
Xiang Biao, an anthropologist, describes the internet slang word "involution" as "a dead loop in which people constantly force themselves" and "a race that participants are not allowed to fail or exit".
Influenced by its popularity, the number of academic papers containing the keyword "involution" increased, but the meaning has further deviated from the original sociological sense, leading to some criticisms that the word has been abused.
[11] Some of the picture shows takeaway drivers are trying their best to deliver food through Meituan (美团), a delivery-service corporation, with a high level of competitive business culture.
Parents feel the need to overcompensate just to ensure their children won't fall back on the social ladder in the coming years.
As a consequence of neijuan, nurturing competent applicants for elite universities parents must oblige to an established order of doing things, there is no escape.
One parent explained 'it is not enough to compete just in terms of studies,' having some sort of talent is now seen as a significant entry requirement to elite universities.
As a result, playing the piano and swimming are not valuable talents as they once were, as shown in the valuable skill chains below.Musical instrument: Organ > harp > cello > violin > flute > saxophone > drums > piano Physical sports: Equestrian > golf > ice hockey > fencing > baseball/American football > figure skating > tennis > soccer > Taekwondo > badminton > swimming > running.
Therefore, to ensure their children attend esteemed schools, parents pay high real estate prices because of the overpriced markets.
[12] As stated by Li Meng, dean of Yuanpei College, 'GPA is at the centre, regardless of their educational levels students pay attention to their GPA'.
Behind the above notion is the function of higher-level institutions as agents for elite talent selection therefore, with the depreciating academic qualifications most students feel the need to perform beyond average.
[14] In efforts to highlight their frustration a number of programmers have created websites like 996icu and posted a blacklist of companies that encourage these exploitative work cultures.
However, these efforts are in vain since neijuan has made entry into these jobs very difficult therefore there is no turning back 'their greatest fear is perhaps losing what they already have,' there is no escaping.
[10] The previous generation came of age during the opening up of China's economy, who experienced large social mobility and the creation of markets in many sectors.
The former chief editor of Harper's Bazaar China, Su Mang, called neijuan 'the gap between desire and indolence'.
[8] As neijuan is associated with urban lifestyles, the response to this discourse entails re-appreciation of the Chinese countryside as a mentally healthy setting.
Linda Qian and Barclay Bram report that urban workers increasingly desire and attempt to migrate to rural areas to combat the neijuan condition, where they often try to establish small-scale businesses.
[8] Xu Fang from University of California, Berkeley proposes that this is a part of the 'stability maintenance' effort from the ruling party; the government would rather people vent their emotions through ranting online rather than a social movement.