Editor’s note: Chinese college campuses are stressful places these days, with two groups of students: those who throw themselves into China’s rat race as they seek to get ahead, and those who have given up on striving and want to just lay back and enjoy life. Although they deal with the pressures of modern life differently, both groups are struggling. Today, a Chinese college minister talks about what he sees these days on university campuses as students try to figure out how to live with dignity and find meaning in their lives. He also shares how God protected and guided their church through the harsh restrictions of the Covid pandemic. His experience is a reminder that, even during times of difficulty, the Lord is still in control.

Involuted? Or Lying Flat?

China Partnership: What is the current situation for Chinese college students?

Pan Xihong: “Involution” and “lying flat” are two popular phrases in China these days. Chinese universities produce two kinds of animals: dogs who are caught in involution and running the rat race, and pigs who choose to lie flat.

In English, dogs and pigs may be considered cute. But in a Chinese context, these are dehumanizing terms, meaning you cannot live with dignity as a human being.

Involution is especially obvious in universities, which are no longer places for quiet study and free thought. Instead, they are stressful, competitive, and involuted. From a young age, students grew up with a lot of pressure to study hard and get into a prestigious school. They don’t know anything else.

Chinese universities produce two kinds of animals: dogs who are caught in involution and running the rat race, and pigs who lie flat. In English, dogs and pigs may be cute. But in a Chinese context, these are dehumanizing terms, meaning you cannot live with dignity as a human being.

The competition is so intense in China that people believe the only way to leap from the lower class to the middle or elite classes is through education. When you get to the top, you have more privileges. You can “lie flat,” achieve financial freedom, or even emigrate out of China.

In this environment, thought control is very stringent. Universities use apps like “Study the Great Nation” to control students’ thinking. Students say, “If I don’t use the app, I’ll lose credits.” They are even threatened with being unable to graduate.

Nowadays, professors teach students like slaves; not servants, slaves who must be strictly controlled. (Professors are also part of the involution phenomenon.) “If you comply, good. If not, I will pressure you.”

A lot of students want to participate in the rat race, and think the best way to get out of this cruel competition is becoming a government official or getting a job in a state-owned enterprise. To do this, they need to join the Communist Party.  When we asked these students about their plans, there were several responses: “If you can’t beat them, join them,” “Jobs in the system are more dignified,” “I want more power,” or, “The only way to change the situation is climbing higher.”

The whole system is so strict that all of society is caught in the involution. Professors make students into sycophants who must show up whenever needed and do whatever asked. Like dogs, they must bite whomever they are told. Students have to curry favor with their professors – kneeling down, licking them like dogs. The roommate of a student I know admitted she was a lapdog for her teacher because she wanted to be recognized for excellence and join the Party!

Other students are deeply disillusioned and choose to “lie flat.” They retreat to their dorms, losing themselves in games or other addictions. Professors don’t bother these students, because they are harmless piglets who won’t do any harm. They give up and say, “I’m just here to get a diploma,” or, “Life is short, enjoy it while you can.” Many of these students are very disappointed. They worked hard for more than a decade to get into college, only to discover how cruel reality is. That is why we say universities now produce only dogs that grovel and flatter their superiors, or pigs, harmless creatures who see harsh reality and choose to lie flat.

If you don’t want to be a dog or a pig, you will face trouble. You know you have a higher Lord, the real Lord, and that others are equal to you. All people are equal, because they are created equal.

If you don’t want to be a dog or a pig, you will face trouble. You know you have a higher Lord, the real Lord, and that others are equal to you. All people are equal, because they are created equal. You don’t want to grovel or give up. This is when they persecute you, because you want to live with dignity.

CP: How do others respond when they hear you say this?

Pan: In the beginning, we don’t give such a blatant message. We attract with the gospel. If we go deeper, we usually let them know the reality they are facing. But that is not our focus. Our focus is that all people are slaves of sin and the devil, and God wants to make you his son. You must choose whether you want to be a slave of the devil, sin, and death, or a noble son of God. We lead people to realize this.

Protected through Pandemic

CP: How have you seen God working in your church over the past few years?

Pan: In all circumstances, Jesus is the risen and victorious King. He is enthroned on high and reigns from heaven. In the past few years, we truly felt God’s presence among us.

We did not stop face-to-face meetings because of the pandemic, because we firmly believe gathering means in-person interaction, with at least two or three gathered in worship. Of course, we have more than two or three. God made a way, and we didn’t have to stop gathering once during all three years of the pandemic. I find this incredible!

You have to realize: if anything had gone wrong, if any one in our gathering got Covid or became a close contact of someone who got sick, we would have been done. We would all have been caught. It took a great deal of faith for us to continue.

It was like crossing the Jordan River: the water was still there when we stepped forward. Water only receded our foot touched the river. You have to move forward, step by step, for the water to draw back and become dry ground underfoot. This experience showed us that God’s path is made clear by faith and not by sight.

It may seem the environment in China is harsh – but actually, we witness God’s reign here, just as he reigned when Paul and Silas were in prison. We didn’t experience an earthquake or chains breaking and doors opening, but we experienced something equally miraculous: the preservation of in-person meetings during the three-year pandemic.

Although we provided ways for students to worship within campus, many chose to leave campus to meet together. Many church members overcame all kinds of obstacles to attend in-person gatherings. When your heart is free, nothing can hold you back.

It may seem the environment in China is harsh – but actually, we witness God’s reign here, just as he reigned when Paul and Silas were in prison. We didn’t experience an earthquake or chains breaking and doors opening, but we experienced something equally miraculous: the preservation of in-person meetings during the three-year pandemic. Our city’s universities were like massive prisons, yet we still continued to meet. God’s work is unstoppable. You can’t control it with health or travel codes.

Again, if anything had gone wrong in the process, brothers and sisters and our church would have been completely exposed, perhaps dissolved. If any individual among us had gotten Covid-19 or been close contacts of confirmed cases, the consequences could have been severe. But God protected us.

Pan Xihong is a pseudonym for a pastor working with university students in a large Chinese city. He and his wife have one child.

Praise God for how he protected this young church throughout the pandemic, and pray for students pressure to run in the Chinese rat race or give up and quit trying altogether.