BCP Education & Psychology ERHSS 2023 Volume 9 (2023) 87 Young People's Sang Culture Providing New Ideas for the Development of Education in Contemporary China Yuexian Yuan* School of European Studies, Beijing International Studies University, Beijing, China *Corresponding author: 2020220441@stu.bisu.edu.cn Abstract. In recent years, after China has made significant achievements in the economic and political fields, it has started to strengthen the role of "self-confidence" in the cultural field. At the social level, the "Four Confidences" have been proposed, and in the field of education, the "New Youth of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics" are required to be cultivated. Under the initiative and construction of this sunny and positive energy, more and more subcultural youth groups have emerged. In this paper, the author has observed and summarized many papers and participated in many discussions with subcultural groups, and explored and summarized the various manifestations of contemporary subculture - Sang culture. This "poor quality" culture is partly a reflection of the contemporary youth's sense of resistance, but it is not a fundamental solution to the plight of contemporary youth. Therefore, the author proposes feasible measures at four levels: government, school, media, and individual, which are expected to have a positive impact in the future. Keywords: China; Sang culture; Youth. 1. Introduction Since the reform and opening up in 1978, China has maintained a GDP growth rate of 10 percent for more than 30 consecutive years, and the economy and society are developing at an unprecedented rate [1]. The "Sang Culture" has emerged under these social conditions, especially under the influence of the epidemic since the end of 2020. The "culture of mourning" has seen an unprecedented spurt of development [2]. Contrary to the traditional culture's value of "positive entry into the world," the negative outlook on life presented by the "Sang Culture" reflects the real psychological state and survival of youth groups in the face of complex and diverse social changes, which deserves continuous observation and in-depth exploration. By studying the "Sang Culture", people can take off their glasses and look at the "Sang Culture " and even the "subculture", reflect the humanistic care for the youth of today in the era of epidemic, and increase the temperature and understanding of the society. The author deeply analyzes the psychological situation of the contemporary youth, so as to provide effective ways to help the contemporary youth face their difficulties from the perspectives of the government, society and individuals. What’s more, any culture has a certain economic value and the emergence of any kind of culture has its own deep-seated reasons. In the new era and new culture, people should also have a keen business sense to provide new economic growth points when the economy is weak after the epidemic. By solving the above two problems, people can also increase the credibility and administrative effectiveness of the Government, enhance the stickiness between the people and the government, and truly be confident in the people and the Government. 2. Sang Culture in Youth There are roughly four ways in which the " Sang Culture " manifests itself in youth groups. 2.1 Buddhist The term "Buddhist" expresses a kind of life attitude of no desire, no sadness, no joy, and the pursuit of inner peace. The "Buddhist youth" treat their relationships without force or initiative. They treat their studies and work with the attitude that it doesn't matter as long as it's not too bad. When they order take-out or buy something, they think it doesn't matter about the taste or quality, don't rush the order, and don't give bad reviews. The "Buddhist" first appeared in Japan in 2014. For example, BCP Education & Psychology ERHSS 2023 Volume 9 (2023) 88 "Buddhist" students do not actively speak in class, do not study hard for finals, and do not get stimulated by either high- or-low test scores. They behave quietly in school and uphold the principle of "Treating everything as it is" [3]. In the choice of clothing, they like to choose some quiet colors, such as black, white, gray and such simple and plain colors, which can also express their faint sadness. The pattern is not too complex, and relatively low-key. The main feature is the imagery pattern, mainly to no pattern. Loose fit is one of the main elements of "Buddhist" clothing, echoing the "Buddhist" youth's pursuit of an unrestrained, free attitude toward life [4]. 2.2 Lie Flat "Lie flat" refers to no matter what the other party's reaction, people have no internal ripples. There will be no reaction or resistance to this, indicating a submissive mentality. In the young people embodied as, collapsed to the ground and no longer chicken blood boiling, or thirsty for success. "Lie flat” seems to be a compromise and give up, but in fact, is "down to break through the ceiling", and chooses the most inactive way to rebel against the hostage. Young people choose to lie flat and go to the edge of society. It is a desire to escape the mainstream values of working hard and buying a house. They are dissolving the constraints of the external environment on the individual in their way. The difference between "Lie flat" and "Buddhist" is that the latter highlights "resting on the status quo" while the former reflects more of a "self-loathing" state". The state of "Buddhist" youth is usually after a certain achievement or have a certain life security, embodies a kind of social status quo of meaningless crazy climbing competitive ability a rebellion. "Lie flat" is to give up resistance to the blows of life after making efforts without achieving results and not seeing hope for the future [5]. But, young people can't really lie flat. According to the report, 83% of the post-90s said they had the psychology of "lying flat", but in fact, the proportion of real "lying flat" is only 5% [6]. 2.3 Net Inhibition Cloud The emergence of the term "net inhibition cloud" marks the differentiation of categories in the groups of Sang culture. The term refers to the presence of too many depressive speeches in the comment section of the NetEase cloud music app so that people who see the comments feel the same way and fall into depression with them, or perhaps some people may be moaning without illness or sympathy [7]. As music comments: Slowly the youth will understand that they can’t be with the person people like. In fact, it is normal life or the state of life and the generation remembers people who used to be able to talk for half an hour even to say good night. Now it's a luxury to even say good night [8]. This kind of comment seems very sad, but it makes people feel very pretentious and gives a feeling that they can be sad in order to get attention. At this time, there are two distinct groups in the mourning culture. One is the "extroverted mourning group", and the other is the "introverted mourning group" (mourning as a life view, showing a negative attitude towards the world but not acting out). The latter will look at the former with an accusatory perspective, and the mourning culture is developing in a more diversified direction. 2.4 Mourning When the "mourning" youths have a prediction that things are not going in a good direction, they simply stop taking measures to control it and let it continue to develop in a bad situation. The term "mourning" is more commonly used in athletic scenarios, and was first used in commentary on MLB games. When a team has no hope of making the playoffs or of finishing better in the current season, it will intentionally lose games to finish at the bottom of the standings in order to get a better draft pick to rebuild the team in the new season. The team will lose on purpose to finish at the bottom of the standings, so as to get better draft picks to rebuild the team in the new season. Then the "mourning" was applied to online e-sports games, as when players realize that the game is no longer winnable. The player acts negatively the game ends faster so that the next game can be started. In life, it is often seen that when college students face various kinds of exams or well-prepared and competitive opponents, they choose to give up studying, give up struggling, and face the challenges with a BCP Education & Psychology ERHSS 2023 Volume 9 (2023) 89 "nothing" and "shameful but useful" posture. The challenge is to face the challenge with a "nothing" attitude and a mindset that does not care about the outcome. This behavior is usually accompanied by an "indifferent" facial expression, often using a large number of emojis in communication, through pictures, their emotions can be conveyed more visually, directly and powerfully. 3. Influence on the Youth 3.1 Positive Influence In the face of a series of real-life problems and psychological pressure, "Sang culture" can provide a good outlet for young people to vent their emotions. By using buzzwords and emojis to express the same negative emotions, they can briefly withdraw from the world, vent their inner displeasure and get pleasure, so as to get psychological comfort and reduce their sense of being at a loss in the world. At the same time, when expressing themselves, they can seek out organizations and groups of people with common emotional expressions, thus gaining a sense of identity, reducing loneliness, and maintaining individual psychological health and balance. Most of them, after venting their emotions, still choose to go back to the regularity of life, not to stay in the world of self-pitying complaints, while expressing their emotions is a kind of reconciliation of their upper limit and acknowledgment of their powerlessness, which the author can consider as a self-protection mechanism. In the face of social injustice and incongruous development, the "Sang culture" also expresses young people's resistance and dissatisfaction. The job market in China is very "rat races" and some positions, such as kindergarten teachers in general, require candidates to have a bachelor's, master's, or even doctoral degree in a related field (usually, most kindergarten teachers in China are graduates of higher vocational schools). When faced with this kind of pressure from the job application environment, "Sang culture" can help candidates to relieve the negative emotions of not being successful in the job application. Seeing such unfair interview conditions, "Sang culture" candidates also have the courage to say no [1]. 3.2 Negative Influence The essence of Sang culture is still a kind of negative emotion presentation and expression. The obsession with finding identity in collective negativity can lead young people into a trap of nihilism. From a psychological point of view, when living in a long-term self-denial context, people will change from the initial playfulness of such assumptions to the recognition and approval of such views, thus externalizing them into their own heartbeat guidelines for the world and deepening their sense of identity as "losers". Emotions are contagious, and if the Sang culture is allowed to develop in an uncontrolled manner, the influence of the " Sang culture " will go far beyond the framework of the "mourning crowd" and evolve into social despair as a whole [9]. 4. Reasons for This Emergency 4.1 The Contradiction Between the "Ideal Me" and the "Real Me" Young people are full of confidence in the future and have a strong desire for advancement and success. But due to the relatively narrow scope of life and lack of life experience, contemporary college students have fewer points of reference for self-knowledge in a fixed environment like the university campus every day. Consequently, they cannot combine the "ideal me" with the "real me" and cannot transform their thoughts into actions. This gap will bring distress and dissatisfaction to college students and lead to anxiety and pessimism, so young people use "Sang culture" to relieve their negative emotions and say "life is hopeless". When the results are not satisfactory, they show the state of "not wanting to live, but not daring to die". BCP Education & Psychology ERHSS 2023 Volume 9 (2023) 90 4.2 The Contradiction Between the Pursuit of Advancement and Negative Decadence When young people enter university, they are surrounded by stars and have a strong sense of superiority and self-esteem, and are confident in their own abilities. But when they enter university, they find that "there is a sky outside" and "there are many masters". When their shortcomings are highlighted, they fall into constant self-denial and self-doubt. Some college students do not have confidence in their own abilities and do not believe that they can change the status quo through their own efforts. They live every day in a decadent way, except for attending classes, eating, drinking, playing and sleeping, without any pursuit, let alone improving themselves, and they just go with the flow and let nature take its course. As Shakespeare says in Hamlet, "To live or to perish, that is a question worth considering". 4.3 The Conflict Between Self-confidence and Low Self-esteem The youth community is made up of individual students with universal characteristics and individual characteristics such as personality, values, and ways of dealing with others. Because of this, many students tend to be confident in handling things that they are skilled at and can do with confidence, but shy away from things that are difficult and challenging. In addition, they may be influenced by the psychology of "learned helplessness" and attribute their failures to their own unchangeable factors [10]. 4.4 Group Anxiety China's social development is in a period of diversified values, contradictions, golden development and reform. With the continuous development of China's social economy, politics and culture, the level of productivity and people's sense of achievement, happiness and security is getting higher and higher. Moreover, there are new requirements for young people in the new historical development stage, such as high intelligence, high emotional intelligence, high education and high ability, etc. These requirements require the improvement of the comprehensive quality of college students, which motivates young people and makes them anxious at the same time [11]. 5. Suggestions 5.1 For the Government On the employment issue that young people are most concerned about, the government should provide employment guidance, promote the transparency and standardization of talent information in the employment market, reduce the employment pressure and anxiety of college students, deepen the depth and frequency of communication between government departments and employers, share information, and give college students more accessible employment channels. At the same time, it should make use of macro-control and a series of administrative measures to effectively control housing prices within a reasonable range, promote the utilization rate of low-cost housing and houses, and promote the policy of introducing talents, etc., so as to alleviate the anxiety and helplessness of young people about entering social life. The government should also not neglect its efforts to regulate media tools such as social media [1]. 5.2 For the Universities University can provide college students with a freer and broader platform for trial and error. Universities, as a buffer belt between social and school life, should take the initiative in contacting various employers and become an outpost for students to learn about employment information. The universities should implement the construction of a group of faculty members who can really do effective mental health counseling to provide students with more professional services in psychological guidance. In terms of innovative development practices in the discipline, the school BCP Education & Psychology ERHSS 2023 Volume 9 (2023) 91 can make reasonable use of its resources to maximize the space for students to make trial and error and embrace their creative passions [1]. 5.3 For the Media: Be a Responsible Media With the influence of "Sang culture" and the large group of people, the role of social media in the introduction of content and propaganda can’t be ignored, through the sale of anxiety to gain attention and traffic media are few. Therefore, the media should take the initiative to assume social responsibility and actively promote positive energy information. Of course, they should not refuse to report the truth in order to cover up the negative content of the road, but should have confidence in their audiences and also be responsible for them, firmly believing that the emotions of the public should not be "secondarily hurt" by social media reports. 5.4 For the Individuals: Accepting and Dancing with "Sang” First of all, young people must understand that the choice of "Sang culture" is a choice they make on their own initiative, rather than being drawn into the trend, and that acknowledging their powerlessness and learning to live with it is an important lesson for young people. However, "Sang" does not mean doing nothing and watching from the sidelines. When facing various trials, young people should uphold the positive attitude of not giving up, and young people can withdraw from the real world for a short period of time, but this withdrawal is to be able to better connect with society and return to normal rhythm of life. On the one hand, the youth tries to adjust their mindset to the rhythm of society. On the other hand, the action the youth can choose is to speak out about negative emotions to alleviate their own feelings of guilt and loss, and this emotional understanding will certainly promote the connection of emotional ties in real life and promote our positive life [12]. 6. Conclusion This paper is based on the analysis and summary of several Chinese scholars' research on "Sang culture" and "subculture", which is still based on the observation of Eastern culture from an Eastern perspective and lacks the study of certain Western literature and perspectives. Moreover, the literature review method used in this paper lacks a large number of interviews and data analysis, which is also one of the limitations of this paper. Nevertheless, this paper does a good job of distinguishing the various manifestations of Sang culture and comparing them, highlighting the manifestations of Sang culture in different social contexts and analyzing the subjective and objective reasons for its emergence, providing some ideas for predicting the future emergence of "Sang culture" and actively proposing countermeasures. The author hopes to maximize the participation of social components to help young people to escape from their dilemmas. The author hopes that there will be more effective ways to help young people face their difficulties, so as to enhance mutual understanding between society and youth groups. As a kind of non-mainstream culture, mourning culture can also provide people with other perspectives to observe the survival and development of subcultures in the mainstream society, and to explore the development rules of non-mainstream culture in a deeper way by comparing with the situation of non-mainstream culture in the history. In any case, "Sang Culture" is always a kind of culture, and its existence must contain a certain economic value. References [1] Li Wenhua. The style, causes and guidance strategies of youth "funeral culture" in social media. Donghua University, 2021. [2] Lin Xijia. "Pendulum swinging": social fatigue and self-relief in the post-epidemic era. Science and Technology Communication, 2022,14(17):132-136. [3] Liu Y. and. The dialectical examination of "Buddha" and "lie flat". Chinese Times (Principal), 2022(04):8. BCP Education & Psychology ERHSS 2023 Volume 9 (2023) 92 [4] Wei Chuang, Chu Xiaoling, Li Aizhen. Research on "Buddhist" culture and its clothing style. Fashion Designer, 2022(10):69-75. [5] Shen Jing, Dai Jiafang. "The new changes of college students' values and their guidance. Journal of Bengbu College, 2022,11(04):85-89. [6] Sam. Under the appearance of "Sang culture" and "Lie flat", the contemporary 90s struggle for the bottom color China. Journal of Optical Science and Technology, 2022(02):66-67. [7] Liao Qian. Cultural Identity and Barriers: An Analysis of the Culture Behind the Phenomenon of "Net Inhibiting Cloud", 2022 [8] Chen Mengjie, Zhao Lei. Discourse carnival: Exploring the popularity of mourning culture under the interactive ritual chain-from NetEase cloud to "Net Inhibited cloud". New Media Research, 2021,7(21):91-95. [9] Zeng Tuo. Study on the factors influencing the communication of "mourning" culture among youth groups. Huazhong Normal University, 2019. [10] Liu Ting. 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