As young Chinese struggle to find employment in a recovering economy, they turn to temples and literary analogies to cope with their anxieties. With a record 11.58 million university graduates vying for jobs in an economy still reeling from "zero-COVID" lockdowns and tech and education sector crackdowns, temple visits have surged 310% in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to Trip.com.
"I hope to find some peace in temples," said 22-year-old Wang Xiaoning, who cites job search pressure and unaffordable housing costs as significant concerns. About half of the temple visitors were born after 1990, reflecting the rising threshold for employment and an oversupply of university graduates.
Zhang Qidi, a researcher at the Center for International Finance Studies, said, "There is a serious oversupply of university graduates and their priority is survival." Many have resorted to low-paying jobs in ride-sharing or delivery.
A popular meme on social media compares job seekers to Kong Yiji, an unemployed, alcoholic scholar from a 1919 story by author Lu Xun, who believed himself too educated for menial jobs. This meme highlights the disconnect between societal expectations of higher education and the reality of a challenging job market.
China's authorities are aiming for 12 million new jobs in 2023, up from 11 million the previous year. The economy has seen some recovery since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in December, but hiring is mainly driven by the pandemic-affected catering and travel industries, which offer low wages for low-skilled roles.
Some graduates feel "restricted" by their education and question the value of their degrees. A 24-year-old economics postgraduate in Beijing, Yang Xiaoshan, who settled for a bank teller job after 30 interviews, said, "It's not that I despise customer service, but I think it's a waste of my knowledge."
State broadcaster CCTV criticized those comparing themselves to Kong, prompting angry responses on messaging app Weibo. One post with more than 300 "likes" read, "Why, instead of helping private enterprises develop, do you blame 11.58 million graduates for not taking off their scholar gowns?"
