Dear Tony,

Is everything alright? I hope you enjoy your time during school. Recently I’m feeling kind of stressed out because of the examination week, having too much work to do. I hope you don’t experience the same. But the fact is, my friends and classmates in China are learning harder than I am, and it’s very common among Chinese students. This phenomenon is named “内卷” or commonly translated as “involution”. Personally, I don’t like this translation because it implies a negative meaning. Unlike what most people believe, “involution” can be beneficial.

You may not be familiar with contemporary Chinese social circumstances, but involution has already become a buzzword in China. It refers to the negative impact that people work harder but not receiving a better reward because the total benefit remains the same. However, if we focus on the process instead of the result, the bright side of involution reveals. The involution is a good motivate for individuals and brings increase to the output of the group.

But first I’m going to explain involution in more detail. Take general education in China as an example.

You may know that Chinese people have a very different education concept. In the documentary named Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School that BBC aired in 2015, the Chinese study method is described as “an unforgiving regime based on high-pressure learning and ruthless competition”. However, we most Chinese students don’t feel it painful, except for the minority that doesn’t want to study hard at all. Many of us would even appreciate the benefit it brings us. Although we still constantly complaining about the pressure as you did, it indeed increases our study efficiency and knowledge acquisition.

In China, hierarchy is not solidified, and the most possible way to have upward intergenerational mobility is through education. Students are select and enter universities of different levels through “gaokao”, the national college entrance examination. Although other ways exist, including art exams for students talented in art and music and sports selection for students with special sports skills, many parents regard gaokao as the only major way out for their children. Therefore, students are required to study extremely hard to get a better score. Opponents argue that in the end, as others are study harder as well, all students access to the same university as if none of them study harder, and their efforts are wasted. But will endeavor ever be wasted?

Regard involution as a process instead of a result, involution is actually a competitive atmosphere with positive feedback.  It’s an effective method to motivate yourself to study without changing the teaching approach of your teachers. In this system, before reaching an exhausting point, students study harder and have higher academic capacity than others access to better universities for further education.

From the aspect of the natural formation of this system, it is reasonable instead of a system with negative influence. In China, each year 10 million students graduate from high school, but only 5% can access top universities in China. The large population and inadequate education resources also contribute to involution ask for a system with higher efficiency to filter students and give skilled students better education.

Time has proven that the competitive atmosphere in studying has given Chinese students many benefits. The most direct impact is that a competitive atmosphere promotes the average academic knowledge acquisition, both in breadth and depth. In a study lead by Stanford University professor Prashant Loyalka, data reveals that the math and science skill level of Chinese CS freshmen students is much higher than CS freshmen students of Western countries. Also, involution makes it possible to distinguish students based on their learning capacity and provide each kind of student with education of different levels. And by doing so, we can optimize the use of education resources to provide individualized education. This also means your academic degree and university level can better represent your comprehensive academic capacity in personnel selection.

As for individual students, during the process of hard studying, it not only motivates us to acquire more knowledge, also lets us cultivate the character of diligence, patience, and forbearance. And although we compete with each other, the aim of the same goal makes our class more united. The relationship between students grows much closer in the atmosphere of competition. Eventually, those students stand out in this competition.

The core concept of a modest competitive atmosphere works in most systems. At the end of the documentary produced by the BBC, although through frustration, confusion, and rebellion, most students eventually got used to the Chinese learning style and were motivated. And eventually, they indeed got a higher score in every subject than the other classes. If we think further, the international situation in recent years in recent years is also a kind of involution. Countries, especially developed countries, seek higher profit, compete with others, and lead to global economic growth and fast technology breakthroughs.

What needs to be reminded is that moderation is required when adapting competitive atmosphere. Too much water drowned the miller. The word “involution” gone viral in Chinese networks is a sign of competition becoming excessive that causes people to feel exhaustion and lack of rest time. The companies carry out “996” policies that people work from 9 am to 9 pm 6 days a week, which is an unhealthy lifestyle. Some students stay up late for a better score and sacrifice their health. Involution will undoubtedly cause negative effects if being excessive.

But modest involution is indeed beneficial. And it’s worth trying for students like us. Considering the circumstances you are in, Tony, you don’t have to only compete with your school grades, but also other aspects that you have strength in, like for you the aesthetic skill in drawing. The point is to find students who perform better than you in the field you seek for improvement, and make them your goal to scale your improvement. At the same time, your strength will be their goal, which results in mutual benefits for all of you, and you can also build confidence by becoming others’ goals. Trust me, it’s worth trying.

Sincerely your friend,

Yitao