牛马 (niúmǎ) literally translates to “cow and horse”, two traditional beasts of burden which many young Chinese workers in modern times can relate to. It has become a popular internet slang term, used in a self-deprecating way by young netizens to describe themselves as overworked and undervalued in the workforce. This term reflects the feelings of helplessness and unimportance common among the young working class, where many have resigned themselves to a life of mundane labor with no real opportunity for change.

Origins and Evolution

Despite its recent rise to popularity in Chinese social media platforms, 牛马 has been used a metaphor for hard laborers since ancient times. One of the earliest recorded uses of 牛马 is in Shiji by Sima Qian all the way back in 91 B.C. In this historical text, he uses it to refer to farm workers who start their work days early and return home late. The term originally had a positive connotation, used to describe the hardworking nature of these laborers as well as illicit sympathy for these conditions. Over time, it came to encompass not just farmers but any kind of worker working long hours for inadequate compensation.

In recent years, 牛马 has gained traction on Chinese social media platforms such as Douyin, Weibo, and Zhihu. It is used by netizens in a satirical way to both joke about their unfavorable situation as well as criticize the system that forces them to work long hours. The slang is particularly common among people working in tech and e-commerce, and many memes focus on office workers rather than traditional blue collar laborers. These workers feel as though they are nothing more than cattle and horse, with large corporations working them from morning to night with little rest or pay.

牛马 spread very quickly due to the large number of users posting and sharing it through short videos, live broadcasts, and comments. The feelings of anxiety and fatigue from overwork were so prevalent among netizens that 牛马 was able to gain a large amount of traction in a short amount of time.

Cultural Significance and Online Uses

The impact of 牛马 lies in its duality as a symbol of both resignation and resistance. It captures the feeling of young Chinese workers who are stuck between wanting to escape this kind of lifestyle and wanting to climb the social and financial ladder.

Resistance

Many netizens use the term 牛马 as a form of resistance and criticism towards the hypercompetitive, unbalanced work culture prevalent in China. 996 culture is very common in tech companies in China, requiring employees to work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. 6 days a week. In order to get to the 72 hour work week without violating Chinese labor policies, employees must work voluntary overtime, which is basically forced through peer pressure and risk of being laid off.

By calling themselves 牛马, workers perform a sort of soft resistance where they acknowledge that they are being exploited and can put a name on what these corporations are using them as. Further, by making jokes about their situation and comparing themselves to working animals, they can bring to light the absurdity of these working conditions.

In this viral Douyin, the creator lists all the work benefits cattle and horses have over modern workers such as getting work off on rainy days, getting off work when the sun goes down, and having food accommodated. He then satirically asks, “How can you say you are 牛马?”.

Resignation

Many netizens have resigned to the fact that in order to achieve the quality of life they desire, working as a 牛马 is necessary. Thus, posting about it online is a sort of coping mechanism, where young 牛马 can find solidarity with other 牛马 on social media platforms by sharing memes and satirical jokes of their bleak situation.
One Zhihu user jokingly posted:

“When a cow is tired, it knows to rest. When a 牛马 is tired, it will order coffee.”

Another netizen posted the following video on Douyin:

Workers see themselves as mere working animals to their employers, and their ID tags are akin to the yokes that cattle carry. Just like these cattle who are forced to work by their masters, young workers also see no reasonable escape from this lifestyle. One alternative to this lifestyle is the 躺平 (tǎngpíng) movement, which means “lying flat” and is characterized by young, burnt-out workers refusing the grind and pressure of long working hours. These people will work just enough to survive, rejecting overtime and accepting their place in the social ladder. However, factors such as job insecurity, social pressures, and disapproval of relatives make 躺平 undesirable for many young workers, leaving 牛马 as the best choice for them.

Conclusion

牛马 is very significant as a tool for young workers to band together and face the exploitation that they face from employers. It reveals a large problem of overwork and societal pressure that many young adults face in modern Chinese society. Perhaps these issues are rooted in ancient cultural values such as hard work, hierarchy, and duty. Beyond just the workforce, children in China are taught to exert themselves to the max and try to climb the social ladder from the moment they enter school. Exam scores and rankings are made public to students to enforce a sense of social standing, cram school culture forces many students to focus all their time on their studies, and the Gaokao enforces academic filtering to an extreme degree. These are all symptoms of the deeply ingrained belief that personal worth is tied to status and achievement, a belief that is enforced by both the government and long-standing cultural values. In this context, perhaps embracing the label of 牛马 is an act of silent rebellion among the youth against the system that made them into 牛马.