Involution as a sociocultural phenomenon of contemporary China

The article is devoted to one of the most pressing social phenomena in modern China – involution. This word appeared in public discourse in 2017 and has not lost its relevance to this day. Involution in the socio-cultural dimension of Chinese society means irrational competition, rivalry until complete victory. This entails heightened social competition, which brings Chinese society to a state of fatigue and forms a certain model of social behavior. The article examines the history of the concept and its appearance in Chinese science, and then in Chinese public discourse. Understanding involution as a social and cultural phenomenon allows us to identify its features, such as: stereotypes, competition, extra-effort, irrational consumption, obtaining limited resources, and also to designate its mechanics, which is built on the manifestation of social positions. Involution in the modern education system also represents a significant problem not only for high school students and university students, but also for the teaching staff. Some of the universities in China introduce involution-related rules for employees, which increase the workload of both graduate students and teachers. In addition, the article also presents a cultural component that reveals and designates the role of such an important phenomenon in Chinese society as "face" and its place in the process of involution. The study also presents the advantages and disadvantages of involution in politics, culture and education. The topic of involution is considered through the prism of both scientific and public discourse, which made it possible to designate its comprehensive presence in the modern social space of modern China.