By Zoey Zhang
Copyright scmp
From cooking barbecued pork with Yakult to trying Superman posture tricks, young people in China are embracing a lifestyle of xie xiu or “evil cultivation” to create bizarre life hacks to cope with stress.
The idea stems from Taoist culture, which provides deviant paths to immortality, describing those who reject orthodox practices and abandon moral codes.
In Chinese web novels, this lifestyle is usually the mark of villains.
Recently, however, xie xiu has been used by young Chinese as a humorous way of rebelling against convention.
On social media, videos under the hashtag xie xiu have already attracted more than 4 billion views.
The trend began with food influencers testing out unorthodox cooking methods they called xie xiu cuisine.
One netizen, who uses the name “Big Brother is Hungry”, boiled Cantonese-style char siu in Yakult, earning more than 200,000 likes.
He said the drink’s sweet-and-sour flavour balanced the dish and urged others to try it: “Who would have thought Yakult could replace the marinade?”
Another user shared her recipe for ribs stewed in oranges, claiming the juice gave the meat colour and a sweet-and-sour kick like a traditional sauce.
It was not long before xie xiu practices spread beyond the kitchen.
In the workplace, some newcomers ditched polished profile photos for bizarre avatars on office chat apps, such as a flaming Hello Kitty or a sleeping capybara, hoping to ward off extra tasks from their bosses and secure more rest.
Others shared tips for slacking off at work, from hiding novels in Word documents to listening to podcasts or scrolling through short videos in the bathroom.
One viral post suggested a xie xiu cure for neck pain: “Picture a pile of dog poop in front of you. The disgust makes you pull your neck back. Repeat it often and it works.”
Another recommended fixing a hunched back by ack is to imagine yourself as Superman or Ultraman and pretend you are “shooting lasers from your chest”.
Students joined in too.
A college art major said they wrote song lyrics directly on piano keys to memorise notes.
Another student claimed they picked up a flawless English accent by pretending to be a foreigner and chatting with TV characters.
But as in classic Chinese martial arts tales, stepping onto the evil path comes with risks.
Some xie xiu food experiments ended in upset stomachs, while others drew criticism or even resulted in docked wages from bosses.
Still, loyal believers see things differently.
“Through xie xiu, I found that solving problems no longer feels like a chore. It has become a fun life experiment, and I am more positive now,” one netizen wrote.
Another said the appeal of xie xiu lies in a sense of control: “We are no longer just following the script; we use creativity to open new possibilities.”
The lifestyle has sparked a buzz across mainland social media.
One online observer said: “We are realising that the so-called traditional path to success, studying hard, working diligently and living a respectable life, is no longer viable.
“In today’s world, hard work only keeps you afloat. Only creativity offers a chance at prosperity.”
Another said: “It is funny yet inspiring to see young people using dark humour and pranks to push back against the stress in their life.”
