Idea for August 2021: neijuan

My idea of the month is neijuan

One of my students introduced me to this - a huge thing in today’s Chinese youth culture. It’s the feeling of burnout that comes from the effort of keeping up. She described it as that moment in a show when the front row stands up, so everyone else has to stand up in order to see anything. The newly emerging opposite is tang ping - lying flat. More about all this here.

My image of the month is Woodside Square

A smart piece of vaguely Dutch urbanism in Muswell Hill, north London, designed by Pollard Thomas Edwards. It’s been home for the last two years - though this month we’re moving up to Norfolk. The design has cleverly created a real sense of community here. which we’ll miss.