In recent years, the phrase “Kong Yiji’s long gown” has become a widely discussed expression online. Young people use it both to make fun of themselves and to describe a deeper sense of frustration. The image comes from Kong Yiji, the character created by Lu Xun: dressed in the long gown associated with the educated class, he remains trapped in poverty and unable to escape the hardships of ordinary life.
Today, that long gown has taken on a new meaning. It describes the awkward position many young people feel they occupy in the workplace—educated and expected to pursue a respectable career, yet struggling to find work that matches their training, expectations, or sense of identity. Behind the joke is a widespread form of professional anxiety.
When education no longer guarantees the expected future
Young people are entering a rapidly changing society under considerable pressure. Higher education has become more accessible, allowing more people to earn advanced qualifications. At the same time, competition in the job market has intensified. Even after investing substantial time, effort, and money in education, many graduates find it difficult to secure positions that correspond to their expectations.
The gap between what they imagined and what they encounter in reality can be difficult to accept. Like Kong Yiji in his long gown, they may appear to possess the status associated with education while lacking a stable place in which to use it. Their qualifications have not necessarily translated into security, professional recognition, or a clear path forward.
The phrase is therefore more than a humorous metaphor. It also reflects an identity crisis. Many young people are uncertain about what their education says about them and whether it still provides a reliable route toward a better life. For generations, studying hard was understood as one of the main ways to change one’s circumstances. When that promise appears less certain, years of academic effort naturally become a source of doubt: was all that hard work really enough to secure a promising future?
Why career anxiety has become so widespread
Several forces lie behind this unease. One is the changing economic environment. As economic growth slows, the imbalance between the supply of workers and the number of available positions becomes more apparent. Many industries are undergoing transformation and upgrading, while some traditional roles are gradually disappearing. New positions, meanwhile, often demand more specialized or adaptable skills. For young people who lack work experience, these changes can make the transition from school to employment especially disorienting.
Another factor is the narrow way society often evaluates achievement. In an atmosphere that tends to judge people by success or failure, occupation becomes a major measure of personal worth. Young people may be expected to achieve visible results within a short period of time. If they do not, they can easily be labeled unsuccessful. This pressure discourages experimentation. Faced with the fear that one wrong choice could ruin their prospects, many hesitate to change direction or explore less conventional careers.
The distance between education and employment adds to the problem. Schools generally place greater emphasis on theoretical knowledge than on practical abilities. After entering the workplace, many young people discover that what they learned does not fully correspond to the demands of their jobs. The resulting gap can lead to self-doubt, uncertainty, and anxiety, particularly when they are also expected to perform immediately.
Moving beyond the burden of the “long gown”
Addressing career anxiety requires young people to face reality without treating an early setback as a final verdict. Career development is a long process, not something that can be completed at once. It is also important to experiment, explore different possibilities, and continue developing skills as the labor market changes.
Individual adjustment, however, cannot solve the entire problem. Society also needs to offer young people greater understanding and support. A healthier employment environment would allow for more than one definition of success and leave room for career changes, gradual progress, and different kinds of ability.
The discussion surrounding “Kong Yiji’s long gown” reveals how deeply many young people worry about their professional future. It also raises a broader question: how can the constraints of older ideas about education, status, and success be loosened so that young people have a fairer and more open space in which to develop their abilities? The answer concerns not only individual prospects, but also the capacity of society as a whole to remain healthy and resilient.