Photo by Su Quanxin: Courtesy of Zhu Meiling
As in many places around the world, how to maintain a healthy lifestyle is a popular topic in China, where it is called Yangsheng.
However, the busy schedules of today’s youth prevent many of them from doing everything they can to stay fit. This is why a new concept called pengke (Punk style) YangshenThe g has gradually become more widespread among some Chinese people, especially among those in their 20s and 30s.
While Yangsheng emphasizes taking time out of your schedule to live a healthier lifestyle, health punk is more about incorporating healthy habits into the day to offset other unhealthy habits.
For example, traditional ideas about health in China encourage people to go to bed early because getting enough sleep is believed to be good for the skin. Yet many young Chinese people simply don’t have the time or don’t want to waste their time sleeping. That’s where the health punk comes in, which advocates trusting your skin to expensive face masks instead of sleeping. Another example is alcohol consumption. While some people decide to forgo beer for hot goji berry tea, punk health advocates believe you can still drink beer, as long as you drink that much goji berry tea.
The growing popularity of health punk has caused concern among experts. Su Quanxin of the Chinese Association of Chinese Medicine criticizes this trend. In an article in the Chinese edition of Cosmopolitan, Su claimed that the new trend does not benefit people’s health at all and could actually do more harm than good.
Pointing out that he tries to compensate for excessive alcohol consumption by drinking tea, Su noted that as healthy as goji berries may be, they cannot repair the damage already caused to the liver by alcohol.
Traditional Chinese medicine focuses just as much on proactively taking care of one’s health by maintaining inner balance, rather than trying to fix problems only after they appear. So, long-term lack of sleep, or staying up late, will have a negative impact on the body that cannot be easily corrected using the tips advocated by punk health.
“Yangsheng is not about following trends. It is a scientific way of life and a positive attitude towards life. The methods (such as health punk) are like saying ‘kill me first and then try to cure me’, which will do absolutely no good,” Su concluded.
