3.1 Signification and Origin of the Zhichang Term
Our inventory revealed that workplace novels greatly differ in the work environments they set their plots in. While the specific professional settings of some novels are not identifiable in the summaries available online, the inventory still allowed us to distinguish more than sixty different workplaces, which can be roughly divided between general sectors, for example health (hospitals, practices, pharmaceutical companies), hospitality (hotels, restaurants), media (television, press, publishing), services (interior design, consulting, head-hunting, publicity, travel and leisure, public relation), law (legal departments, law firms), bank, finance and accounting, insurances, products' elaboration, transportation and sale (food and drinks, clothes, ceramics, antiques, carpets, gems), etc. While some novels depict original and unique professional settings, like online gaming creation, agriculture, the railway sector, the police or the army, most of them focus on different types of urban companies where the characters typically work in sales, human resources, marketing, public relation or management. The job hunting and establishment of new companies' processes are also popular topics.
However, even if workplace novels' settings are numerous and diversified, there seem to be some restrictions regarding the type of professions depicted in these narratives. Even though the Chinese termzhichang - where zhi means duty, profession, office, and the like, andchang means place, or location - could theoretically be applied to all occupations, in practice, it is rarely used to describe factories, workshops or other places where employment is based on physical rather than intellectual labor. In fact, the termzhialso holds the meaning of "manage" or "direct", as it is the case when it is combined with the characterzhang掌, literally meaning palm, the wordzhizhang 职掌 signifying
"to be in charge of". Thus, despite the variety of the category in terms of workplaces - at least as it is presented on reading websites and online bookstores - we can observe that some narratives, though centered on work and the dream of social climbing, are left out of thezhichanggenre. Here, we are referring to the novels described by Wanning Sun as "workers literature" (dagong wenxue打
⼯工⽂文学).164When considered from a narrative point of view, these novels, which "[...] often unfold against the background of the rural migrant's place of work, daily life, and social interactions in this city."165, and usually depict young country girls' dreams for a better life and their migration to the industrial cities of Southern China where they look for jobs, show striking similarities to workplace
164. SUN Wanning (2014).Subaltern China: Rural Migrants, Media, and Cultural Practices, Lanham (MD): Rowman & Littlefield.
165. SUN 2014, 222.
novels and their ambitious heroines who, to say it simply, want to make money, get married and enjoy life. Moreover, similarly to many workplace novels, dagong novels have often appeared online, which can be explained by the fact that their authors are generally migrant workers themselves, making it difficult for them to access regular publishing channels.
According to Sun, in the press and among Chinese scholars,dagong literature, also referred to as
"low-stratum literature" or "subaltern literature" (diceng wenxue 底层⽂文学), is described as "[...] a historically specific form of expression, created to give literary shape to the experience of a group of people at a particular moment of social transition and transformation."166 In this respect, the novels, often written and advertised as testimonies or biographies, are considered to be a valuable source of information on, and of experience sharing for the "members of the lower classes", whoever they may be. We have observed that the same rhetoric applies to the description and advertisement of workplace novels, which are supposed to document the life of urban white collars, and to provide them with possibilities of identification and comfort, strongly needed in an increasingly competitive job market. The fundamental difference between these two types of narratives, and the probable reason of dagong literature's exclusion from the realm of zhichang literature, lies in the characters' social background and in the employment opportunities that are available for them: workers literature's heroines are uneducated women from the countryside whose only choices to make a living are factory work or prostitution, while workplace novels' heroines are usually urban college graduates who obtain office clerk positions in companies where they can advance and prosper. This allows us to think that the termzhichangholds a certain social standing linked to education and qualification.
Zhang Yonglu and Xu Daojun assert that the word zhichang started to be widely used only in the 2000s, with the apparition of new university majors like human resources or public relations, as a consequence of the emerging discussions and debates about the pioneers of these new professions, who were seeking recognition and sympathy.167 To apprehend the appearance of the term and the evolution of its usage, we have explored its occurrences in thePeople's Daily(Remin ribao⼈人民⽇日 报), which holds the advantage of making all the issues printed since the foundation of the paper, in 1946, available online, with the possibility to browse through the articles using keywords.168 Searching for the term zhichang in all issues from May 15th, 1946, to May 15th, 2017, we were able to make the following observations. First of all, out of 598 entries, only nineteen occurred before 2001.169 Moreover, it seems that, before 2001, the term was used in a neutral and general sense to refer to any place of work. At the time,zhichangseemed to also apply to places of physical
166. SUN 2014, 221.
167. ZHANG & XU 2011, 46.
168. http://58.68.146.102/rmrb/20171012/1?code=2 (last consulted on October 12th, 2017).
169. Two in 1949, fifteen in 1950, one in 1958 and one in 1960.
work, as we can see in the following examples:
[...] in order to provide a concrete assistance to the shipyard, the labor union has already signed "production contracts" with sixteen workplaces [...]170
And:
Friendly competitions were launched between the different workplaces and departments of the paint factory.171
After 2001, the use of the term increases significantly. Moreover, the concepts associated to it seem to narrow down to specific fields and occupations. The new terms associations include, for example,
"information technology workplace" (IT zhichangIT职场), "workplace competitiveness" (zhichang jingzheng 职 场 竞 争), or "The temporary hirement of talented people is a recruitment practice becoming more and more popular in the workplace."172 A few years later, we also observe the appearance of concepts such as "workplace elites" (zhichang jingying 职 场 精 英) (2006), or
"workplace people" (zhichang ren 职场⼈人) (2009).
The evolution of the use of thezhichangterm seems to belong to a wider phenomenon of linguistic changes accompanying the social transformations that followed and evolved with the economic reforms. In 2004, the English version of thePeople's Daily online released a list of fifty-five new economic terms which had appeared since the founding of the PRC. This list encompasses heteroclite items like Olympics, insurance, Internet, petty bourgeoisie and so on. A few of these terms have attracted our attention, as they seem useful to illustrate the changes - in vocabulary as well as in lifestyle and worldview - that we are attempting to describe here. For example, the definition of "white collar" (bailing⽩白领), - which is frequently encountered in workplace novels and their paratext - states:
White collar is a term designating a person who works in a luxurious office building for a firm with foreign investment and earns a higher salary than ordinary people. There are now also derivatives such as "gold collar" and "pink collar". More often than not people love to call girls "white collar ladies" who are dressed in neat business wears but are much busier than other people. The white collar is a special stratum in the city. They represent a kind of life mode and attitude, which have nothing to do with the amount of salary.173
170. From a February 12th, 1950, article titled "The Dalian factory of boat reparation and construction signed different contracts of production, collaboration, and evaluation - the records show that the movement is carried out in a deep-going way".
171. From an August 8th, 1950, article titled "The factories of the port of Dalian continue to launch competitions, they guarantee to fulfill their yearly assignments before the predicted date, this welcomes the first anniversary of the birth of the new China".
172. From a May 13th, 2003, article titled "The temporary hirement of talented people troubles the calm waters of the workplace".
173. http://en.people.cn/200411/15/eng20041115_163921.html (last consulted on September 8th, 2017).
We can observe that the concept of white collar - generally used in a derogative way in thePeople's Daily's articles before 1978, when the rise of this social group started to be associated with necessary and positive technologic development - designates a new type of professionals but, more importantly, a new social stratum and the lifestyle associated to it. We consider the appearance of these terms, or their entrustment with new meanings, to be symptoms of deep changes in people's ways of thinking about work, status and success. Even though the wordzhichangdoes not figure in this list, we believe that it participates in the same circle of influence, in which one's employment is no longer seen only as a survival means, or as a duty to the state and society, but, rather, as a way to enhance one's social status and to increase one's wealth and comfort. Simultaneously, the pursuit of individual wealth and success has become an acceptable, and even encouraged, life goal. We could probably go as far as asserting that these new attitudes towards work, henceforth seen as a career and as a development process, rather than as a fixed position, became the norm to which people should conform to obtain recognition and consideration.
Another illustration of this phenomenon is discernible in the general introduction for the word zhichang on the Chinese collaborative, web-based encyclopedia Baidu Baike 百度百科174:
In society, politics and economics are inextricable. In the same way, workplace politics and individual capabilities are impossible to separate. All professional elites have their own talents and understand politics. Individual capabilities are demonstrated in one's ability to manage time, in one's level of knowledge, or in one's capacity to solve problems. Proficiency in workplace politics is demonstrated in the ability to determine one's own position in one's environment.175
The page continues with a section on the concept of "position" (dingwei定位), establishing a strong link between occupation, identity, and social status. Next, a long section on development or growth (fazhan发展), explaining that once one has defined one'sdingwei- in other words, once one knows who one is and has chosen a suitable occupation - one should then direct all one's energy and efforts towards development and growth. The following sections deal with various aspects apparently associated with the workplace, explaining how to design a business card, describing the basic skills of a zhichang person, discussing ball etiquette or the laws and regulations applicable to the professional setting, enumerating TV programs and magazines dedicated to workplace matters, either in an entertaining or serious way. Finally, the page mentions a book titled Zhichang, published in 2010, which apparently promotes a blend of modern and cosmopolitan work practices,
174. By using this website, we do not mean that it is a verified and reliable source of scientific knowledge. However, as it is widely used in mainland China, it is an useful tool to apprehend the common understanding of some concepts in society, and it is as such that the information available on this plateform is used here.
175. https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E8%81%8C%E5%9C%BA/172681?fr=aladdin (last consulted on October 11th, 2017). Translation by the author of the present research.
with the traditional respect of the elders characterizing the Chinese professional culture, as the
"recipe" for success in the workplace.176
We can thus see that the term zhichang is intimately linked to the concept of professional development, or career, and it seems that it is a specific view of, and attitude towards work that ultimately sets those who are included in the semantic field ofzhichang apart. To be considered as belonging to thezhichangrealm, one should apparently give thought and care to one's employment, social status, and prospective growth opportunities, but also to one's personal improvement, on which professional development seems to depend, to a large extent. While this kind of work ethic could theoretically be applied to all fields, including the ones based on physical work, more often than not, it seems to be perceived as a specificity of high-ranked office jobs - those implying managing tasks - or of liberal professions - doctors, lawyers, and the like. These are precisely the types of "new occupations" which, according to Jean-Louis Rocca, have (re)appeared in mainland China after the abolition of the planned economy system in the 1980s, and the abandonment of the work unit system in the 1990s.177 Rocca explains that, at that time, the private and foreign companies, as well as the new public sector, started to feel the need for new types of employees, and turned away from cheap, unqualified workers, to the profit of those holding the education and qualifications necessary to fuel the scientific and technologic development of industry, and thus to foster economic growth. This process gave rise to the apparition and proliferation of various skilled jobs, but also to a new hierarchy of employment, where the peasants and factory workers were henceforth at the bottom, and the members of the professions requiring higher education at the top.178
This change in the perceptions of work was part of an all-encompassing process of social transformation initiated in the 1990s, with the decision to deepen the economic reforms after the Tiananmen protests. From then on, the quality of life started to improve for parts of the population, especially for educated people, as a strong link between scholarly achievements and social and economic status was progressively forming. As Rocca states:
In the wake of these reforms, social representations changed. Alongside political and social capital, money, occupation and level of education became determinant elements of social stratification. By contrast with the socialist period, to have money, to find a non-physical, intellectual (naoli laodong) and skilled job, and to get a university degree became the objectives of most people.179
It seems that the individuals encompassed in the zhichang realm - the characters and readers of
176. JIN Bei ⾦金碚 (2010). Zhichang 《职场》[Workplace], Shanghai: Zhongguo jingying shebao.
177. ROCCA 2017.
178. ROCCA 2017, 24.
179. ROCCA 2017, 21.
workplace novels, for example - are precisely those who took, and keep taking advantage of the paradigmatic shift described above to increase their wealth and enhance their social status through scholarly and, later, professional achievements. However, as we will observe, these individuals, in Rocca's words, are "[...] less a group of people than a way of thinking and foreseeing the structures of Chinese society, a part of the new social imaginary China is elaborating."180Moreover, their path towards success, wealth and happiness is usually not as straightforward as advertised.
As we have mentioned, in their great majority, workplace novels depict middle to high-ranked office employees, or people involved in liberal professions. They also give great importance to their enviable lifestyle. Thus, these narratives show a concordance with what we could call the "elitist inclination" of the word zhichang. Moreover, as will be demonstrated in the part of this research dedicated to text analysis, they usually describe professional development and social climbing as obvious life purposes rather than as individual choices, which supports our hypothesis that the perception of work as an ever-lasting attempt to climb the social ladder has become a norm in contemporary Chinese society.
3.2 Genealogy of the Category: Historical Models and Foreign Influences
When describing a literary genre, it seems necessary to attempt to determine when it appeared, which were the pioneer works, by which former genres it was influenced, and how it is positioned in literary and social history. Thus, we will now examine the question of the origins of thezhichang category. The establishment of a complete genealogy of workplace fiction exceeds by far the scope of the present research, as it would necessitate the use of a wider corpus, in terms of content and time of appearance. Thus, we will rather attempt to describe how the question of the genre's origins is apprehended in the academic articles dedicated to the category - mostly the works of Chinese scholars, as studies in Western academic circles are scarce - to observe which are the works mentioned as pioneers of the category, or as having influenced seminal workplace novels. Through these observations, we will try to understand what these different genealogies can teach us about the perception of the genre, but also about the perception of literary genres in general, especially in the field of popular culture.
Starting from the definition of workplace novels as texts centered on the professional life, business endeavors, and social climbing of the characters, we observed that Fan Boqun dedicated a chapter of his research on urban mass culture to 20th century novels describing the evolution of Shanghai's commercial and financial life, the new businessmen, and what he calls the "trade war" (shangzhan
180. ROCCA 2017, 11.
商战), between China and the West.181Among these novels, Fan mentions Chen Diexian's陈蝶仙 (1879-1940) Unofficial Biography of Hu Xueyan (Hu Xueyan waizhuan 《 胡 雪 岩 外 传 》), published in 1903 and describing the extravagant lifestyle of a businessman, Wu Yueren's 吴趼⼈人 (1866-1910)The Secret to Make a Fortune(Facai mijue《发财秘诀》), published in 1906 or 1907 and focusing on the practice of usury, Chen Lengxue's陈冷⾎血 (1878-1965)Memoirs of a Business Demon(Shangjie guiyu ji 《商界⿁鬼蜮记》), published in 1907 and proposing a repertoire of the different types of financial fraud, Ji Wen's姬⽂文 The City's Voice (Shi sheng《市声》), describing the migrants' role in the economic development of the city, and Jiang Hongjiao's 江 红 蕉 (1898-1972) Notes on the Real Nature of Stock Exchange (Jiaoyisuo xianxing ji 《交易所现形 记》), published in 1922 or 1923 and depicting the financial crisis of 1921.182
We can observe that the majority of these titles evoke an idea of authenticity - using terms like biography (zhuan传), and memoirs or account (ji记) - or an idea of usefulness, as illustrated by the title The Secret to Make a Fortune. While Chinese scholars interested in workplace novels do not mention these early financial novels as a possible influence on the category, the way contemporary novels are often advertised shows striking similarities with what has been pointed out here. Indeed, numerous workplace novels are described as revealing the secrets of the business world, or as transmitting a realistic and authentic account of the practices that rule this universe. For example, as we have seen,Ups and Downs was first released on Tianya Club under the title"Ups and Downs"
Unwritten Rules to Survive in a Foreign-Owned Company in China, and the same idea is implied in the title of another novel which will be analyzed in the second part of this research, The Art of Winning: Those Unknown Stories Inside the World's Top Company(Zhengfeng: shijie dingji waiqi chenfu lu《争锋：世界顶级外企沉浮录》).183Moreover, many workplace novels' titles contain
Unwritten Rules to Survive in a Foreign-Owned Company in China, and the same idea is implied in the title of another novel which will be analyzed in the second part of this research, The Art of Winning: Those Unknown Stories Inside the World's Top Company(Zhengfeng: shijie dingji waiqi chenfu lu《争锋：世界顶级外企沉浮录》).183Moreover, many workplace novels' titles contain