Chinese "Workplace" Novels

Who would have guessed that one of the most popular genres of novels in China is the workplace novel? According to Leslie T. Chang's article, "Working Titles," in the 2/6/12 issue of The New Yorker, "'Zhichang xiaoshuo,' or workplace novels, have topped best-seller lists in recent years." For example, "'Du Lala's Promotion Diary,' by a corporate executive writing under the pen name Li Ke, is the story of a young woman who rises from secretary to human-resources manager at a Fortune 500 company. It has inspired three sequels, a hit movie, and a thirty-two-part television series. The books have sold five million copies." There are subgenres of the workplace novel, such as the "commercial warfare novel," the "financial novel," and the "novel of officialdom." Although they are fiction, many of these books offer extensive advice and "rules" for success in the workplace. Americans might expect that such novels would include romance and/or sex, but publishers tell authors that their novels will sell better with more about finance and less about love. Chang speculates that one reason for the popularity of these workplace novels is that for decades, people in China were assigned jobs by the government, and didn't have to worry too much about competing in the workplace; now that the old system has changed and become more competitive ("Darwinian," Chang calls it), readers are looking for guidance in how to succeed. This article discusses several examples of popular books and their authors, and this discussion provides fascinating insights into what the work world is like in China today.