Official Career II
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Summary
This is a political novel of officialdom. Qiao Buqun, the comprehensive division chief of the Taolin Municipal Government Research Office, is exceptionally talented and was the obvious choice for the position of comprehensive division chief in the Government Office, yet he is shuffled off to serve as a deputy director in the Government Office's discipline inspection and supervision office. This is a third-tier division within the Government Office, far from leadership and the core of power, and his career prospects are grim. Qiao Buqun, with the temperament of a scholar, had once disdained climbing the bureaucratic ladder, but the various realities of life finally make him realize that one must strive for advancement. On this platform Qiao Buqun works hard and actively produces results, and also deftly makes use of certain connections to return to the leadership's notice. Not long after becoming director, he is promoted to Party Leadership Group member and head of the discipline inspection group of the Government Office...
Qiao Buqun's former colleague and friend from the Policy Research Office, Qin Huaihe, passes the provincial newspaper exam and becomes a reporter, while Cai Runshen, the secretary division chief of the Policy Research Office, is highly skilled at scheming and, to everyone's astonishment, latches onto Executive Vice Mayor Fu Disheng, a towering tree. The three young men in officialdom each set off along a different path of official career...
In this super-length novel, the author takes the raw ecology of office life as the background and Qiao Buqun's turbulent career as the main thread, objectively and truthfully recreating the different attitudes and modes of desire of high officials and petty clerks, wealthy merchants and the ordinary multitude inside and outside the arena of power toward power, money, and beauty. He lays before the reader one vivid, varied, and entertaining picture after another of office life and the ways of the world, and the reading experience is deeply satisfying.
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers interested in the relationship between the ecology of contemporary officialdom and social reality
- Fans of realist literature who enjoy deep portrayals of character psychology and fate
- Observers who hope to understand the operating rules within complex organizations through fiction
- Loyal readers of Xiao Renfu's officialdom novel series
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking light entertainment or purely romantic stories
- Readers who are completely averse to officialdom themes or who expect black-and-white moral judgments
Reading tips
- It is recommended to read the previous work, Official Career, first to better understand the character relationships and story thread
- While reading, pay attention to the detailed descriptions, which often contain subtle annotations on human relations and the rules of power
- The book can be read in comparison with the author's other works to appreciate the continuity and evolution of his creative style
About the publisher
Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House is a publisher known for its literary titles, with a catalogue spanning foreign literature, world classics, classical Chinese literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, and mystery and detective fiction. Judging from the more than 1,100 books in the database, the press publishes foreign classics such as Crime and Punishment, Snow Country, The Complete Sherlock Holmes and Letter from an Unknown Woman, as well as Chinese classical and modern literary works including Lu Xun's Wandering and A Madman's Diary and Wu Jingzi's The Scholars. In terms of translators and authors, translations by Cao Guowei and Tan Jinghua appear in its foreign literature titles, and the authors involved include Dostoevsky, Kawabata Yasunari, Conan Doyle and Zweig. Its publishing character lies in introducing Chinese and foreign literary classics side by side, balancing popular and serious works and attending to both readability and literary value. Public information is limited; the above is a brief overview based solely on the books in the database.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 一
- 二
- 三
- 四
- 五
- 六
- 七
- 八
- 九
- 十
- 十一
- 十二
- 十三
- 十四
- 十五
- 十六
- 十七
FAQ
Is Official Career II a standalone story? Do I need to read Official Career first?
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About the author
Xiao Renfu (born 1960) is a Miao writer from Chengbu, Hunan, and a member of the China Writers Association. He formerly served as vice chairman of the Shaoyang Federation of Literary and Art Circles and chairman of the city's Writers Association. Drawing on institutional life and social reality, his fiction focuses on officialdom and the ups and downs of bureaucratic careers, rendering the workings of power and human nature through closely observed personal and professional relationships. His novels include Guan Yun, Weizhi, Xinfu, Daiyu and Shitu, as well as the historical novel Li Hongzhang; 17 of his works are held in this collection. Known for his sustained engagement with institutional themes, he has been called "the foremost writer of Chinese office novels." His work spans social fiction and historical narrative, combining accessible storytelling with sober observation of contemporary reality.
