This book concentrates on knowledge workers, mainly editors, in the Chinese publishing industry. The book focuses on their changing social, economic, and political roles; their dilemmas, challenges, and opportunities associated with current social reform; and China’s integration into the global political economy.

Table of Contents Preface and Acknowledgements……………………………………………………000 List of Tables………………………………………………………………………..000 Abbreviation………………………………………………………………………..000 Introduction……….……………………………………………………………….. 000 Knowledge Workers in China’s Publishing Industry…...…………………... ...000 Class Consciousness of Knowledge Workers……………………………...000 Chinese Media Workers and Editors………………………………………000 Responses and Unions……………………………………………………..000 Research Questions………………………………………………………..000 Methods………………………………………………………………………...000 Archival Studies…………………………………………………………...000 Surveys…………………………………………………………………….000 Semi-structured Interviews………………………………………………..000 What Makes the Two Publishing Houses Special…………………….000 Basic Interview Questions…………………………………………….000 Supplementary Interviews…………………………………………………000 Organization of the Book…...………………………………………………….000 Chapter 1 Political Economy, Media Reform, and Knowledge Workers…………...000 Political Economy……………………………………………………………...000 What Is Political Economy………………………………………………..000 Central Qualities of Political Economy……………………………………000 Media Reform………………………………………………………………….000 The Party Principle and the Propaganda Model…………………………...000 Media Commodification……………………………………………..........000 Media Democratization………………………………………………........000 Knowledge Workers……………………………………………………………000 Labor and Class Analysis………………………………………………….000 Labor and Globalization…………………………………………………...000 Labor and Unions………………………………………………………….000 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………......000 Chapter 2 The Commodification Process: Publishing Reform in China……………000 The Commodification Process…………………………………………………000 China’s Media Reform…………………………………………………………000 Background of the Chinese Media Reform…………………………..........000 China’s Publishing Industry Reform………………………………………000 Administrative Management of China’s Publishing Industry………...000 Publishing Industry Laws……………………………………………..000 Changes in China’s Publishing Industry……………………………...000 The Advertising Industry in China……..……………………………..000 Precarious Chinese Editors……….…………………………………………….000 Basic Information of the Surveys………………………………………….000 Contingent Employment…………………………………………………..000 The Decline of Social Welfare Benefits…………………………………...000 Intense Work Pressure……………………………………………………..000 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...000 Chapter 3 The Structuration Process: The Five Critical Problems………………….000 The Five Critical Problems.……………………………………………………000 Technological Changes in China……………………………………………….000 Following the Party Principle in the Media Marketization Process……………000 The Rise of Market Competition…………………………………………..000 Strict Party Control………………………………………………………...000 The Growing Tension within the Propaganda-Commercial Model…….…000 The Marketization Process in the Social Welfare System……………………..000 Changes in the Pension System……………………………………………000 Changes in the Health Care System……………………………………….000 Smashing of the Work-unit System…………………………………………….000 The Inner Division of the Working Class………………………………………000 Divisions between Editors and Leaders…………….………………….….000 Inner Divisions of Editors…………………………….…………………...000 Conclusion: Social Changes, Class Relations, and Power Dynamics………….000 Chapter 4 The Spatialization Process: Globalization, Neoliberalism, and the Global Division of Labor…………………………………………………………………...000 Globalization and the Chinese Publishing Industry.…………………………...000 Transnational Media Corporations in China………………………............000 Chinese Publishing Exports in the Global Media Sphere……….…...........000 Chinese Publishing Conglomerates……...…………………………...........000 Neoliberalism and Chinese Editors……….……………………………………000 The Twin Modalities of the Neoliberal Governmentality…………………000 China’s Accession to the World Trade Organization………………………000 The Global Division of Labor and Chinese Editors……….…………………...000 The Emergence of the Global Division of Labor………………………….000 The Impact of the Global Division of Labor on Chinese Editors………....000 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...000 Chapter 5 Labor Convergence: Worker Organizations and Trade Unions…...……..000 Labor Convergence……………………………………………………………000 Worker Organizations………………………………………………………….000 The Publishers Association of China……………………………………..000 The Publishers Association of Shanghai………………………………….000 Trade Unions…………………………………………………………………..000 Trade Unions as “Transmission Belts” …………………………………...000 The All-China Federation of Trade Unions……………………………….000 The Labor Law…………………………………………………………….000 Rethinking of Worker Organizations and Trade Unions……………………….000 Limitations of Worker Organizations and Trade Unions………………….000 Labor Unrest……………………………………………………………….000 Prospects: How to Better Represent Workers’ Rights and Interests.............000 Technological Developments…………………………………………000 Changes inside the All-China Federation of Trade Unions…………..000 The Emergence of Labor Non-governmental Organizations…………000 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………......000 Conclusion……………………………………………………….……………….…000 Summary of the Book…………………………………………….....................000 Contributions of the Book……………………………………………………...000 Theoretical Significance…………………………………………………...000 Methodological Significance………………………………………………000 Substantive Significance…………………………………………………..000 Suggestions for Future Research……………………………………………….000 References…………………………………………………………………………..000 Appendix A Original Survey Questions…………………………………………….000 Appendix B Interview Outline………….…………………………………………..000 Appendix C Interview Questions for Editors and Union Officials…………………000 Appendix D Interview Participants…………………………………………………000

Despite the growing volume of western commentary on the turn to the market in China’s media industries we still know surprisingly little about the impact of change on media work. Jianhua Yao’s detailed study of the publishing industry in Shanghai, one of the pivotal nodes in China’s knowledge economy, is a notable and welcome exception. Combining available data with questionnaire surveys and personal interviews, he unpicks the consequences of commercialization and globalization for the organization of work places, careers, and everyday lives, and explores the ways workers are responding and resisting. His analysis of the new knowledge precariat is a must-read for anyone interested in the transformation and future of creative labour in China.