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| A Labeled Clan: the Social Structure of a “Third Line” Enterprise |
| Chen Chao |
| Institute of Taiwan Studies, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China |
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Abstract This study focuses on the “Third Line” workers, who were secretly located in the remote mountain areas and fully untapped in the studies of Chinese labor politics. It is found that the “Third Line” workers mainly originated from three different groups: the transferred workers, the returned educated youths, and the demobilized soldiers. These three origins served as different labels signifying the common characteristics of each group. In the their daily interactions, these labels were not only closely associated with the workers occupational opportunities in the factory but also shaped their mutual perceptions and attitudes toward one another. As a result, the high degree of isolation gradually shaped the social structure of the “Third Line” workers toward a model of labeled clan. In the light of this unique social structure, I further argue that the once widely accepted organizational dependency of Chinese urban danwei (unit) system needs to be reconsidered.
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2018, Vol. 20 
