Novel by Wang Xiaofang.

The Civil Servant's Notebook is the story of a vicious struggle for power within a government department of the fictional Dongzhou city. Yang Hengda, the newly-appointed department head, is doing everything he can to avoid the fate of his predecessor, who was overthrown in a "coup" orchestrated by his underlings. But in the midst of the fight, he's starting to wonder if it's all worth it...