Western bankers have been subject to public and government scorn in the wake of the financial crisis, but financiers in China are being lauded as selfless guardians of national stability and social harmony by the Communist Party.
The Party's propaganda machine has churned out a list of model workers in the past six decades, producing memorable characters like “iron man” Wang Jinxi, famed for his exploits in China's oil fields, and Shi Chuanxiang, the night-soil collector who spent years shovelling excrement out of public toilets.
In the run-up to the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, the Party is rolling out familiar proletarian icons, while adding new heroes for the masses to emulate.