Science alone can't propel Chinese schools to top
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The top Chinese universities, such as Tsinghua University and Peking University (more commonly known as Beida), are rushing to try and establish themselves as world-class institutions. It's a laudable goal, even if it sometimes seems over-ambitious. Tsinghua has claimed it'll crack the world's top 20 in the next decade, for instance, but most critics remain skeptical.
One factor that's going to keep dragging Chinese universities back, however, is the neglect of the humanities – in which, for the purposes of this article, I'm including the social sciences. Reading university announcements, it's all about science, as is the media focus on issues like plagiarism, publication statistics, and national prizes.
That's understandable. Scientific success is relatively easy to measure, benefits everyone, is important for the economy, and can be cashed in on through patents and ties with business. It links to the national emphasis on "scientific development," and, at least since 1976, has been much less subject to political controls and limitations than the humanities.
Look at the top schools in the world, like Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, and Harvard, and they place just as powerful an emphasis on the humanities.
A first-rate English, history, sociology, or political science department is a strong asset on the educational market.
But the current state of Chinese humanities is frankly atrocious. There are some extremely good departments in specific subjects, and many excellent scholars, but the overall standard of work is disappointingly bad.
I was once asked to edit a presentation by a professor from a top Beijing school that was due to be given at a UN-backed conference.
It wouldn't have passed muster at even the high school level in the UK, thanks to heavy plagiarism and a complete lack of thought.
One of my friends, upon going to study overseas, was shocked to find that books that were considered cutting-edge in her school were seen as already outdated by Western academia.
I believe studying the humanities is a critical part of personal development, but it's also important for the country.
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