Dr. Tu Xuxin (涂序新), a graduate of America’s Northwestern University and recent hire at Zhejiang University, committed suicide on September 17, 2009, leaving behind a six-page suicide note that presented a scathing indictment of Chinese universities. The professor’s death and the contents of his note have provoked much discussion in both academic circles and in the Chinese blogosphere. The following article, which deals with ways in which Tu could have better prepared himself for Chinese academia, is one of the many responses engendered by the Dr. Tu’s death.

Dr. Tu Xuxin 涂序新

Background information on Dr. Tu Xuxin
August, 1977: Born in Jinghua city, Zhejiang Province.

September, 1995-June, 2001: Undergraduate studies at Tsinghua University. Tu received his bachelor's degree in hydropower engineering in June of 2000, and a second bachelor's degree in law in June, 2001.

September, 2001-June, 2007: Graduate studies at Northwestern University in the United States. Tu majored in geotechnical engineering, receiving a master's degree in 2004, and a PhD in 2007.

June, 2009: Post-doctorate research at Northwestern before heading back China to take a post in the Architectural Engineering School of Zhejiang University.

Dr. Tu’s Mistakes
Dr. Tu Xuxin, a returning patriot with a graduate degree from America’s Northwestern University decided to pursue promises of a prestigious post with outstanding research opportunities and returned to his home country. He took a position at Zhejiang University, one of the top universities in China. Three months later, in the early hours of September 17th, Dr. Tu committed suicide by jumping off a building and plunging eleven stories to his tragic death.

In the six-page suicide note he left behind, he told of his grievances: “At the moment, I've realized my hasty mistake. The unexpected turn of events really caught me off guard, even though I had been duly warned by friends about the reality of the academic and research circle in China: full of cruelty, treachery, and apathy. I had turned a blind eye because I was so self-absorbed and thought that I knew it all.”

This is clearly a tragic turn of events that could have been avoided, if only the good doctor had taken the time to think things through. I, myself, think that he made many “hasty” decisions in several regards.

First off, Dr. Tu shouldn't have initiated contact with the university administration himself, not with a university that enjoys so much prestige as Zhejiang University does in China, anyway. In order to get a lucrative employment package with better pay and research options, he needed to get Zhejiang University to come to him with an offer, and not the other way around, because in the former instance he would’ve been in a better position to negotiate the package he wanted.

An annual salary of 200,000-300,000 RMB is usually the ballpark figure for a contract negotiated this way, but because Dr. Tu had gone to the university administrations himself, he was left in a less than favorable position to make any counteroffers. Thus, it is not surprising that he should've been offered a “local” contract and ended up with a meager salary of 4,000 RMB a month.

Secondly, Dr. Tu had made the mistake of not fully researching how things are done and pursued in the academic scene in China. If anything, he should've been better prepared to handle the difference in expectations. Those that have lived, studied, and worked for some time overseas are easily blinded by gushes of patriotism for their home country, and thus wistfully buy into the idea that they can make huge contributions on grounds of their better talents and abilities. However, such wistful thinking is naïve in that they haven't fully grasped the networks of guanxi and the social makeup that are the unspoken rules and backbones of the academic circle in China. With only dreams and wistful thinking, huge disappointments are expected once the overseas graduates return to China for work.

Partition and usage of research funds in Chinese universities lie with the discretion of the privileged few – those with the big credentials, networks of guanxi and years of seniority in their field. Dr. Tu didn't prepare himself for such unspoken rules in the system as the American system he had worked with was all about fairness and talent. He killed himself after only three months of returning to China – it is regrettable, as he never got to do the promising research project he had so craved before he decided to take his own life so hastily.

Lastly, those with an overseas graduate degree should let go of their idea of a vantage point in regards to having better credentials. It is a fact that many Chinese universities do fight over talents returning from overseas, with some colleges putting aside tens of millions of yuan for such recruitment purposes.

The truth is, there are also local talents and researchers that need and want to do research for research's sake. Those returning from overseas are in fact encroaching on these people's resources and opportunities to carry on their academic studies. The local faculty too can shine and do great accomplishments had they been given the proper funds and resources. It is really a matter of adjusting the psyche, overseas graduate should learn to cope better with their expectations and come to terms with the reality that they may not be as “special” as they had once thought.

I can't say for sure if Dr. Tu should have immediately gotten the associate professor position he had allegedly been promised before taking up post at Zhejiang University, but it is a shame that such a young talent went to waste. It is a tragic event that is cause for much needed contemplation.

Source: longhoo.net

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