Recently, Min Chao, a doctoral student at the Marxism School of Zhejiang University, became a researcher and doctoral supervisor under the “One Hundred New Talent Program” at the age of 26, attracting widespread attention online. Some netizens revealed that the Chinese Communist Party’s policy tilt towards the Marxism School, combined with “family assistance,” could lead to similar occurrences in the future.
On December 8th, a journalist from Jiemu News contacted Ms. Yang, responsible for personnel matters at the Marxism School of Zhejiang University, to inquire about the necessary conditions for recruitment under the “One Hundred New Talent Program”.
She responded that there are still vacancies for related recruitments, and interested parties can submit their resumes for consideration, where the academic situation of applicants will be comprehensively assessed by the school. As for Min Chao’s appointment, further consultation with the school is required. Despite attempts to reach the person in charge of the school’s comprehensive office through the contact information provided by Ms. Yang, the calls went unanswered.
According to Zhejiang University, the “One Hundred New Talent Program” has been implemented since July 1, 2020. Outstanding young talents who hold long-term or pre-employment system teaching positions at high-level universities at home and abroad, are selected or have the potential to be selected for national youth talent programs, or receive support from national youth talent projects, are called “One Hundred Talent Program” researchers. They have the qualification to recruit doctoral students.
In February of this year, the official WeChat account of “Zhejiang University Marxism School” congratulated Min Chao on publishing an academic paper in the industry journal “Marxist Studies”.
On December 1st, the “Zhejiang University Marxism School” announced that the results of the 11th Student Humanities and Social Sciences Research Excellence Selection had been released, and Min Chao’s paper “A Study of Marx’s 1848 French Revolution and the Concrete Turn of Materialistic Historical Perspectives” won the first prize for graduate student outstanding achievements during his doctoral studies.
Public information shows that Min Chao was born in 1999, graduated from the Marxist School of Zhengzhou University in 2017, enrolled as a postgraduate student at the Marxism School of Zhejiang University in 2021, and as a doctoral candidate in 2023, specializing in the basic principles of Marxism.
On December 8th, discussions on topics like “Undergraduate graduate of four years becomes a doctoral supervisor at Zhejiang University at the age of 26” sparked widespread debate.
Netizens expressed their thoughts, with one saying, “Theoretically, I shouldn’t question my alma mater, but a 26-year-old doctoral supervisor is indeed highly unusual. Among my friends in the chemistry and physics departments at Zhejiang University, it’s impossible to stay on for a doctorate without obtaining a doctoral degree overseas. Medicine is slightly better, but even at Zhejiang University affiliated hospitals, a doctoral degree is the starting point. For him to become a doctoral supervisor at 26, perhaps Marxism as a subject is unique.”
Another netizen wrote, “This demonstrates that Chinese universities are leading in Marxism! Just as long as he is capable in his field of research, it’s acceptable and shouldn’t be exaggerated.”
A user claiming to hold a master’s degree in education from Nanjing University posted on Zhihu, saying, “Many Zhihu answerers who are not working in universities might not be fully aware of the extent to which the authorities are allocating resources to the ‘Marxist School’ and related disciplines. I will provide some background knowledge without attaching documents for now.”
1. The evaluation and selection of professors and associate professors at the Marxism School are separately planned and do not compete with other professional teachers at the school.
2. The minimum salary level for Marxism School teachers cannot be lower than the average level of full-time teachers at the school.
3. Dedicated funds are allocated and specialized platforms are established to ensure full coverage of ideological and political education courses at the school.
The user further stated, “In the review and evaluation process, there are specific regulations regarding per capita ideological and political education funds and the ratio of specialized ideological and political full-time teachers to equivalent students. In the past few years, some 211 and 985 high-level universities have specifically selected ideological and political teachers from the school’s administrative and counseling staff. Despite qualifications such as a doctoral degree from a prestigious overseas university and postdoctoral experience, they could only get temporary positions. Yet, candidates with a master’s degree in Marxism-related fields can become full-time teachers at 211 universities.”
“In the current reform of university training programs, the biggest challenge of credit compression is that ideological and political education credits cannot be reduced, and often constitute half of the total credits students earn. Starting from basic courses and professional courses is the only option to reduce credits. The requirement for the proportion of ideological and political education in professional courses is not new either.”
“Against this background, the rapid promotion of Marxism School teachers, coupled with mentorship or support from their original families, will make such remarkable individuals increasingly common.”