To great acclaim, Wang Ying-lai and his team at the Institute of Biochemistry in Shanghai announced, in 1965, that they had synthesized biologically active insulin. Similar research was being conducted in labs in the United States and across Europe, but Wang’s discovery was well in advance of his rivals, and ushered in a new era of synthetic proteins. This example, unfortunately, is the exception rather than the rule for Chinese science. China has a long way to go to be recognized as a leading scientific country, but rapid progress is being made.
Modern scientific research did not begin in China until the early twentieth century. The founding of the Academia Sinica and its associated research institutes in 1928 signified its beginning, but its activity was seriously disrupted by intermittent wars and political turmoil. Science has had little chance to take hold.
Now, given the soundness of the Chinese economy, the steady increase in the government’s funding for basic and applied research, and the general appreciation of the importance of scientific development, the time has come for China to make its presence felt on the international research stage.
I have helped to build several academic programs in China during the past two decades, and I now believe that the remaining obstacles to Chinese research institutions achieving excellence are cultural rather than economic.
Authority versus creativity
The Confucian tradition of respecting customs and hierarchy has cast a long shadow over modern China. Authoritarian rule and political conformity in the past decades have hampered the creation of an environment that fosters individual creativity. Deference to authority and to existing paradigms is a major barrier to scientific breakthrough.
Science education in China is extensive and rigorous, and has won universal praise. But it takes more than this to cultivate scientists; students should be inspired to pursue knowledge itself, and a habit of raising questions needs to be fostered. Challenges to existing evidence, hypotheses and concepts, however I, ought to be encouraged and seriously addressed.
Respect for authorities and the spirit of conformity leave their mark on the style of scientific research as well. Research programs in China often closely follow existing lines of research in the West, using similar paradigms. This often leads to competition at a disadvantage.
Colleagues in China often complain that their results are not appreciated, whereas similar work performed in Western countries is published in high-profile journals.
Strengthening the uniqueness of their work will increase its visibility, as will improving its presentation. At the Institute of Neuroscience in Shanghai, we give regular scientific-writing classes, using drafts of manuscripts to illustrate how to improve clarity and precision.
These skills are important, but ultimately it is confidence and skill in attacking important problems at the forefront of science that will lead to major discoveries and international recognition.
Critical scientific exchange is rarely seen in China, especially in public. Yet open and frank dialogue is urgently needed to make scientific conferences in China not just friendly gatherings but intellectual events that stimulate ideas. Undue courtesy may be indispensable for maintaining the Confucian order in a traditional Chinese family, but it is detrimental to research institutions. One way to overcome this might be for the organizers of scientific meetings to begin with the statement that critical or negative comments are to be taken as constructive inputs.
The attitude towards critique is also relevant to the submission of scientific papers to international journals. Critical comments by referees may at first glance seem unfair or hostile. Researchers would benefit from a more positive approach: it is often useful to reflect upon the comments and then go back to the laboratory bench, rather than sending the paper immediately to a different journal without much improvement. For example, investigators from the Institute of Neuroscience have made great efforts to improve the quality of the work upon rejection of their papers, and this approach has been rewarded by a marked increase in the number of publications in high-quality journals in the past few years.
31. The finding of Wang and his team is ______ that of other researchers around the world.
32. What marked up the start of scientific research in China?
33. According to the author, which mainly hinders Chinese scientists from individual creativity?
34. For Chinese scientists, as this passage shows, which reason is not among the ones causing the low chances of publishing results internationally?
35. Which type of attitude should writers take when reading critiques of peer reviews?
