Summary of Key Points
This news article discusses the struggles and choices faced by four university lecturers—Cheng Jian, Liu Yun, Zhang Qing, and Tang Lu—in their pursuit of career advancement, academic research, and personal life. Some missed critical opportunities due to financial pressures, others were distracted by family responsibilities, and still others encountered invisible barriers in the evaluation process. In the end, some found a way out by adapting to lower-level positions, some reconciled with reality and pursued other forms of fulfillment, and others chose to become independent scholars outside the traditional academic system. These stories highlight the structural issues in the current university academic evaluation system: career advancement is not just about publications and intelligence; it is also a comprehensive test of resources, family support, opportunities, and the ability to adapt to the rules. Many ordinary lecturers find themselves in a dilemma where they are either forced to advance or risk losing their jobs, leading them to make different life decisions.
I. Career Advancement: The Invisible Labyrinth of Rules and Hidden Barriers
The evaluation process for university titles is far from straightforward, with constantly changing policies and hidden obstacles:
- Changing Policies: When Zhang Qing first applied for a deputy senior title, her lack of experience as a class advisor disqualified her. By the time she met the requirement, the policy had changed to require five years of work as a doctoral researcher in social sciences to be eligible. The rules are like a labyrinth, making it impossible to keep up.
- Resource Prioritization: Liu Yun tried to advance through teaching, but despite repeatedly revising her application materials to match those of successful candidates, she failed to secure a recommendation from the department. She realized that limited resources favored those within the management circle, making it difficult for outsiders to break in.
- Uniform Evaluation Standards: As a researcher in art history, Zhang Qing had to compete with practical teachers in painting and sculpture using the same criteria. The practical teachers could gain advantages through teaching competitions and special university policies, leaving her at a disadvantage due to the difficulty of quantifying her research results.
These hidden barriers render many lecturers' efforts futile and even make them question their own value.
II. Survival Pressure: The Dilemma between Bread and Academic Ambitions
For many lecturers, resolving basic living needs comes before pursuing academic goals, but these pressures often squeeze out time for research:
- Financial Strains: Cheng Jian faced high rent and a low salary in Shanghai, leaving him with little savings. He worked part-time to develop courses but faced delays in payment and even financial losses from stock trading, which affected his research time. Zhang Qing was so strapped that she had only three yuan left in her bank account and still had to spend money on professional books, leaving her with no time to focus on her career.
- Family Responsibilities: After having a child, Liu Yun had to prepare meals for her in-laws and ask colleagues to look after the child while her husband was away on business, constantly delaying her research plans. Zhang Qing, while caring for a sick child and teaching 12 courses while writing her doctoral thesis, was too busy to think about her career.
The conflict between survival and ambition traps many lecturers in a vicious cycle where they become poorer and find it harder to conduct research.
III. Academic Competition: Not Just about Intelligence, but Comprehensive Strength
Cheng Jian emphasizes that academic competition is not about papers and intelligence alone, but a combination of various factors:
- Resource and Opportunity: In his doctoral year, Cheng Jian's supervisor was on the project review committee, giving him a high chance of success with a national project. However, he was preoccupied with marriage and debt and missed the opportunity, falling into a cycle where he could not secure further projects. Zhang Qing, despite obtaining a key social science project, had her teaching hours deducted, affecting her ability to afford her child's dental expenses.
- Family Support: Cheng Jian received financial support from his hometown university, which helped him settle down and focus on his research, eventually leading to his promotion. Zhang Qing and Liu Yun, without such support, struggled to make progress in their careers.
- Adaptability to Rules: Some lecturers try to fit the rules by compromising their principles, while others, like Tang Lu, choose to give up. Tang Lu realized that seeking help comes with conditions and decided it was better to live a more stable life without sacrificing her principles.
IV. From “Involution” to Reconciliation: Different Paths to Counter-Involution
Faced with these challenges, the four lecturers made different choices and found their own balance:
- Adapting to Lower-Level Positions: Cheng Jian gave up a job at a top-tier university in Shanghai to return to a provincial institution, where he was promoted to associate professor later, albeit with a delay.
- Focusing on Non-Academic Values: After falling ill, Liu Yun shifted her focus to teaching, creating course videos on Bilibili, and finding fulfillment in her students and hobbies.
- Becoming an Independent Scholar: Zhang Qing retired to pursue her research and complete unfinished projects in a more peaceful environment.
- Opening New Paths: Tang Lu collaborated with external companies to apply her teaching experience, earning a living while enjoying a simple life with her cats and reading Buddhist texts.
These choices are not about giving up on success, but about finding a lifestyle that suits them better after recognizing the realities of the situation. They no longer let career titles define their lives but pursue inner peace and personal fulfillment.
V. The University Ecology: Structural Issues and Individual Struggles
The stories of these lecturers highlight several structural problems in the university academic ecosystem:
- High Pressure: Young teachers are under pressure to secure national-level projects and publish authoritative papers within a short time, or they risk losing their jobs, leading to a stressful and competitive environment.
- Unequal Resource Distribution: Resources and promotion opportunities favor insiders, exacerbating the "rich get richer, poor get poorer" phenomenon.
- Rigid Evaluation Systems: A one-size-fits-all evaluation approach that ignores the differences between disciplines (e.g., art history versus practical arts, basic sciences versus arts and physical education) undervalues the importance of teaching and practical experience.
These issues are not solvable individually, but their choices remind us that finding our own pace in a imperfect system is more important than blindly participating in the competition.
This news article shows that university lecturers are not in an idyllic environment but are ordinary people struggling between ideals and reality. Their stories illustrate that success can take many forms, and career titles are not the only measure of a meaningful life. Finding a lifestyle that suits us is the true key to achieving fulfillment.