‘Academics without publications are just like imperial concubines without sons’: the ‘new times’ of Chinese higher education

ABSTRACTWhilst the extant literature on the publish-or-perish culture in the West is plentiful, there remains surprisingly little scholarship exploring the ways managerialist policies have become integral to local identities, work and life in Chinese universities. We address this gap by taking China’s endeavour to become first in the global higher education field as an entry point and reflecting on our lived experiences as early career researchers (ECRs) in the form of a duoethnography. Our dialogues consider how, and with what effects, Chinese higher education privileges the notion of research excellence and works to construct professional identities. As grassroots ECRs epitomising a force to negotiate, challenge and resist the contemporary research order from below, we identify academic publishing as ‘the best strategy’ to get ahead in the academic game. Despite our compliance with the regime of new managerialism, our narratives also suggest that we are attempting to resist the drive for research productivity through envisaging a slower tempo in writing and aspiring for greater reflection. We provide readers with a range of individual- and collective-based strategies for being and progressing as grassroots ECRs, and implications for universities are also discussed at the end of the article.KEYWORDS: ChinaEarly Career Researchers (ECRs)higher educationidentitynew managerialismresearch excellence Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. Since the Chinese government has explicitly stated that it will not follow neoliberalism, we will thus use new managerialism throughout the paper.2. When the article is published, Wen has been appointed as an assistant professor of Chinese Language Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University – one of the most prestigious and selective universities in China.3. In August, 2023, Adam has also moved to Hong Kong to start his new role as an assistant professor at the Education University of Hong Kong.Additional informationNotes on contributorsWen XuWen XU is an Assistant Professor of Chinese Language Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Her research interests focus on the intersection of language, education and society. Currently, her research projects and publications encompass studies of international students’ lived experiences in China.Adam PooleAdam Poole is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Education Policy and Leadership, Education University of Hong Kong. His research interests include policy reform in private secondary education, professional development for English teachers, and social justice methodologies (including the funds of identity and funds of knowledge approaches).