The ＂Liang Ying incident＂ proves once again that infatuation with papers has confused the ＂academic circle＂

　　CCTV News:Recently, China Youth Daily Freezing Weekly reported that Professor Liang Ying, a 39-year-old "Changjiang Scholar" from the School of Social Sciences of Nanjing University, had serious academic misconduct. By comparison, the reporters found that at least 15 of Liang Ying’s papers were plagiarized and contributed more than one manuscript. At present, Nanjing University has begun to formally investigate Liang Ying’s alleged academic misconduct.

　　According to public information, Professor Liang Ying is a leader among scholars of the same age, with many academic titles including doctor, postdoctoral fellow, young scholar of "Ten Thousand Talents Program" and "Changjiang Scholar". After the exposure of this anecdote, the public is most concerned about the following question: If all the reports are true, Liang Ying can be said to have a bad track record in scientific research, so how did she get into this "academic fast lane"?

　　It is reported that when Liang Ying applied for a teaching position in Nanjing University, some people thought that she was only 30 years old and published more than 30 papers, which "did not conform to the rigor of liberal arts". To put it bluntly, she questioned that Liang Ying’s papers were too "watery". After the incident was exposed, many scholars in the field of sociology said that they knew about Liang Ying’s research, which was really average. At present, Zhao Dingxin, a scholar of "carrying the flag" in domestic sociology, also said that he refused Liang Ying’s application to be a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Chicago. Paradoxically, a group of leaders and professors from the School of Social Studies of Nanjing University didn’t see anything fishy about it, which not only made her pass the final examination, but also tilted many resources to her in the next ten years, allowing her to get various honors and titles unimpeded.

　　"Liang Ying still passed the vote with the advantage of the number of papers." This sentence in the investigation report directly points to the core of the problem — — This is an "evil flower" of academic misconduct that blooms in the "paper worship" crooked neck tree.

　　Using the number of papers as a ruler to consider the academic level of scholars is not a big problem in itself, and it is also an internationally accepted practice and practice. However, the excessive connection between the number of papers and the number of citations as real interests such as evaluating professional titles and awarding bonuses directly leads to strange phenomena such as focusing on heroes, worship of papers and superstition of international academic journals. This is also the secret for Liang Ying to get the "customs clearance code", ignoring academic norms and professional ethics, concocting as many papers as possible, participating in various competitions, and embarking on the golden road of "sanctifying the gods".

　　In response to a reporter’s interview, Liang Ying said: "If you check like this, all the people in China, many professors and doctoral supervisors have problems." Admittedly, it can’t share everyone’s contempt for her by dragging the whole academic circle, but this sentence also reveals to some extent that the scientific research community in China is really impetuous. In recent years, from academicians suspected of academic fraud to the rejection of many academic papers by foreign high-level journals, universities and research institutes have frequently exposed "snatchers" who fish in troubled waters under the "paper-only" system. It is no wonder that netizens want to ridicule that "the rolling Yangtze River (Changjiang scholars) are all water".

　　In the eyes of students, this teacher Liang Ying is extremely irresponsible for teaching, lacking the self-cultivation that scholars should have, leaving early, missing classes, reading courseware in class, eating snacks, playing mobile phones, and letting students do "private work". This is another evil result of "paper worship". The mechanical and narrow assessment mechanism has made many young scholars pay more attention to academics than students, and even put some people who are not worthy of virtue and talents into the "ivory tower" and become the "leaders" of college students. The way of university, in Mingde, is even more nonsense if it falls short of the academic bottom line in the place where a country should keep its feelings and be "idealistic" the most, and it is even more nonsense to catch up with neighboring Japan, which won 18 Nobel Prizes in 18 years.

　　Science is a sacred cause of pursuing truth and revealing the truth. Under the baton of papers, academic research oriented to interest or solving practical problems will have no place, and the lofty academic belief that "the bench will sit cold for ten years" will gradually fade. Although the reform of professional titles in scientific research has begun, it is far from enough to look back at the "Liang Ying incident". Breaking the inherent system must not stop at the "centimeter advancement" of minor repairs and minor supplements, but should be carried out in the macro vision of "rejuvenating the country through science and education". Otherwise, the "board" of public opinion supervision that hit Liang Ying today will also hit the next "Liang Ying". (Text/Fan Fan)