Chinese journal sorry over paper praising ‘sublime’ mentor and his ‘magnificent’ wife
- Publication retracts article from seven years ago and apologises for ‘not scrutinising it more strictly’ after it is rubbished online
- Mentor resigns as editor-in-chief, and an investigation is under way
A Chinese academic journal has withdrawn a paper from seven years ago and apologised after it was criticised for being filled with extravagant praise for the author’s mentor, and his mentor’s wife.
The mentor, Cheng Guodong, 76, also resigned from his position as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology, news website Thepaper.cn reported on Sunday.
The paper, published in the journal in October 2013, was written by Xu Zhongmin, a specialist in frozen ground and permafrost from the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Xu is also a mentor to doctoral students at the institute.
His paper was posted on microblogging site Weibo on Sunday, prompting many social media users to question its academic value – especially since he received state funding for the research.
The 35-page paper on the ecological economy includes lengthy praise for Cheng’s morals and Xu also gushes about the beauty and elegance of Cheng’s wife.
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Hours after it was posted and amid mounting criticism, the journal announced it had removed the article and apologised for “not scrutinising it more strictly”.
“Internet users have questioned the article’s academic worth … after verifying, we have decided to withdraw it,” the journal said in a post on social network WeChat.
The CAS’ Bureau of Science Communication, which oversees the journal, said it had launched an investigation into the matter. The article did not appear to meet the journal’s standards, the bureau said in a Weibo post.
Cheng, an academic at the CAS, resigned from his position at the journal on Sunday, saying he had not been aware of the paper’s content.
“I’ve paid little attention to the journal since I stepped down from a leading role in 2011,” he told Thepaper.cn. “I had no idea about these two articles [two parts of Xu’s paper]. But as the editor-in-chief, I didn’t do anything about this after it was published, so I should take responsibility for it.”
In the preface to his paper, Xu wrote: “My mentor Cheng Guodong, a native of Shanghai, has a broad mind. He has been an academic at the CAS for 20 years and has made a lot of achievements that ‘moved mountains and seas’. He really is a pillar of our country. Just one look at him and you will think he is a sublime person.”
He wrote of Cheng’s wife: “My mentor’s wife Zhang Youfen, a native of Ningbo, is dignified, magnificent and graceful. She has a tender character and is considerate to others. Coming close to her, you will experience the fragrance of spring grass and you will have an obvious impression of her beauty.”
Xu continued extolling their virtues throughout the paper, concluding that the couple’s experience and their “harmonious and unified relationship” could be used as a model for others.
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The paper said the study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and that Xu was responsible for “a key project”.
Leaders of such projects supported by the fund generally receive 2 to 3 million yuan (US$289,000 to US$433,500) for the research, according to China Youth Daily. It said the fund’s database showed that Xu was in charge of a study on the relationship between water, the ecology and economy of the Hei River in Inner Mongolia.
On Monday, an editorial in the newspaper asked: “Is there any connection between this paper and the Hei River study? Did they deviate from what they wrote in the study’s proposal?”
It also questioned how much state funding Xu had received.
“These questions should be answered by the state funding body, the institute that used the funds and the academics involved in the project,” the editorial said.
