The Dean of Shandong: Confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat at a Chinese University

An inside view of Chinese academia and what it reveals about Chinas political system

On January 1, 2017, Daniel Bell was appointed dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong Universitythe first foreign dean of a political science faculty in mainland Chinas history. In The Dean of Shandong, Bell chronicles his experiences as what he calls a minor bureaucrat, offering an inside account of the workings of Chinese academia and what they reveal about Chinas political system. It wasnt all smooth sailingBell wryly recounts sporadic bungles and misunderstandingsbut Bells post as dean provides a unique vantage point on China today.

Bell, neither a Chinese citizen nor a member of the Chinese Communist Party, was appointed as dean because of his scholarly work on Confucianismbut soon found himself coping with a variety of issues having little to do with scholarship or Confucius. These include the importance of hair color and the prevalence of hair-dyeing among university administrators, both male and female; Shandongs drinking culture, with endless toasts at every shared meal; and some unintended consequences of an intensely competitive academic meritocracy. As dean, he also confronts weightier matters: the role at the university of the Party secretary, the national anticorruption campaign and its effect on academia (Bell asks provocatively, Whats wrong with corruption?), and formal and informal modes of censorship. Considering both the revival of Confucianism in China over the last three decades and what he calls the Communist comeback since 2008, Bell predicts that Chinas political future is likely to be determined by both Confucianism and Communism.