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Shi Huang

A top Chinese university has hired a prominent Marxism expert from Japan to take up a role in its School of Philosophy.
Wuhan University on Thursday said it had appointed Japanese scholar Kenji Mori as a full-time professor at the school.
Marxist theory is a compulsory subject for all undergraduates at Chinese universities, and it is also part of the entrance exam for postgraduate study.
Mori is an expert in the subject – among his research areas is the unpublished economic writing of Karl Marx, including a collaborative project known as MEGA2 that pulls together the works, manuscripts and correspondence of Marx and Friedrich Engels.
Mori was also recognised by the World Association for Political Economy in 2024 for his contributions to theory and methodology in the field.
He has a doctorate from Tohoku University and began his career as a lecturer at Oita University in 1989. He returned to Tohoku University as a professor in 2003 and served as a dean from 2020 to 2022.
The university and Mori could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mori’s appointment comes after Sichuan University’s decision to hire top Japanese archaeologist Kazuo Miyamoto in May – instead of a Chinese expert – drew criticism online. The university later withdrew the announcement.

It also comes weeks after Wuhan University apologised over decorations at an event that resembled Japanese flags. Photos showing rows of white seats adorned with circular red stickers went viral on Chinese social media in September, prompting a backlash and accusations that the university was “worshipping Japan”.
The university said the stickers had been placed on the chairs to guide students and staff – dressed in different colours – to sit in patterns spelling out WHU and 1893, the year the university was founded.
It said on September 19 that its party secretary had been replaced.
China and Japan have long had a strained relationship, particularly over their wartime history and territorial disputes in the East China Sea.


There are particularly deep connections to Marxism at Wuhan University. Its former president, Li Da, was a founding member of China’s ruling Communist Party and one of the first to translate works by Marx into Chinese. Li took up the post at Wuhan University in 1953 while also serving as director of the Marxism Research Office.
Wuhan University is home to one of the country’s top philosophy schools – it was ranked 23rd globally and took the No 1 spot in Asia in this year’s QS World University Rankings.


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Science

Top Japanese Marxism expert joins Wuhan University in China

Marxism expert Kenji Mori has taken up a role at Wuhan University’s School of Philosophy. Photo: Handout

Wuhan University apologised in September after it held an event where chairs were decorated with red dots resembling the Japanese flag. Photo: SCMP/RedNote

China ‘Little Pinks’ slam university for decorating white chairs with red dots like Japan flag

A university in China has apologised after it decorated chairs with red dots resembling the Japanese flag, which sparked a nationalistic backlash from online activists known as “Little Pinks”. Photo: SCMP composite/RedNote

The red dots on white chairs sparked an angry backlash from nationalistic online activists known as “Little Pinks.” Photo: Weibo

The university said the dots were part of a colour-coding exercise to aid aerial photography of the event. Photo: Weibo 

The flag blunder was made worse by the fact that it coincided with the 80th anniversary of China’s victory over Japan. Photo: Shutterstock

A Chinese woman in a traditional Japanese kimono being reprimanded in the street. The most strident critics of the university were young, fervent patriots. Photo: Weibo

Sichuan University pulls hiring notice for Japanese archaeologist after online backlash

After hiring Kazuo Miyamoto, a leading archaeologist, China’s Sichuan University has faced a wave of online criticism. Photo: Open University of Japan

Sichuan University has hired archaeologist Kazuo Miyamoto. Photo: Shutterstock

China’s Weibo shuts down social media accounts for ‘inciting gender antagonism’

Chinese social media platform Weibo has vowed to crack down on “provocative behaviour that stirs up gender division” and urged users to flag such posts. Photo: Shutterstock

Political theorist Daniel A. Bell reflects on China’s melding of Confucius and Marx

Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

The philosophy of Confucius emphasises personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. Photo: Getty Images

Entertainers perform during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, a show that showcased China’s ancient history and its rise as a modern power. Photo: Robert Ng

A statue of Confucius at a temple in Beijing dedicated to the ancient Chinese philosopher. Photo: AP

Why China embraced Marxism but not other Western thinking

A celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on July 1. Few Westerners see the irony of a supposedly closed China celebrating the centenary of the Communist Party, when communism was born but essentially rejected in the West. Photo: Kyodo

Farmers working in China in 1949, and 2019. The Communist Party prevailed in 1949 because it represented the rural peasantry. Photo: Xinhua

News

China

Kenji Mori has been appointed as a full-time professor with the prestigious university’s School of Philosophy


Kenji Mori has been appointed as a full-time professor with the prestigious university’s School of Philosophy.


Sichuan University

Wuhan University (China)

Top Japanese Marxism expert joins Wuhan University in China

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Kenji Mori has been appointed as a full-time professor with the prestigious university’s School of Philosophy

Kenji Mori has been appointed as a full-time professor with the prestigious university’s School of Philosophy