China is awash in dinosaur fossils. But who will dig them up?
| Shanghai
China鈥檚 most famous paleontologists were accidental scholars.
The year Wang Min entered college, in 2005, China was still finding its way onto the dinosaur map. Competition on the national college entrance exam was fierce, Dr. Wang says, and choices were limited for people who scored in his range. He stumbled into geology and eventually became enamored with a subset of that department: paleontology.
When Dr. Wang decided to pursue a Ph.D. in the field, he didn鈥檛 tell his parents for years, until after he鈥檇 graduated and landed a job.聽
Why We Wrote This
Behind every headline-making dino discovery are months or years of work. But even further back is inspiration. China鈥檚 top paleontologists hope to sell a new generation on their field 鈥� and childhood wonder is one place to start.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want them to worry about my job prospects,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat would not be very helpful.鈥�
What a difference a decade makes. Dr. Wang is now one of the country鈥檚 rising stars, having discovered the world鈥檚 oldest class of birds. Currently a researcher at Beijing鈥檚 Chinese Academy of Sciences, he hints at another groundbreaking discovery to come later this year.
As Dr. Wang has risen, so has China, in the paleontological world鈥檚 regard: The country now lays claim to more species discoveries than the United States, and new finds are happening at an astonishing rate. Just a month ago, scientists announced a dating back 518 million years that contains many previously unknown species, as well as soft-bodied organisms such jellyfish, which are rarely fossilized.
Yet China鈥檚 leading paleontologists worry about the pipeline of native talent. As the world鈥檚 scientists flock to China for dinosaur digs, the field hasn鈥檛 drawn young Chinese, who are graduating into a society that prioritizes urban living and material wealth over the arcane routine of fieldwork and research. It鈥檚 yet another paradox between the staggering opportunities offered by China鈥檚 size and scale, and a society that鈥檚 still adjusting to the G-forces of rapid development.
鈥淚n today鈥檚 social environment [in China], it鈥檚 normal for children to like dinosaurs, but it鈥檚 not seen as normal for adults to like dinosaurs,鈥� says Zhao Chuang, a Beijing artist who builds intricate dinosaur replicas for clients including museums and schools. 鈥淭he public鈥檚 interest in paleontology isn鈥檛 big.鈥�
A national paradox
That鈥檚 a tough irony to swallow for a country that 鈥渉as it all鈥� when it comes to dinosaurs, writes Jingmai O鈥機onnor of Beijing鈥檚 Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Indeed, China鈥檚 vast resources have produced extraordinary finds. Liaoning province聽鈥� China鈥檚 veritable fossil gold mine聽鈥� gave the world the first evidence that birds evolved from small meat-eating dinosaurs. Fossils out of neighboring Hebei province revealed a pivotal point in the evolution of flight. Other discoveries include the earliest animal embryos, and deposits of mammals that tell the story of .
China鈥檚 paleontological riches聽鈥� and its potential聽鈥� cannot be overestimated, researchers say. Take Anchiornis, a late-Jurassic era feathered dinosaur discovered in Liaoning. Over the mere decade since its naming, hundreds of fossils have been collected in China, and they鈥檙e all 鈥済reater than 90 percent complete, fully articulated and preserving feathers,鈥� writes Dr. O鈥機onnor in an email.
By comparison, we鈥檝e known about the infamous Tyrannosaurus rex for more than a century. Yet there are only about 50 specimens, with the most complete skeleton logging in at 85%.
True to China鈥檚 commercial spirit, the dinosaur riches have turned legions of farmers, construction workers, and even provincial bureaucrats into amateur fossil hunters, looking to make a quick buck on the black market.
But they are day traders in China鈥檚 fossil ecosphere, not the professional scientists required for the painstaking work of excavation and research. And foreign scientists are 鈥渘ot allowed to freely collect in China,鈥� Xiaoming Wang, paleontological curator at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, writes in an email. These circumstances make it especially critical that fossil-rich China creates homegrown paleontologists.
A quarter century ago, the popularity of the 鈥淛urassic Park鈥� films in the West drew hordes of young talent into the profession. But that didn鈥檛 happen in China.
Sparking curiosity
Museums are critical to nurturing interest, but institutions exist only in a handful of top-tier Chinese cities. 鈥淜ids need to be able to see ancient creatures, to be able to actively explore their interest 鈥� this is important,鈥� Wang Min says.
Where there are museums聽鈥� Liaoning province has about a dozen in various stages of development聽鈥� there are often a lack of properly trained employees to build education programs. Another obstacle: The same consumerism that has catapulted Chinese buyers to the top of the luxury goods market makes lower-paying and relatively scarce academic jobs repellent. A survey reveals paleontology ranks nearly 500th out of 1,433 college majors, sandwiched between 鈥渢heater director鈥� and 鈥淪inhalese literature.鈥�
On public interest, there鈥檚 work to do.
Yifan Xue, the poster child for lonely paleontology grads, insists things are looking up. In her graduation snapshot, she stands alone at Peking University looking somewhat piqued above the caption, 鈥淎 group photo of paleontology majors, class of 2010.鈥� It went viral. Nearly a decade later, she鈥檚 given up on paleontology and is studying for a Ph.D. in biomedical informatics at the University of Pittsburgh.
Still, Ms. Xue insists the field will be OK as long as it can attract 鈥渁 few鈥� passionate people. Unlike economics, law, or computer science, paleontology doesn鈥檛 directly push the development of society, and 鈥渋t鈥檚 inevitably going to be less popular,鈥� she writes in an email. 鈥淏ut that doesn鈥檛 mean paleontology is in crisis.鈥�
Xu Xing, whose discoveries have made him a national treasure, was also an accidental scholar. When he was accepted to college, he was assigned to paleontology.聽Upon receiving the news,聽"I asked my high school teacher, 鈥榃hat's paleontology?鈥欌�� he recalls. 鈥淯nfortunately he didn't know either.鈥�
In the first years of his career,聽鈥淚 was just doing a job. ... I had to grow into my interest,鈥� says Dr. Xu, who has named more new species than any other living paleontologist.
Yet 鈥減assion equals better science,鈥� he says. He now considers his mission motivating young children and students to enter the sciences, and his writings about the link between dinosaurs and birds are included in every fourth-grade Chinese language textbook. 鈥淭he next generation is our hope.鈥�
Indeed, Wang Min says, there are side benefits to dinosaur study. 鈥淵ou may make more money in IT, but in paleontology you can get close to nature.鈥�
Magical wonder
At Shanghai鈥檚 sparkling Natural History Museum on a Tuesday morning, dinosaurs鈥� magic was on full display.
A group of middle schoolers from a Tibetan county in Qinghai province filed in. Their county is among China鈥檚 poorest, and the dozen students were hand-selected by test scores to visit tier-one museums in Shanghai as part of a government-sponsored trip.
鈥淚 like gorillas,鈥� one girl said while sauntering by a dinosaur exhibit. 鈥淲here are the gorillas?鈥�
Yan Liming, president of the Qinghai Women鈥檚 Federation that helped fund the trip, walked behind her. These trips are critical to expose the children to concepts they鈥檇 only 鈥渞ead about in textbooks or see on television,鈥� she says.
Behind the Qinghai group, hordes of kindergartners flowed toward the dinosaur section, each child clutching hands with a pint-sized partner. Teachers, some raising colorful flags high above their heads, barked orders.
鈥淟ook at the dinosaurs!鈥�
鈥淗old hands!鈥�
鈥淐ome see the dinosaurs!鈥�
鈥�Bawanglong! 鈥� T. rex!鈥澛犫�� exclaimed a tiny boy, pointing at the giant dinosaur replica hovering over him. Actually, it was an Argentinosaurus, not Tyrannosaurus rex.
No matter. The boy was here alongside his classmates, and all were completely captivated.
It鈥檚 a start.
