Nanjing University

Biodata

Academic Profile

Standing and Funding

• Academic strengths: Natural sciences and engineering, alongside economics and philosophy, are identified as nationally strong programs 313.
• Project 985 funding: A three-year agreement provides 1.2 billion yuan from the Ministry of Education and Shanghai Municipality 508.
• Development goal: Its initial Project 985 objective is to become “a first-class domestic university of internationally recognized high standards” 508.
• Policy influence: Its professors’ research intersects with government interests, and academic reports issued at the university can indirectly influence national policy 590.
• International connections: It maintains close ties with leading universities worldwide 636.

Enrollment

The text gives different enrollment snapshots; these figures are presented separately rather than as a single consistent total.

Teaching and Assessment

• Attendance: Attendance contributes to course results. Professor Li Changlong attributes Su Can’s lost marks to leaving a lecture early 483.
• Public results: The university has a decades-old practice of publicly posting examination results, which Su Can challenges in the academic affairs office 484.
• Examination culture: Strong systematic revision allows some students heavily involved in businesses, internships, or extracurricular activities to maintain GPAs above 3.0 440.
• Executive education: Advanced training courses attract business owners seeking professional contacts. Its EMBA classes largely consist of established entrepreneurs and senior executives 605 707.

Graduate Prospects

• A Nanjing University degree is portrayed as a strong professional advantage, but not a guarantee of immediate success: one alumnus spends three years working his way from basic newspaper-office duties into an editorial position 332 626.

Campus and Student Life

Facilities and Surroundings

• Dormitory Building 13, Room 602: Su Can’s shared room with Zhang Xiaoqiao, Xiao Xu, and Li Han 334 630.
• Orientation auditorium: A fan-shaped, tiered classroom with acoustics strong enough for an unaided speaker to be heard from the back 338.
• Multifunction Hall: Venue for the invitational debate against Shanghai International Studies University 358 361.
• Southern-campus swimming pool: An affordable recreational facility used during hot weather 356.
• Campus landscape: Tree-lined avenues, lawns, holly-bordered paths, and heavy bicycle traffic recur throughout university life 493 508 630 695.
• Construction: A major university building under construction is expected to become a Shanghai landmark, while the surrounding Yangpu area rapidly develops into a university town 584.
• Food and nightlife: Nearby restaurants, snack stalls, and the long-established Rolling Stone Bar serve students and local white-collar workers 336 586 630.

Campus Culture

• Independent routines: Students divide their time among study, public lectures, gaming, shopping, relationships, startup projects, and organizing events 356.
• Shanghai influence: Haipai culture contributes to a relatively open atmosphere, including active nightlife and socializing beyond campus 431.
• Local recruitment: Many students are recruited from Shanghai and return home on weekends and holidays, leaving campus comparatively quiet 605.
• Freshman registration: Heavy family involvement and private-car congestion lead the university to impose temporary vehicle restrictions and designated routes 334.
• Sports: The Freshman Cup football tournament draws departmental support, although the university’s football culture is described as less developed than neighboring Tongji University’s 485.
• Student wealth: Zhang Xiaoqiao describes an informal hierarchy of student entrepreneurs and identifies Su Can as the university’s richest student 586.

Administration and Organizations

Notable Personnel

Student and Alumni Organizations

• Official seal: The university’s seal represents its highest institutional authority and normally appears on degree certificates and major documents. Its presence on Su Can’s institute invitation astonishes his roommates 504.
• FEEC’s institutional position: Despite its external influence, FEEC and the Student Union are technically on the same organizational level 504.
• Alumni reach: FEEC’s inherited network extends through government, banking, business, television, newspapers, and other major media 483.

Institutional Influence and Rivalries

Tsinghua and Peking University

Nanjing University is repeatedly compared with Tsinghua and Peking University. Although its overall strength is initially described as below theirs, it regards Shanghai’s financial importance as a long-term advantage and seeks areas in which it can surpass them 313 518 522.

• Entrepreneurial competition: FEEC competes with Tsinghua’s TEG Club over investment, startup standards, and the standing of their alumni networks 521 524 525.
• Revival at the Shangshi Summit: Su Can’s success and investments help the Nanjing University delegation reverse earlier humiliation, marking a revival after nearly two years of decline in its entrepreneurial circle 527.

Reputation and Media Control

• Selective publicity: Jiang Yulang rejects unrestricted interviews with Su Can, arguing that the university should prioritize research rather than commercial spectacle 508.
• Suppression of unfavorable coverage: During the Homecoming controversy, newspaper staff receive instructions to replace prominent stories, cancel follow-up reporting, or reduce coverage to brief notices 626.
• Handling misconduct: After repeated scandals involving a Film and Television Arts College teacher, the university removes him when a student’s parents protest, while containing media attention and negotiating with the family 600.
• Administrative pressure: Faculty members face constraints from both academic power brokers and university administrators 484.

Story Role and Major Arcs

Admission and Freshman Year

Su Can is recommended for admission after Tsinghua and Peking University refuse to recognize his straight-A Exeter High School grades. He enters Nanjing University in the 2001 freshman cohort and registers alongside Tang Wu, beginning dormitory life with Zhang Xiaoqiao, Xiao Xu, and Li Han 313 314 334 430.

Invitational Debate

When Liu Yang withdraws because of an upset stomach, organizers unexpectedly place Su Can in the university team’s closing-debater position. He faces Shanghai International Studies University’s team, including Lin Luoran and Dong Xiaojia, and wins the best debater award. Dong Xiaojia disputes his methods and accuses the hosts of poor sportsmanship 358 361 362.

Christmas Party and FEEC Conflict

Su Can personally funds Class Four’s Christmas party at the Crowne Plaza and invites university leaders. Its collision with a joint FEEC–AIESEC event develops into a confrontation that generates rumors about his future as class monitor. Su Yiyi nevertheless supports his remaining in the position 430 436.

Recognition as a Facebook Founder

An officially sealed invitation brings Su Can to the Financial Research Institute’s inauguration, where Zhan Hua seats him beside him. Zhan Hua then reveals that he has exposed Su Can’s identity as a Facebook founder to the media. The university limits outside interviews but arranges encouragement, while students begin treating Su Can as a visible example of successful student entrepreneurship 504 508.

Homecoming Controversy

The university’s grand Homecoming attracts accomplished alumni from China and abroad, with a vice premier attending the opening ceremony. At its economics forum, Su Can publicly intervenes in an attack on the Senchuan Group and escorts Song Zhen through a blockade, creating a major institutional controversy 618 626 640.

Administrators initially emphasize stability and limiting reputational damage. Cai Guotao warns Lu Chuanming against allowing outside forces or administrative power to override scholarship and truth. Despite Su Can’s expectation of punishment, Wang Xiaoyi refuses his withdrawal application and urges him to continue both his education and business 627 640.

Charity Reform

After the Homecoming incident prompts discussion of China’s charity system, Wang Xiaoyi invites Su Can to advise the university’s charitable work. The proposals include broader participation, transparent accounting, independent financial authority, public disclosure, and a clear legal trust relationship between donors and the university’s charity organization 643.

Later Business Connections

Facebook Chinese is described as a company organized by university students and professors, with Tang Wu working there. Su Can later addresses a packed university lecture hall about the company’s difficulties, controversies, and privacy concerns. Tang Wu’s exceptional development also earns the university’s attention, particularly her participation in EMBA study while still a young undergraduate 653 695 707.