China's boxed itself in

But the officials and professors who conceived this "scheme" are likely products of the educational system that generated the problem they are trying to solve. They are ambitious. They are confident. They want to push China forward. But worries about China's research environment, hardly known for fostering independent thinking and openness, may overshadow lucrative salary offers.

"Money is important for practical issues," said Zhangqing Li, a University of Maryland professor, to Nature.com in January. "But the determinant factor is whether we would be able to be as productive in China as the United States."

Ultimately for China, becoming a major world innovator -- and by extension, a robust economic power -- is not just about setting up partnerships with top Western universities or roping off elites and telling them to think creatively. It's about establishing an intellectually rich learning environment for young minds. It's about harnessing the same inventive energy of the street markets and small-time entrepreneurs and putting it in the schools.

The Chinese don't need expensive free-agent scientists. They need a new farm system -- and about 10 million liberal arts professors.