On April 14, 2022, Elsevier, a global information analysis company, released the 2021 "Highly Cited Chinese Researchers" list. Professor Paul Patton from Wuhan University was names as one of the Elsevier 2021 Highly Cited Chinese Researchers in the field of Philosophy. Professor Paul Patton of School of Philosophy is the only one from the humanities of Wuhan University. Elsevier has listed philosophy discipline separately since 2020. The 2021 annual list released recently is the first time that a scholar from School of Philosophy has been names for this international list.

The 2021 Elsevier Highly Cited Chinese Researchers list uses Scopus, the world's renowned citation and index database, as the data source for the scientific research results of Chinese scholars. 4,701 Chinese scholars with the most global influence in various disciplines were named.

This list uses Scopus, the world's leading peer-reviewed abstract citation database, as the statistical source of scientific research achievements of Chinese scholars, and analyzes the performance of scientific research achievements of Chinese scholars. Since its first release in 2015, it is the eighth release in 2022, and it has received great attention from media and scholars.

Written by Huimin Li