Zhou Baokuan is showing  the credentials of his 9 academic degrees. [Photo: Net Ease]

A resident of Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, has received the title of "King of Academic Degrees" from the China World Record Association for earning nine nationally-recognized degrees in 35 years, China News Service reports.

Zhou Baokuan said the reason why he pursued the academic degrees was because he grew up in an impoverished family.

"Because my family was poor, when I was a child I came to realize that only hard study and good grades could help me change the strained situation," Zhou was quoted as saying.

Zhou studied 14 hours everyday when he was in college. After he started working, he continued to study six hours a day. He has estimated that during the past 35 years, he has studied for a total of nearly 126,300 hours, spending roughly half his life on academic study.

The nine degrees that Zhou has earned include two master's degrees and three doctorates. Now the 55-year-old man is studying for his tenth degree at Fudan University.

Zhou is not the only one who has pursued numerous academic degrees. Wang Li, a postgraduate at the Education Institute of Huazhong Normal University, has reportedly been awarded seven degrees during her 16 years of study and has been dubbed "Queen of Academic Degrees" by netizens.