Abstract

In this paper we review the history of the discipline of sociology in the People's Republic of China to explain why Bourdieu was introduced to China only recently. We then conduct a content analysis of the published studies of Bourdieu in China to show how he and his sociological approach have been introduced to Chinese social scientists. We also discuss how Bourdieu's theories and analytic tools have been applied to research on social issues in China. Finally, we draw attention to the fact that Chinese social scientists first learn about Bourdieu from North America rather than from Europe, and urge efforts to increase collaboration between European sociologists and their counterparts in China.