Introduction to Part I

This part focuses on the 1905 abolition of China&s;s imperial examination system, a pivotal event in modern Chinese social change studies. After an outline of diverse scholarly views, it re-examines the relation between the imperial examination system and the imperial power in light of Bourdieu&s;s “field-capital-habitus” theory, framing the system as a field reproducing social dominance. This study focuses on the modern social history of Hunan (1895–1913) by using prosopography. Through analyses of 150 representative gentry&s;s life histories, it explores the transformation of the field of imperial examination and the changes in the reproduction of the social dominance relationship.