This article explores the production and reproduction of symbolic capitalin establishing class status during the land reform period in Yang village, Fujian province. Although the equalization in landholdings wiped out the disparity between classes, land reform created an even more distinct and strict system of class stratification. The main question is how people understood and accepted this symbolic construction that reinforced differences among villagers just as economic distinctions were being eliminated. This question is the key to understanding not only class but also how a social order was created through the interaction of the state and countryside. In particular, the article explores the determination of class status and the production of symbolic capital, the transformation of land into symbolic capital, the transformation of symbolic capital into political capital and vice versa, and class habitus of villagers, suggesting that symbolic capital offers a new perspective for thinking about Chinese society.
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