Social reproduction or social experiment? Understanding the idiosyncrasy and hybridity of habitus in Chinese education

What are the unique, idiosyncratic aspects of Chinese habituses in the 21st century? How are they situated in an increasingly individualised society that is nevertheless under ever-present state control? How do Chinese habituses reflect the country's efforts to look inward and outward and orient towards both nationalist and foreign (western) elements? This chapter examines the idiosyncratic role of habitus in both social reproduction and social experiment in contemporary China. To elucidate how the new Chinese subject exhibits complex and paradoxical habituses, it draws from two empirical cases: (1) the popularity of Confucian classics learning among middle-class families; and (2) schooling in marginalised rural minority communities. As the chapter illustrates, habitus is not necessarily a set of dispositions tied to class background but assimilates elements from cultural, political, educational, and moral systems. It is sanctioned by political, social, and educational discourse yet at the same time allows actors to pragmatically carve out their educational and life trajectories. Situating habitus in both social production and social experiment offers important insight for theoretical development and practical understanding of power, inequality, and agency. This approach also reflects this volume's effort to decolonise theoretical cannons by examining them under the microscope of contextualised lived experiences.