Publishing and Society: A Comparative Analysis of Bourdieu's Field Theory and Paradigm of External Analysis using the Case of the Book Publishing Industry in China

The publishing industry has a long history of development as an integral part of people's social life. This essay provides a preliminary exploration of the special status of the publishing industry in sociological research through a comparative analysis of Bourdieu's field theory and the Marxist-oriented external analysis paradigm. It critically assesses the Chinese publishing industry, with its strong political and complex historical background, by analyzing the external relations and field characteristics of the Chinese publishing industry. Due to the social peculiarities of China's socialist system coexisting with the market economy system, the state of political influence intersecting with social class influence is also taken into account in the analysis.