This article employs the method of prosopography to reach a deeper understanding of a group of 53 trailblazing Chinese students who were the first to enrol in American law schools between 1878 and 1911, during the waning years of the Qing era. Most of them contributed greatly to the subsequent development of China's legal and diplomatic institutions, playing instrumental roles in legal education, diplomacy, government and the judiciary. Given these accomplishments, this group of students is worthy of detailed study and research, and this article examines their characteristics, background, subsequent contributions and other key pieces of information.