[author]Wu Yuanyuan

[content]

Wu Yuanyuan: On the Mediation of Township Talents in the Modernization of Grassroots Social Governance

*Author: Wu Yuanyuan, Professor at the Law School of Southwest University of Finance and Economics

Abstract: As an organic component of diversified dispute resolution mechanisms, township mediation is an important force in the modernization of grassroots social governance. Rural elites occupy a pivotal position in their social network, with the main types being the "moral and expected" type, the "capable" type, and the "professional elite" type. Their unique internal regulations shape the comparative institutional capacity of this group in grassroots social governance. Xiangxian has specific dispute resolution skills in mediation, reflecting the basic laws of grassroots dispute resolution practice. Determined by the composite function of rural mediation, rural mediation has jointly promoted the construction of grassroots democracy and rule of law from multiple aspects such as nurturing, soothing, and inspiring. In the future, we should actively explore solutions for rural mediation to assist grassroots social governance innovation in theoretical system construction, autonomous norm construction, integration mechanism construction of reason, reason and law, and organizational team construction of people's mediators, and continue to promote the modernization transformation of social governance mechanisms represented by the "Fengqiao Experience" in the new era.

Keywords: diversified dispute resolution mechanism; Township wise mediation; The skills of resolving disputes among local elites; Grassroots social governance

The creative transformation of grassroots social order construction technology is an inherent requirement for the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity. The Third Plenum of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China pointed out that "we should adhere to and develop the 'Fengqiao Experience' in the new era, improve the urban-rural grassroots governance system that combines autonomy, rule of law, and moral governance under the leadership of the Party organization, and perfect the social governance system of co construction, co governance, and sharing." This scientific judgment points out the basic direction and development path of modernization of grassroots social governance, that is, we should adopt a holistic perspective, comprehensively consider the diversified social resources that can be used in grassroots social governance, analyze the internal laws and operational logic of different governance resources, and use a scientific integration mechanism to make them cooperate and complement each other's advantages, so as to maximize the synergistic effect of diversified governance resources. The construction of diversified dispute resolution mechanisms is an important carrier of social governance technology reform guided by co construction, co governance, and sharing in grassroots dispute resolution practice.

Rural elites are an organic component of social governance resources. As a pivotal element in the social network, rural elites have unique institutional role functions and possess organizational, mobilization, and appeal capabilities to promote the modernization and transformation of social governance, especially at the grassroots level. As an organic component of the diversified dispute resolution mechanism at the grassroots level, the mediation of local elites is a projection of the governance wisdom of Chinese excellent traditional culture that takes into account both reason, reason, and law in modern society. It is a reflection of our party's mass line in grassroots social governance and the enrichment and development of the "Fengqiao Experience" in the exploration and practice of diversified dispute resolution mechanisms in the new era. It has outstanding significance for promoting the co construction, co governance, and sharing of grassroots society. So, how should we systematically understand the mediation of local elites, discover the inherent rules, and provide sufficient intellectual support for the optimization and development of diversified dispute resolution mechanisms, thus facilitating the modernization transformation of frontline dispute resolution practices? Under the scientific observation prism guided by co construction, co governance, and sharing in the new era, by deeply interpreting the basic types and inherent regulations of the role of rural elites, analyzing the main dispute resolution techniques of rural elite mediation in grassroots social dispute resolution practice, revealing the composite function of rural elite mediation in the construction of grassroots social order, and proposing future development plans for rural elite mediation to assist innovation in grassroots social governance, a comprehensive and detailed panorama of rural elite mediation's participation in the modernization process of grassroots social governance can be depicted. The full display of this panoramic view will help the theoretical and practical circles extract regular and universal experience and practices from it, and summarize them in theory, thus developing and sublimating the grassroots social governance experience in China's history and the practical rationality in our party's political and legal traditions, further enriching the theoretical system of modern social governance, and ultimately promoting the coordinated governance of autonomy, rule of law, and rule of virtue in the vivid practice of modernizing grassroots social governance, contributing irreplaceable Eastern wisdom to the modernization transformation of social order construction technology.

In terms of research paradigm, this article will focus on the practical forms and practical application effects of actively participating in the modernization of grassroots social governance through the mediation of rural elites. Based on the analytical perspective of legal sociology and with the help of interdisciplinary holistic methodology, it will pay attention to in-depth exploration of the operational rules and specific development process of rural mediation in the field of front-line dispute resolution. Through the exploration of corresponding mechanisms and functions, the practical logic of rural mediation in promoting the modernization of grassroots social governance is revealed, and the deep-seated social factors that enable its successful operation are elucidated. This provides a corresponding path for rural mediation to promote innovation in grassroots social governance and proposes specific feasible solutions.

1. The basic types and inherent regulations of the role of rural elites

According to the analytical approach of "field role functionalism", the new era's rural elites are embedded in the modernization process of comprehensively promoting rural revitalization and accelerating the construction of an agricultural powerhouse. In this new context, this group not only retains the ethical virtues of traditional rural elites with deep affection, but also demonstrates significant modernity that is in line with the structural changes in Chinese society: rural elites have a love for their hometown and a love for the land, occupying a central position in the local social network with their unique moral expectations, talents, and professional skills. Based on the key location of this social structure space, they have significant organizational, mobilization, and appeal power for grassroots social governance, and can smoothly achieve the goal of constructing grassroots social order as an elite group. While promoting the values and virtues of excellent traditional Chinese culture, they actively practice the socialist core values, and enjoy a good social reputation and public reputation with their noble character and virtuous deeds; Having rich modern knowledge, professional skills, market skills, and cultural perspectives, being advocates and disseminators of new ideas, concepts, trends, and lifestyles; Passionate about public welfare, possessing practical abilities that are in line with the operational logic of grassroots social governance, actively participating in grassroots mass autonomy, and able to promote democratic consultation, equal dialogue, rule of law propaganda, and friendly mutual assistance among the diverse subjects of grassroots social governance.

In summary, the rural elites of the new era are "virtuous, talented, and prestigious individuals who can be recognized by the villagers and are willing to contribute and give back to the countryside". They are important contributors to strengthening grassroots democracy and rule of law construction, promoting the dialectical unity of autonomy, rule of law, and rule of virtue. Rural elites carry rich symbolic capital, determined by the internal operational logic of different symbolic capitals. In grassroots social governance, rural elites are mainly divided into "moral and expected" type, "capable" type, and "professional elite" type, each exhibiting their own unique internal regulations. However, in practical forms, the three types of rural elites mentioned above intersect or even overlap with each other. In order to clarify and highlight the inherent normativity of different types of rural elites, this article adopts Weber's "ideal type" classification method, focusing on the unique social governance logic of each rural elite group for classification. The intersection or overlap parts will not be discussed further.

1.1 The personality value of "moral expectation" type rural elites

The rural elites who are deeply respected for their noble character and virtuous conduct are an important type of rural elites in both ancient social contexts and current grassroots governance. They not only reflect the social governance foundation of excellent traditional Chinese culture, but also demonstrate the value of virtue as an important governance resource in the current period of social transformation. The "moral expectation" type of rural elites mainly carries the expectations and pursuits of Eastern values for "excellence", and the personalized charm formed by it is mainly based on the appeal of moral inspection and moral advantages. The charm based governance launched from this is built on the basis of values such as upright personality and clean ethics. According to the analytical approach of American sociologist Granovite, the strength of interpersonal relationships is defined as follows: whether long-term familiarity, deep emotions, intimate relationships, and mutual benefit, which are normal characteristics, have been effectively satisfied. Following this, in the daily life field, the interpersonal relationships formed between members of intertwined social groups are precisely the sociological sense of strong interdependence. The moral standards, conduct, and social credibility of rural elites are highly transparent and often seen and remembered by the masses. Correspondingly, social public opinion and evaluation centered on values and virtues gradually spread, forming a clear reputation capital guided by value evaluation, namely "clear flow". As a reputation capital of 'clean flow', it has irreplaceable core advantages in value guidance, behavior guidance, and other aspects. It is itself a role model and model, which can easily win the admiration and recognition of other social entities from their inner conviction. Taking this as an opportunity, it is possible to effectively establish a social network woven by emotional bonds such as respect, admiration, and reverence. And the "virtue oriented" rural elites precisely occupy the core position of this social network, with outstanding centrality in terms of personal structural position indicators. Centrality reflects the appeal, infectiousness, mobilization, and emotional stickiness of relevant subjects. It is the degree of organic linkage formed by this social network under the active and dynamic role of the "moral expectation" type of rural elites, as well as the willingness to cooperate and coexist harmoniously with each other.

The 'virtue and prestige' type of local elites is very beneficial for creating a reputation culture of 'cherishing feathers'. This culture is a significant driving force for the value guidance and behavioral norms urgently needed in grassroots social governance. It helps guide the public to distinguish right from wrong, adhere to correct values, form necessary self-discipline, and reduce conflicts and disputes from the source. For unresolved disputes, it helps to encourage relevant parties to truly clarify their respective faults/faults and fairly allocate responsibilities. Shame "is an important moral instinct of human beings as social subjects. This instinct is not abstract and contextless, on the contrary, its activation requires a corresponding frame of reference. As revealed by the "neighbor effect" in psychology, in the face of close role models and role models, people's own behavioral flaws are always highlighted more vividly, and their shyness is more easily awakened, forming an "inner shame experience" that awakens the moral instinct of self-discipline. Therefore, in social practice, there are more psychological taboos and boundaries in action choices. Correspondingly, in the face of moral appeal, the parties involved in the dispute are more likely to change their originally stubborn positions, timely detach from the linear thinking of "responsibility is not mine" or "it's all someone else's fault", and based on their admiration for the reputation carried by the "moral expectation" type of rural elites, reflect on their own behavior, reflect on the causal relationship mechanism in the dispute contradictions, and re evaluate the division of responsibilities in the dispute. As a result, the reputation capital of integrity and honesty of the "moral expectation" type of rural elites has become a catalyst for objective reflection among all parties, and its value guidance and behavioral norms have created a strong persuasive mechanism, successfully resolving the previously rigid issues among all parties.

1.2 The practical wisdom image of "capable" rural elites

The "capable" type of rural elites are known for their outstanding practical wisdom in grassroots social governance. As they grow older and gain more experience, "capable" rural elites have "learned" many skills in dealing with complex grassroots affairs through years of practical exploration. And these skills are a kind of "silent knowledge" in the practical rational sense, which is essentially "knowledge that can be communicated but is not economically suitable for communication", and it is difficult to impart and communicate through standardized methods. They are deeply embedded in specific practical fields and governed by the corresponding operational logic of the field. If they are not immersed in it for a long time and deeply understand the web of meaning woven by the field, it is difficult for these skills to enter the cognitive structure of the relevant subjects and "learn" them into a solid physical memory. In summary, the "capable" type of rural elites have outstanding practical wisdom, coming from practice and going back to practice, and have withstood the tests of complex social life. Therefore, they often win public evaluations and reputations with a strong practical rationality orientation, such as "capable", "safe", "knowledgeable", etc., in social interactions.

In line with the behavior orientation of actively exerting subjective initiative, "capable" type rural elites usually exhibit personality traits such as enthusiasm for public affairs, strong public awareness, and willingness and ability to solve problems for grassroots people in their social networks, making them easy to become active members of their social networks. The above characteristics fully demonstrate the image of "capable" rural elites who "dare to act and have achievements", enabling them to play an active institutional role in the order, construction, and development process of the social network they are in, and lay an empirical foundation for this active role with significant practical rational capital, winning the recognition generated by the public based on collective perceptions such as "stability", "reliability", and "steadfastness", thus forming a "sincere and united" community social capital, and demonstrating sufficient community advantages in trust, cohesion, mobilization, and other aspects. More importantly, in the process of resolving specific disputes, this group often has a deep understanding of human relationships and worldly affairs, manifested as follows: possessing good insight and sense of propriety, capable of perceiving the difficulties or "unavoidable" of the parties involved in the disputes in subtle details; A considerable portion of grassroots disputes in Mingxiao are not black or white, but rather in the middle gray area of right and wrong; Proficient in tracing and tracing the origin of the flow, unraveling the tangled surface and clarifying the true chain of cause and effect relationships; Being able to flexibly appeal to unique "local knowledge", using elements such as blood ties, kinship, geography, and business relationships to build a platform for calm and dialogue, providing communication and rational space for all parties involved (based on psychological inequalities or emotional/emotional conflicts caused by interest adjustments and other diverse contradictions), and requesting an "explanation" (based on personalized demands and unique insights from an individual perspective); Skilled in utilizing contextual awareness acquired through long-term practice to propose dispute resolution solutions that contribute to the long-term overall interests of all parties involved; wait.

1.3 The technological knowledge advantage of "professional elites" type rural elites

The continuous deepening of labor division in modern society has led to the expansion of the meaning of the category of rural elites. In addition to focusing on traditional values such as "high moral prestige" and "cultivating personal relationships", there are also "professional elites" who match the deepening of division of labor and become important nodes in specific social networks with their comparative advantages in professional knowledge/technology. Based on its knowledge operation logic, symbolic capital is increasingly concentrated in the hands of professional practitioners in the field of professional technology. This concentration leads to a narrowing of the corresponding legitimacy basis, higher technical barriers to entry into relevant fields, increased professional requirements, and easier generation and stability of corresponding reputation mechanisms. Based on this, for "professional elites" who enjoy stable reputation evaluations, they are the ones who hold the power of discourse in the state of information asymmetry and are at the forefront of the knowledge network. If there is a lack of their knowledge connection, linkage, and linking, the social network woven based on relevant professional knowledge is likely to experience poor information flow, frequent unnecessary friction and disputes, and even lead to the rupture of the entire social network. In terms of dispute resolution practice, if the disputes involved are not traditional details of land and family background, but closely related to modern lifestyles such as medical damage compensation, traffic accident compensation, commercial lending, financial derivative trading disputes, etc., then the psychological demands of the relevant parties towards the dispute resolution subject will shift from conventional interpersonal trust to trust based on knowledge and technology, a trust generated by the dispute resolution subject's "expertise".

This trust is different from the traditional trust formed by the public towards local elites based on moral expectations, conduct, experience, and other factors. It involves fewer emotional elements and is not the location of the "high centrality of emotional introversion" as sociology suggests. Although in terms of functionality, the joint relationship formed based on professional division of labor can serve as a link between different parts of the social network system and provide new information, it is different from the traditional strong joint form based on emotional support. According to the previous analysis of social networks, it is still often understood as a weak joint relationship. However, whether the social linkage between group members is strong or weak is not an essential concept, but a contextualized reference. Whether the symbolic capital possessed by the "professional elite" type of rural elites, like the comparative advantages of other types of rural elites, has significant mobilization, organization, integration and other abilities, and whether it can form a strong organic linkage relationship, all need to be judged in relation to specific field spaces.

The power and space generated by knowledge are inseparable, and it can even be said that it is the specific logic of the professional field that has given birth to the "professional elite" type of rural elites. Although the emotional elements are not obvious in them, they are always replaced by modern knowledge rationality with a deeper degree of "demystification". From a functionalist perspective, the "professional elite" type of rural elites gather information flows in specific professional fields, becoming the knowledge basis for all parties involved in disputes to clarify facts, change cognition, and correctly establish causal relationships. If this axis is lacking, the crux of the problem caused by professional gaps and information asymmetry among all parties cannot be resolved, and they will still be trapped behind the knowledge barrier of "self righteousness" or even "self talk". Different perspectives without information intermediaries cannot be integrated, resulting in stronger differences due to the inability to find a focal point. Under the domination of professional field logic, the "professional elite" type of rural elites, with their irreplaceable knowledge advantages, have reshaped the cognitive structure and trust psychology of relevant subjects, and re created another close relationship with knowledge as a link. In this close relationship, the symbolic capital of the "professional elite" type of rural elites is a strong capital, and the generated connections are another kind of strong association in an intellectual sense. The degree of interweaving is no less than the density of social networks formed by traditional rural elites through emotional identification, belonging, and other means.

2. The main dispute resolution techniques used by rural elites in grassroots dispute resolution practice

The smooth operation of rural mediation in frontline dispute resolution practice has its inherent basic laws. Only by delving into the dispute resolution techniques of rural elites, clarifying the inherent requirements based on the modernization of grassroots social governance, and vividly outlining the technical roadmap of this dispute resolution model, can we scientifically understand how the grassroots social governance implications of rural elite mediation are possible, and thus explore whether this dispute resolution model can successfully achieve the value goal of "resolving cases with people" in practical operation, and thus implement the pursuit of the value goal of source governance.

The case materials used in this section of the theoretical analysis mainly come from the mediation case of the brand people's mediation studio - "Lao Yang Mediation Center" - which is one of the typical representatives of the "Fengqiao Experience". The "Laoyang Mediation Center" (formerly known as "Laoyang Mediation Studio"), led by Yang Guangzhao, the inheritor of the "Maple Bridge Experience" in the new era and a famous local hero in Zhuji, is a successful exploration of the organizational system of mediation by local heroes. The effect of dispute resolution is well known in the local and has become an advanced model of the "Maple Bridge Experience" of people's mediation in the new era. The mediation skills demonstrated by the case of the mediation center are an important crystallization of the political and legal strategy of collaborative governance, and have outstanding demonstration significance for the modernization transformation of grassroots social order construction.

2.1 Familiarize oneself with "local knowledge" and lay the information foundation for resolving disputes through "understanding the hometown"

The 'understanding of the village' of local elites embodies their knowledge advantages generated based on space in grassroots governance. The space referred to here is not only a geographical category, but also a direction of cultural function. 'Township' is a web of values and meanings, with many symbols and codes interconnected.   The first prerequisite for social subjects to be included in the category of rural elites is to meet the meaning of "understanding the countryside". Xiangxian grew up from the specific meaning network of "township", and for them, it is a unique "this one". Through the exploration and trial and error immersed in it, they gradually "learned" many practical rationality that could only be understood but difficult to express. This type of practical rationality is the familiarity with the web of meaning in which one is situated and the skillful use of the "do as one pleases without exceeding the norm" style, which is the "Xi" in the sense of Fei Xiaotong: "This feeling is the result of countless small rubbings and refining. This process is the word 'Xi' in the first sentence of the Analects. In other words, rural elites are first based on the "township". Only by being familiar with and able to proficiently apply the many "local knowledge" attached to the "township", that is, "understanding the township", can rural elites, as important local resources in grassroots governance and dispute resolution, have the foundation of epistemology. This is also the information prerequisite for the comparative advantage of rural mediation to be fully utilized. In this sense, it can be said that the social governance implications of rural mediation are closely linked to specific spaces and are a contextualized definition.

Based on the information advantage of "local knowledge", rural mediators can focus on the deep roots of disputes, mobilize diverse forces in a targeted manner, and actively introduce them into the dispute resolution field, fully leveraging the maximum synergy of collaborative mediation. This means that in order for people's mediation to truly achieve the goal of "settling cases and bringing people together", mediators must have a "rural understanding". They should not only rely on the law, but also play a positive role in various elements such as human relationships and family ties, deeply implement the mass line, and aim to resolve disputes with the goal of "achieving twice the result with half the effort".

In the "Fengqiao Experience" as a representative sample of people's mediation, a villager named Chen and Zhao from a village in Fengqiao Town, Zhuji City got into a fight over trivial matters. Zhao injured Chen and caused him to be hospitalized for treatment. After basic recovery, Chen requested mediation from the "Lao Yang Mediation Center". In multiple mediations, although both Chen and Zhao made necessary compromises and concessions, the conflict was never resolved due to significant differences in the compensation amount proposed by both parties. Afterwards, it was discovered that there was an important intersection between the two parties, which was an old cadre with high prestige and over ten years of experience as a village branch secretary in the same village. The mediator immediately grasped this important node in the social relationship network, cleverly "borrowed" and invited him to participate in mediation together. Finally, the mediator successfully guided both parties to reach a consensus happily, and a long-standing dispute was finally resolved, successfully "turning hostility into jade". From this, it can be seen that when rural mediators have a profound understanding of the meaning network woven by "local knowledge", and timely and sensitively capture these subtle and trivial but crucial information for dispute resolution in the corresponding context, they grasp the key hub of dispute resolution: through the "leverage" strategy of "pulling a thousand pounds with four or two", they timely identify, mobilize, and integrate the diverse governance resources corresponding to these hub points for our use. That is to say, they use their familiarity with the highly localized meaning network to create a local "acquaintance society" and moderately explore the logic of collectivism, successfully creating a tightly intertwined and highly recognizable group. In this way, all parties are able to connect with each other, and this social linkage state gradually brings them closer psychologically, allowing the previously tough positions such as "never give in", "one report for another", and "needle pointing at wheat" to loosen, and then turn to necessary self reflection and reasonable concessions.

In summary, due to a profound understanding of the cultural significance of "township" and a familiarity with the definition of "local customs" in the context of the local situation, local elites can effectively avoid communication barriers such as "each speaking their own words" and "not on the same discourse channel". They can understand the root causes of one party's persistent demands and the other party's persistent desire to "speak up", and better understand how to leverage common elements recognized by all parties to promote rational communication. It is precisely their familiarity with "local knowledge" that enables them to establish an effective communication and transformation mechanism, connecting the different discourses of both parties to the web of meaning attached to the "township", and seeking the maximum possible point of convergence for dialogue on a platform with the "greatest common divisor".

2.2 By relying on public recognition and identity, we shape the psychological foundation of collective trust through "obedience"

As mentioned earlier, the connotation and extension of rural elites in the modern sense have greatly expanded. According to their different comparative advantages, they can be divided into many types, but the spiritual core is common: "Xian" refers to having a high degree of public recognition and identity. In the specific social network they belong to, other social subjects often project emotions and psychological cognition such as respect, admiration, praise, etc. Their own moral prestige, personal charm, practical wisdom, and knowledge/technical abilities often make them authoritative in social interactions. And this authority has nothing to do with public power or coercion. It is based on inner conviction and can promote the effective construction and reproduction of grassroots governance order.

In the daily practice of grassroots governance, many disputes are not clearly defined, and there is no right or wrong boundary between them. There are a large number of discretionary elements involved, and any party may be responsible for the occurrence of the dispute, or may have suffered undue damage/loss in the dispute. It can be said that for most daily disputes, whether it is the determination of facts or the application of rules, it is destined to be a process of mutual integration of reason and law. A single rule oriented or rational oriented approach may not be able to determine the root cause of the conflict. Even if the dispute mediation is completed in a procedural sense, the crux of the conflict has not yet been cleared, so it is still impossible to achieve "the case is settled and the people are harmonious". In this sense, the integration of reason, reason, and law is a commendable grassroots dispute resolution strategy, as well as an important guiding principle and basic working method. Following the law, considering emotions, and exercising discretion all require a psychological understanding and recognition of the other party (i.e. "acceptance") as the basis. Only with this psychological mechanism of trust can one infect and move the parties involved in the dispute.

For example, Wang was doing business in Fengqiao Town and had an economic dispute with Chen. After the court's judgment, Chen applied for compulsory enforcement as a creditor. Wang requested Yang Guangzhao, the person in charge of the "Lao Yang Mediation Center", to mediate and coordinate. After learning that he was in charge of the mediation, Chen said, 'It's easy to discuss anything with Lao Yang.'. A case that was about to enter the execution procedure was successfully resolved through the "skillful mediation" of Lao Yang. From the experience of grassroots dispute resolution practice, the age, gender, demeanor, facial expressions, attire, and behavior of the dispute resolution personnel, as well as specific personal charm and personality, can have a significant impact on the trust psychology of the parties involved. The public recognition and sense of identity enjoyed by rural elites, for the audience's psychology, most importantly, shape a foundation of acceptance that is "submissive". This kind of "acceptance" is a rich and subtle psychological process, mixed with multiple elements such as emotions, rationality, subjectivity, and objectivity. Sometimes, it does not even require clear logical reasons. The public recognition and sense of identity attached to the local elites are enough to make all parties involved in the original "needle pointing to wheat" compromise, opening the first door for subsequent dialogue. This is where the psychological advantage of shaping collective trust through "obedience" lies. In summary, the resolution of grassroots conflicts relies on persuasion work. Once the persuasion work has a psychological premise of "acceptance", it is like injecting lubricant between the parties involved, causing them to relax from their originally tense state and avoid being deadlocked in a state of endless disputes and unable to break through.

2.3 Give full play to the advantages of practical rationality and achieve conflict resolution and peace by digging deep into the root causes of contradictions

In the complex and trivial frontline dispute resolution practice that plays an important role in the construction of grassroots social order, thoroughly resolving disputes poses an unavoidable challenge to the practical ability of people's mediators, represented by their ability to respond to changes in handling affairs. The reason why the mediation of rural elites is widely popular in grassroots social governance is that the rural elite group has many personality traits. They are often insightful, capable, courageous, and strategic, and have a precise grasp of the people's hearts and feelings. These traits need to be gradually formed through long-term practice and worldly experience, and the key factors that promote their formation are time, experience, and rich grassroots social experience. Determined by the inherent normativity of practical rationality, in the process of dispute mediation, most rural elites are good at understanding the world's situation and human emotions, and pay attention to using active dispute resolution strategies. Therefore, they can accurately locate the true root of conflicts and disputes, and thoroughly achieve the governance goals of persuasion, persuasion, and peace building.

A considerable portion of grassroots disputes that are pending mediation do not have direct interests or relevance to the parties involved, but still involve corresponding social conflict behaviors; A considerable part of it is based on the emotional impulses of the parties involved, driven by the resentment of "gambling" and "not being able to be angry", which leads to "breathing a sigh of relief" style venting of anger, injuring people or retaliating, causing serious social risks. The essence of the above disputes, especially those involving "face saving" and "not steaming Mantou for breath", is that the root of the contradiction has not been thoroughly dug out. At this point, as mediators, rural elites use targeted on-site investigations and proactive dispute resolution strategies such as "bringing the law to their doorstep" to create a face-to-face social interaction space with the parties involved in the dispute. The construction of close range physical space supports the operation of cognitive level meaning space. In in-depth field research, rural mediators, based on their practical and rational advantages of understanding the world and cultivating personal relationships, were able to observe the personality traits, value orientations, behavioral habits, and other highly personalized elements of the parties involved. They identified factors that had been hidden for a relatively long time but had already planted hidden dangers for future disputes, and discovered the direct reasons for the escalation and intensification of conflicts that were originally outside the scope of mediation.

In Fengqiao Town, Zhuji City, a dispute arose between Yu and Ma, villagers of Juying Village, due to issues with the boundaries of their houses. As time passed, this contradiction deepened, and Ma even became an old petitioner as a result. Later, the two sides fought over the planting of trees in the vegetable garden. After accepting the case, the "Lao Yang Mediation Center" focused on resolving fundamental conflicts and promptly adopted an active dispute resolution strategy of on-site investigation and "door-to-door mediation". Within a month, they conducted more than 10 rounds of on-site mediation. On the basis of in-depth on-site investigation and comprehensive and detailed analysis of the case, we seized on the fundamental problem of unclear boundaries and took measures such as nailing stakes, pulling lines, and determining directions to eliminate the differences between the two sides. We successfully helped both sides resolve their grievances and effectively restored neighborly harmony and friendship. In face-to-face direct interaction, rural mediators fully mobilize their insight and grasp of human relationships and principles, dig deep into the root causes of conflicts, accurately grasp the psychological changes of the parties involved, timely and sensitively capture what the parties involved in the dispute care about, what they are afraid of, whether there are special "complexes" or "weaknesses" with special meanings, and so on. These elements are often difficult to reflect in written materials of disputes. Without in-depth field exploration and comprehensive and detailed communication and dialogue based on rich social practice experience, they can easily be buried under the surface of complex disputes. Exactly these elements are likely to become the key nodes for successfully opening the first gap in disputes and resolving conflicts smoothly.

It can be said that focusing on digging deep into the root causes of contradictions, supported by the advantages of practical rationality, rural mediators went deep into the scene of disputes and carried out strategic operations in the sense of Foucault, that is, "its dominant effect should not be attributed to 'possession', but to scheduling, strategy, technology, and operation. In this practical operation, the village wise mediators adhere to the causal relationship discovery principle of "there is a reason for everything", and extend the causal chain tracing and causal relationship exploration in a targeted manner, so that the deep roots of disputes can be clearly revealed through layer by layer tracing, laying an accurate cognitive foundation for precise dispute resolution and preventing disputes from happening again, truly implementing source governance, and eliminating risks and hidden dangers. The above characteristics of rural mediation at the level of factual discovery are also a summary of its practical wisdom in grassroots social governance, which focuses on seeing the essence through phenomena and eliminating the root causes of contradictions.

2.4 Integrate professional knowledge and daily language to solve new types of disputes in a simple and understandable way

In line with the evolution of social organizational structure and interpersonal "communication interaction" models, the types of disputes faced by people's mediation have also undergone significant changes. More and more disputes and contradictions are frequently involved in fields such as traffic accidents, medical accidents, product infringement, new commercial contracts, property disputes, etc. Legal and other related professional knowledge have become an important basis for resolving disputes and peace, and in many cases, they have become the core authority for dispute resolution. The significant changes in the types of cases have led to significant changes in the skills of people's mediators, whether in urban or rural areas.

Just as' any exercise of power must be accompanied by knowledge, and must be based on certain knowledge ', for the above types of disputes, the information gap caused by professional division of labor highlights the significance of knowledge in the generation of power. On the one hand, the smooth operation of the dispute resolution power possessed by rural elites as people's mediators largely depends on whether they possess the corresponding professional knowledge; On the other hand, the success or failure of resolving such new types of disputes does not solely depend on the professional technical rationality of the mediator. The process of mediation by rural elites is determined by the logic of grassroots social governance, which involves the intersection and integration of professional rationality and daily rationality. The rural elites who serve as people's mediators must be able to organically integrate professional knowledge and daily discourse, effectively change the information asymmetry caused by professional division of labor among all parties, and build a bridge for information exchange and integration.

Taking the important professional knowledge involved in the new type of disputes - law - as an example, due to its inherent professionalism and technicality, law appears somewhat "isolated" from the daily lives of the general public compared to social norms such as customs and autonomous regulations that can also serve as a basis for people's mediation. At this point, how to visualize and concretize abstract legal provisions, making them an authoritative basis for dispute resolution that can be easily understood and understood at a glance, is a test of the ability of rural mediators to speak, interpret, and popularize the law. In the "Fengqiao Experience" with a demonstrative effect, the "Lao Yang Mediation Center" fully utilizes vivid and three-dimensional concrete means to focus on high incidence cases such as personal injury compensation, and systematically organizes and summarizes corresponding legal provisions on compensation items, compensation standards, calculation methods, etc. that are prone to disputes, and displays them on the wall. The clear visual effect has an undeniable impact on the cognitive transformation of all parties involved. At the same time, if the parties do not have the corresponding cultural foundation or legal knowledge, it is difficult to understand abstract provisions such as laws. Therefore, a targeted "case by case" model should be adopted to help the parties effectively understand and comprehend the points of dispute and the interests involved through vivid and vivid cases.

In the efforts to integrate professional knowledge and daily discourse, including but not limited to law, in resolving disputes among local elites, patient guidance and education are also essential. For example, there was a dispute between a migrant worker named Tao from Jiangxi and a boss surnamed Feng in the Fengqiao Industrial Park. Feng's left eye was injured by Tao, and after forensic examination, it was determined to be a minor injury. At first, Tao was not aware of the serious nature of his behavior and believed that his pregnant wife in the same car was frightened, and Feng should fulfill corresponding economic compensation responsibilities for this. Despite multiple negotiations, the two sides were still unable to reach an agreement, and the conflict began to escalate. After accepting the dispute, the "Lao Yang Mediation Center" patiently and meticulously provided legal education to Tao, using simple and clear language to clearly point out that minor injuries have reached the standard for criminal prosecution. If Tao is not aware of his actions, he may be suspected of committing a serious sexual offense. Once convicted, considering that Tao's wife is already pregnant, this legal cost for the couple can be considered high. During this period, the method of resolving disputes through dialogue education and psychological communication to carry out legal counseling and legal education work runs through the entire process. Through solid ideological work with the masses, the tension between the two sides can be opened up, and the tense situation of "tension and tension" can also be eased. Finally, with the efforts of the township mediator to resolve the dispute through ideological education, Tao stood up three times to apologize to Feng. After understanding, Feng, considering the specific situation of Tao and his wife, not only reduced the demand for compensation, but also used a portion of the compensation for Tao's wife's nutrition expenses, completely achieving the governance goal of "resolving the case and achieving harmony".

In the process of resolving disputes, rural mediators actively engage in the "case by case" approach through their active institutional role and use easy to understand language. They closely follow the specific factual details of the dispute, compare it with legal provisions in a targeted manner, analyze and reason, and promote the relevant parties to truly understand what the behavioral guidelines of legal norms are, the deviations and degrees of their actions from the relevant guidelines of legal norms, and the specific forms of legal consequences resulting from them. Through the guidance, education, and ideological work of mediators, the originally abstract legal categories have become three-dimensional and concrete. Relevant parties can personally experience the specific significance of the various legal elements involved for their own interests and demands, and thus feel, understand, and "learn" the law in the practical dispute resolution practice. It can be said that with the help of conversation education methods that ordinary parties can "understand" and "be able to understand", this dispute resolution strategy helps all parties clarify their vague understanding of fact determination, responsibility division, etc. in a simple and understandable way. This strategy prevents ordinary parties from falling into cognitive blind spots and not realizing it due to the relatively distant psychological distance from relevant professional knowledge, thus laying a good cognitive foundation for thoroughly resolving disputes.

3. The composite function of rural mediation in the construction of grassroots social order

Township wise mediation relies on the virtues, talents, professional skills, and other advantages of this elite group, leveraging their unique public reputation and collective identity to effectively resolve disputes in practice. Based on the above advantages, this mediation model fully utilizes multiple functions such as nurturing, soothing, and inspiring, comprehensively implements the dialectical unity of autonomy, rule of law, and rule of virtue, actively promotes the construction of grassroots democracy, rule of law, and social order, and accelerates the modernization transformation of grassroots social governance.

3.1 The mediation of local elites has a unique function of nurturing, which helps to achieve the coordinated governance of autonomy, rule of law, and rule of virtue

In the process of innovative exploration of grassroots governance mechanisms, achieving the dialectical unity of autonomy, rule of law, and rule of virtue is an important governance goal. How to find a channel for the organic integration of autonomy, rule of law, and rule of virtue, how to create a mechanism for the integration of the three, how to timely discover the convergence point of the three in the lively practice of grassroots democratic and rule of law construction, and promote a mutually reinforcing and collaborative pattern of "you have me, I have others", pose important challenges to the optimization and upgrading of grassroots social dispute resolution technology.

Xiangxian is an excellent group of grassroots people who possess both moral integrity and professional competence. They are highly respected and enjoy significant "reputation symbol" capital. This is an important governance resource for promoting the dialectical unity of autonomy, rule of law, and moral governance in resolving grassroots disputes, and can create a good psychological acceptance foundation for them. Autonomy, rule of law, and rule of virtue have their own different mechanisms of action. Compared to rule of law, autonomy and rule of virtue depend more on the conscious awareness of social subjects, their value pursuits, and behavioral self-discipline. Therefore, it is necessary to arouse their subjective initiative and enthusiasm, and use higher-level value orientation and behavioral guidance as self pursuit. The inherent normativity above determines that rural elites can fulfill an active institutional role in the process of combining autonomy, rule of law, and moral governance.

In our team of people's mediators, many people have gained recognition, trust, and respect from the masses because of their own 'face' in the crowd, thus gaining guidance and discourse power in disputes. Rural elites, based on moral expectations, abilities, or professional knowledge/skills, have sufficient 'face' in their social networks, thus building a solid 'submission' mechanism. It is precisely because of this "acceptance" that the parties involved in dispute mediation already have a "prior view" of "identification acceptance" before entering the mediation field, and there will not be too much psychological resistance towards the people's mediators appointed by local elites. At this point, local elites can rely on their prestige/authority to not only determine facts and apply laws, but also play a unique educational role, and even, when necessary, give serious criticism to relevant parties and conduct relatively strict moral training. Therefore, in terms of functionality, it can be said that 'mediation is actually an educational process'. As for the parties involved, based on the personal charm and prestige of the local elites, their mentality is now open to them, in a state of willingness to listen and absorb. Although rural mediators strategically use harsh language in order to achieve deep and thorough resolution of disputes, promote cooperation, and purify the atmosphere during moral training, under the influence of the "surrender" mechanism, the parties involved not only do not feel that the rural mediators' words are "not pleasing to the ear", but can also understand the mediators' good intentions in a timely manner, and understand with empathy that "this is for my own benefit", and comprehend the care and love behind seemingly harsh critical and educational language. Under this tacit understanding created by "acceptance acceptance", people's mediation is no longer just a process of dispute resolution, but also an education and training process that promotes moral indoctrination. And 'the participation of Xinxiang sages in moral governance is not only the inheritor of excellent traditional Chinese culture, but also the disseminator of socialist core values'. In this process of' pleasing and sincere 'promotion, socialist core values gradually infiltrate the cognitive structure of the parties involved, take root and sprout, and condense into self-discipline and consciousness, ultimately promoting the organic integration of autonomy, rule of law, and rule of virtue.

3.2 Township wise mediation has outstanding soothing functions and helps to thoroughly resolve disputes

The struggle between 'qi' and 'qi' is often an important factor in triggering and intensifying conflicts in grassroots governance, and how to 'regulate qi' and 'follow qi' has become the key to the success of mediation. 'Understanding the hometown' and 'being virtuous' are the inherent characteristics of the advantage of being virtuous in the hometown, and they are the authority that all parties involved are deeply committed to. Compared to other types of mediation, the prominent comparative advantage of village wise mediation lies in the unique prestige they possess as mediators towards the parties involved and the trust naturally generated by the latter.

Under the dominance of this sense of prestige and trust, when a pending dispute enters the mediation field, the presence of local elites can soothe and stabilize the emotions of the parties involved, allowing them to immediately experience the firsthand feeling of being taken seriously. This lays a preliminary psychological foundation for the smooth start of mediation. When the parties begin to express their respective opinions, viewpoints, and demands, the "understanding of the hometown" and "wisdom" of the local people make them highly recognized and even trusted listeners by the parties. Due to the ability of all parties to freely state their "statements", the information involved in the dispute can be presented as comprehensively as possible, and the "dark matter" originally generated due to information asymmetry also emerges from this. In this communication space, the causal relationship between disputes and contradictions gradually becomes clear. At first, the different opinions of "the public speaking of the public being reasonable, and the woman speaking of the woman being reasonable" gradually merge and follow the guidance of local mediators to gradually approach each other, thus consolidating consensus and weakening differences. In this sense, the prestige/authority possessed by local elites and their symbolic capital, with their excellent emotional soothing function, cleverly promotes the investigation and confirmation of facts related to disputes.

On the basis of factual investigation and confirmation, the process of "emotional comfort - opening heart knots - facilitating dialogue - seeking consensus" is further deepened. Due to their understanding of the local community, mediators are knowledgeable about the "local knowledge" involved in disputes, which lays the first information foundation for the smooth progress of subsequent dispute resolution practices; Due to their virtue, mediators have gained a psychological foundation that the parties are willing to accept due to trust and respect, which is a cognitive prerequisite for the successful operation of discourse strategies; Due to their "understanding of the hometown" and "wisdom", mediators are able to timely understand the emotional/interest connections of the parties involved, and touch their "sensitive points" appropriately, which can play a role of "pulling a thousand pounds with four or two". In the practice of resolving disputes, village wise mediators may use a simulated ethical/generational relationship to awaken the identity of the parties involved, naturally making them realize that "it's okay to make them three feet away"; Alternatively, by using a vivid comparison based on the "neighbor effect", the parties involved can intuitively understand the overall interests and rationally weigh the pros and cons of gains and losses; Alternatively, by fully utilizing authority/prestige, necessary legal paternalism practices can be carried out in a targeted manner towards the parties involved, in order to construct a dispute resolution plan that may not seem advantageous at present but can achieve a win-win or multi win effect in the long run, and to encourage all parties to accept it with sincerity and satisfaction; All of these are not enough. As this process gradually deepens, the parties' personal experience of the charismatic governance attached to the rural mediators is constantly optimized: "from humor to refinement, from refinement to wit, from wit to 'irresistible to the viewer'", thus producing a significant soothing effect and helping to completely resolve disputes. In summary, the soothing function of mediation by local elites can timely and effectively "regulate" and "smooth" disputes. If this function is fully explored and used properly, it will have important significance for the construction and reproduction of grassroots governance order and "clever governance".

3.3 Township wise mediation has a significant appeal function and helps promote the implementation of grassroots legal education work

The modernization transformation of national social order construction technology means that the vast grassroots society should pay attention to the rule of law in governance practice, form the necessary legal thinking, and shape a solid legal consciousness. It can be said that the functional significance of legal education work is self-evident. Moreover, legal education requires corresponding propaganda strategies, discourse art, and operational practice techniques. The "understanding of the hometown" and "virtue" demonstrated by the group of rural elites in the mediation of rural elites provide two indispensable cornerstones for this.

Xiangxian is either familiar with the "local knowledge" in the specific social network they are in, or proficient in their professional/technical knowledge, and "any use of power must understand and know who the object of power is and how the venue of power is". Therefore, in this sense, Xiangxian who serves as a mediator can successfully resolve disputes, resolve grievances, and promote peace, firstly by possessing the power in the knowledge dimension relative to all parties involved. At the same time, the mediation of local elites is closely linked to charismatic governance. The symbolic capital and personal charm of local elites endow them with specific "political and legal social" governance implications, especially those who have rich experience in political and legal work and outstanding achievements in political and legal work. They represent the prestige of the law to a certain extent, are persuaders with sufficient credibility, and enjoy full authority. Renowned authorities often have more prominent influence in terms of persuasiveness, infectiousness, and mobilization. The prestige and reputation of the rural elites are deeply recognized and respected by the general public. At this time, their speech choices, behavior, expressions, etc. will have an appeal to the parties involved, and thus generate the appeal of the rule of law.

Following this, at the beginning of the mediation process, the village wise mediator can skillfully grasp the nodes and, based on the specific context of the dispute to be resolved, use daily greetings, casual conversations, or basic professional knowledge to lay the necessary groundwork for the parties' understanding. After the parties have established preliminary information preparation, timely introduce legal discourse into their cognitive structure to make it natural and not cause resistance due to sudden encounters with legal discourse. When determining facts, it is not a mechanical establishment of causal relationships according to legal rules, nor a rigid division of responsibility based on "legal causal relationships". Instead, it relies on the trust based psychological mechanism of all parties involved, relying on their own knowledge/information advantages, to integrate morality, reason, customs, and conventions into the discourse of the rule of law. Even when necessary, the legal significance of causal relationships is cleverly presented to relevant parties in other forms of discourse mechanisms, so that they can truly understand, comprehend, and accept the allocation of rights and obligations under the law. In daily dispute resolution practice, "literariness" is one of the common techniques for transforming discourse. The popularization of law is not an abstract category, it is gradually promoted and implemented through vivid legal practice (including but not limited to various dispute resolution) through the personal experience of the parties involved and the real observation of the public. If there is a lack of effective connection mechanism between the discourse of the rule of law and the cognitive structure of the parties involved, then the discourse of the rule of law loses a rare opportunity to vividly and intuitively display itself in three dimensions. Therefore, it is important to fully utilize the people's mediation as the "hometown" of legal propaganda. The ability of township wise mediators to transform/integrate different discourse forms based on "understanding the township" and "being wise" is crucial. It directly determines whether the rule of law can be transformed from discourse form to practical form, and if so, to what extent.

4. The future development plan of promoting grassroots social governance innovation through mediation by local elites

Co construction, co governance, and sharing have become the theme of social governance innovation, and the task of constructing social order poses new challenges to the technological transformation of grassroots governance. As an organic component of diversified dispute resolution mechanisms, rural mediation fully demonstrates the outstanding "Eastern wisdom" in social governance, and is an important booster for innovation in grassroots social governance. It has significant promoting significance for the technological transformation of grassroots social governance. Following this, we should closely focus on the key theme of modernization transformation, scientifically position the development trend, and actively explore solutions for rural mediation to support innovation in grassroots social governance from the dimensions of theoretical system construction, autonomous norm construction, integration mechanism construction of reason, reason, and law, and organizational team construction of people's mediators, comprehensively deepening innovation in grassroots social governance in the new era.

4.1 Focusing on the practical wisdom of rural mediation and actively promoting the theoretical system construction of grassroots social governance innovation

Township wise mediation is an important component of people's mediation and a unique mediation model. Its uniqueness lies in the prominent organizational, mobilization, and integration capabilities of the symbolic capital represented by public reputation carried by local elites. It has good affinity and infectivity for mediating conflicts and disputes, and thus for the construction and development of basic social order. It is a "local resource" capable of achieving "smart governance". So, how to effectively upgrade this "local resource" with unique comparative advantages, shape a culture of rural elites that adapts to modernization transformation and the mediation skills attached to it, and provide more diverse, high-quality and efficient social forces for grassroots social governance innovation? In this sense, we should focus on the inherent normativity of symbolic capital such as reputation, scientifically interpret the unique institutional functions of the rural elite group, and the constitutive significance of such institutional functions for grassroots social order. We should summarize the practical wisdom demonstrated by rural elite mediation in the field of front-line dispute resolution. On this basis, refining it into a referenceable and promotable guide for people's mediation operations, and further elevating it into a universally significant theoretical proposition, carrying out corresponding theoretical system construction, is an inevitable requirement for achieving sustainable development of rural mediation, and also enriches the innovation of grassroots social governance represented by the "Fengqiao Experience".

Xiangxian mediation has accumulated rich frontline experience in practical operation. These practical and rational experiences, if not scientifically summarized and refined, will not be able to provide stable added value for the symbolic capital of rural elites, nor will they provide a new source of motivation for the construction of rural elite culture. In terms of methodology, as an important component of people's mediation, the key meaning of rural mediation lies in "guiding the people to participate widely in governance in various ways, cultivating a sense of ownership, fostering the spirit of democracy and the rule of law, and promoting the deepening of socialist core values in people's hearts". Therefore, we should focus on the perspective of methodology and organically integrate the fundamental, grassroots, and cultural elements of people's mediation based on "human subjectivity" as the "knowledge value" element. With the goal of popularizing and generalizing the experience and knowledge of rural mediation, we should pay attention to deeply exploring its methodological implications, exploring its "cultural value" dimension and deep meaning for the modernization transformation of grassroots social governance, and timely promoting corresponding theoretical construction. In other words, it should be approached from this to that, from the surface to the inside, so as to achieve a "qualitative leap" from individual to general, from concrete to abstract, and thus become an important exploration of the "practical epistemology" of grassroots social construction in the process of modernizing national governance.   Following this, in the current integration of people's mediation culture construction and rural talent culture construction, there should be sufficient theoretical awareness and consciousness, fully recognizing the constructive implications of rural talent mediation for the modernization transformation of grassroots social governance and the creative transformation of excellent traditional Chinese culture. While telling the "mediation story" and "rural talent story" well, more attention should be paid to clarifying the "knowledge of the story" and sublimating the "reason of the story".

4.2 Establishing the focus of reform for rural mediation and timely deepening the construction of autonomous norms for grassroots social governance innovation

An important feature of people's mediation is the reference to autonomous norms including but not limited to township rules and agreements, community conventions, industry regulations, etc. The characteristics of the application of this standard have had a significant driving effect on promoting innovation in grassroots social governance and deepening democratic autonomy among the masses. In other words, actively drawing on the practical wisdom of the "Fengqiao Experience", attaching importance to the supply of relevant systems, fully exerting the active role and autonomous function of the above social norms, and promoting citizens to actively exercise their democratic rights and participate in public affairs, is an important part of optimizing grassroots social governance and has indispensable universal guiding significance. The construction of autonomy norms at the grass-roots level in the historical process of Chinese path to modernization is an important carrier for the organic combination of socialist core values and excellent traditional Chinese culture, and an important incision for innovative exploration of grass-roots social governance. During this period, 'rural elites participate in the improvement of village rules, community agreements, and autonomous regulations in governance, and consciously connect with grassroots autonomous systems.' The use of rural rules, community agreements, or community agreements in people's mediation is a clear manifestation of grassroots people vigorously promoting their pioneering spirit, exerting subjective initiative, and actively constructing grassroots autonomous order. As an important component of people's mediation, the mediation of rural elites is one of the key focuses of grassroots social governance reform. Rural elites should be encouraged to closely integrate the "local knowledge" related to unresolved disputes and contradictions in the process of dispute resolution, contextualize the "statements", "venting" and other related interests and demands of the parties, and appropriately cite rural rules and agreements, community conventions, industry regulations, etc. This can not only achieve targeted dispute resolution, resolve grievances, and promote peace, but also observe and test the applicability of autonomous norms such as rural rules and agreements in practical dispute resolution practices. Through the above practical experience, rural mediators should timely summarize and refine their experience, identify shortcomings, and expand the influence of autonomous norms with their unique appeal, deepen public recognition, and further consolidate the psychological acceptance foundation of grassroots people towards autonomous norms.

One of the important intrinsic characteristics of rural elites is their understanding of their hometown. As people's mediators, they are familiar with the logic of the field in which disputes are to be resolved. They often have accurate judgment on whether the relevant provisions of rural regulations, community conventions, or industry charters match them, and whether they can provide behavioral norms and value guidance for the parties involved. Therefore, they can effectively test whether the design of autonomous norms such as rural regulations, community conventions, and industry charters meets the actual needs of grassroots governance. At present, the degree of imitation of national legal norms by autonomous norms such as rural regulations and civil agreements is relatively high, and the "originality" of addressing the needs of grassroots people is relatively insufficient. This has led to a weak "autonomy" connotation of autonomous norms in the actual operation process, and has not fully played its due regulatory function. Therefore, the design of autonomous norms should be tailored to the specific needs of the grassroots, and tailored to the specific situation, consciously making institutional responses that are in line with the needs of the grassroots masses in a sufficient context. It is precisely the familiarity of local knowledge, insight into rural customs and traditions, and understanding of the contextualized meaning of the specific social network that makes it easier for rural elites to conduct in-depth and detailed observation and testing of autonomous norms such as rural regulations and civil agreements in the mediation and application of autonomous norms, and to make timely corrections for the construction of autonomous norms and build corresponding deepening mechanisms.

Another inherent characteristic of rural elites is' virtue '. Based on the public trust psychology generated by "virtue", people's mediation is not only a process of resolving disputes, but also a process of nurturing, educating, and disciplining. Among them, the village wise mediators constantly change their institutional roles and their "role-playing", from listeners to mediators, from mediators to managers, from managers to educators, and can even be transformed into hypothetical relatives and elders with certain authority and educational significance. The diverse roles switch and complement each other, resulting in significant energy aggregation effects. This is enough to exert emotional influence over the parties involved, greatly reducing the barriers, dissatisfaction, and resistance that may arise during the application of autonomous norms, further deepening the construction of autonomous norms in grassroots social order, and promoting the mediation of local elites as an important manifestation of the pioneering spirit of the people, playing a more significant role in exploring innovative grassroots social governance.

4.3 By integrating the value of mediation by local elites, we will comprehensively promote the construction of a mechanism for integrating reason, reason, and law in grassroots social governance innovation

Focusing on the thorough resolution of grassroots disputes, the effective implementation of mediation in grassroots governance is a process of "reasoning, argumentation, and persuasion" that involves the mutual understanding and integration of reason, reason, and law, and can make all parties agree and resolve disputes. How to use different institutional capabilities based on the formulation of laws and social norms, combined with the context of dispute resolution, in a targeted manner, to achieve both dispute resolution and rule governance, so as to integrate the value of rural mediation and organically integrate the principles of reason and law. This is a vivid manifestation of the inherent normativity of rural mediation, and also the key to effectively coordinating the relationship between the needs of the rule of law and the function of rural mediation in the innovation process of grassroots social governance.

On the one hand, grassroots disputes often take on various forms, involving many trivial and common details as well as "local knowledge". There are no shortage of "Zhang's parents, Li's family is short" style branches and vines, but they always constrain and even determine the final direction of the disputes at key nodes. If we mechanically adhere to "legal centrism" and ignore the fact that "besides enacting laws, there are other forms of normative models that actually play a role in stabilizing and operating various large and small social orders", then the originally clear boundary between "rights and obligations" in formulating regulations is likely to be defeated in the face of complex disputes and difficult to find a place to use them; Or it can only cut and tailor the complex and trivial disputes and contradictions to mechanically match the "rights obligations" distribution pattern of statutory law. The above situations are not conducive to the thorough resolution of disputes, nor are they conducive to the establishment of legal authority in the construction of grassroots social order. The formulation of legal rules cannot be effectively applied in disputes that need to be resolved, which will affect the legal expectations of the grassroots masses, including but not limited to the parties involved, and will also to a considerable extent undermine the authority that the rule of law should have; However, excessive cutting of disputed facts is tantamount to cutting one's feet to fit one's shoes, distorting the true nature of the disputed facts. It not only fails to timely uncover the true root of the dispute, but may also lead to accumulated grievances and intensified conflicts, which goes against the original intention of people's mediation.

On the other hand, if we blindly emphasize the "local narrative" of resolving grassroots conflicts and fail to pay timely attention to the increasingly complex social disputes and the growing legal awareness in both urban and rural areas during the process of modernization transformation, the rule of law narrative has become an objective and authoritative standard for distinguishing and resolving disputes in the minds of the general public. If we still adopt a single "social norm first" approach in situations where it should be judged according to law, we will easily fall into the dilemma of "cutting and confusing", and be criticized as "peacemakers" who do not distinguish right from wrong, losing the fairness and impartiality that people's mediation should have. Although the mediation agreement has been reached in form, 'at the cost of damaging the interests of one party, this will lay the groundwork for the recurrence of the conflict, which may cause the conflict to recur, and even intensify it, resulting in negative consequences'. Due to its clear and explicit structural pattern of "preconditions behavior patterns responsibility consequences", law has unique functional advantages in the normative system of social governance, backed by its inherent objectivity, neutrality, standards, and national coercive power. It has become one of the important authoritative sources in the minds of the general public and is the key to completely eliminating contradictions in the new era. Township wise mediation should use the legal standard to conveniently consolidate the consensus of all parties, weaken differences, and promote the judgment and expectations of all parties to continuously converge towards the legally established convergence point, ultimately forming a cognitive overlap area that is acceptable to all parties. In this sense, legal mediation and the integration of reason and reason are bound to become the natural choice of dispute resolution mode in the process of social modernization transformation.

Correspondingly, the scientific and efficient practice of rural mediation should be carried out in the area of the "core of legal certainty" in Hart's sense, using clear and explicit legal rules as a reference frame to coordinate the expectations of all parties, establish correct causal cognition for all parties, and establish reasonable expectations. In other words, in this core area, legal rules become the gathering point of cognition for all parties involved. They will use them as a reference to judge right and wrong, and use this as a benchmark for negotiation in the allocation of "risk responsibility" to implement rule governance. In the "uncertain edge" region, according to Hart's analytical approach, "the law will form a structure of appropriate openness, and there will be room for discretion between opening and closing." Therefore, in dispute resolution practice, for this relatively peripheral area, rural mediation needs to cleverly break through the formal rationality requirements of the law, and even moderately "surpass the law" when necessary. It is necessary to comprehensively consider various factual details that may affect and determine the direction of disputes, and respond to various "claims" raised by the parties that may not necessarily be included in the scope of legal rules but can be reasonably resolved, effectively meeting their specific and contextualized requirements, and promoting them to reach maximum consensus, thereby eliminating contradictions at the root and truly achieving the resolution of disputes.

4.4 By leveraging the brand system mediated by local elites, we vigorously promote the construction of organizational teams for grassroots social governance innovation

The symbolic capital represented by good reputation carried by rural elites is an important cultural asset in grassroots social governance. The key difference between rural mediation and other forms of people's mediation lies in the unique appeal, mobilization, and persuasiveness of their symbolic capital. These characteristics, with their unique charm, have successfully promoted the dialectical unity of autonomy, rule of law, and rule of virtue. Among them, the symbol capital with reputation as its core has important brand functions, which have directional and focusing functions for the cognition of grassroots social public. This makes the parties involved in pending disputes highly recognize and have a strong reputation for the mediation efforts and mediation plans of the local mediators, which helps to fundamentally resolve disputes, resolve grievances, and promote peace. In this sense, we should focus on the logical operation principle of symbolic capital represented by reputation in rural mediation, and deeply understand that the important form and way for the public reputation mechanism to play a role is to establish relevant brands. With the help of the brand system of rural mediation, we can open up new space for the construction of innovative organizational teams in grassroots social governance.

Establishing a branded people's mediation studio (often named after the township magistrate in actual institutional operations) with a township magistrate mediator who has achieved significant mediation results as the core or leader of the organization, through the establishment of organizational regulations and stable procedures, can effectively initiate the continuous reproduction process of symbolic capital. Most of these mediation studios have become "inspection free products" or "well-known trademarks" in their respective regions, with significant identification effects that help further accelerate the branding process of people's mediation. The establishment and operation of the Brand People's Mediation Studio is the organizational structure and practice of reputation. Through this organizational process, reputation no longer fluctuates with the individual changes of rural elites. Even if rural elites are no longer active in the front line of people's mediation due to aging, health, job changes, and other reasons, the valuable symbolic capital they have accumulated will not be lost, dissipated, or annihilated. On the contrary, due to the organizational function of the brand people's mediation studio - "everyone's life is limited, but the vitality of the organization can be infinite", they are institutionalized and able to undergo stable expansion and reproduction, thereby obtaining a sustainable organizational carrier. In this way, the reputation centered symbolic capital of rural mediators is no longer solely based on individual personality charm, but has become a brand existence based on the organization, which can continuously and effectively expand its radiation range and influence depth.

At the same time, the establishment and construction of the Brand People's Mediation Studio also contribute to the inheritance and promotion of the mediation skills of rural mediators. Excellent rural mediators have explored and honed rich, vivid, and practical dispute resolution methods and operational techniques through long-term dispute resolution practice. These skills have a strong practical and rational color, and are the crystallization of practical wisdom. If they can be promoted and taught, they will play an important role in the improvement and development of the people's mediation system, and thus in the exploration of innovative grassroots social governance. Under the operation of the Brand People's Mediation Studio, the village wise mediators and other members of the studio are closely integrated to form a community, with the village wise mediators as the core and other members of the studio as important participants to carry out team work. This mediation operation mode is a scientific and efficient "teaching learning" platform for mediation skills that appear more in the form of practical wisdom. Because for the "silent knowledge" dominated by practical rationality, its inheritance needs to be "learned" through "master disciple transmission". In the mediation process led by Xiangxian, other members of the studio were able to listen to the oral and heart to heart teachings of the Xiangxian mediator. They could also use opportunities such as "face-to-face" and "close to the water tower" to observe, experience, ponder, and think up close about how the Xiangxian mediator discovered the crux of the dispute, how to actively respond to the "arguments" of the parties in dispute, how to cleverly use practical wisdom to promote the parties to "comply" and "transform", and so on. The advantage of being immersed and trained for a long time, as well as being present, makes the mediation skills of the local mediators vivid and lively. They are presented in a very intuitive and concrete form to learners, who can fully empathize and understand. This "on-site teaching" is in line with the inherent laws of practical rationality and is a unique advantage of the Brand People's Mediation Studio in the inheritance and development of mediation skills.

5. Conclusion

The inherent regularity of the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity determines that the construction technology of grassroots social order must achieve "creative transformation". As an important governance resource, the rural elites actively participate in frontline dispute resolution and play an active role in the innovative development of diversified dispute resolution mechanisms. This is precisely the new era governance technology innovation that promotes the optimization and upgrading of grassroots social rule of law construction, realizes the unity of autonomy, rule of law, and moral governance, and maximizes the synergistic effect of collaborative governance. Based on their unique organizational, mobilization, and appeal, local elites often occupy a central position in their social network and enjoy outstanding public reputation. At the level of modernity, the unique internal regulations of the "moral expectation" type of rural elites, the "capable" type of rural elites, and the "professional elite" type of rural elites each shape their comparative institutional capabilities in grassroots social governance. Township wise mediation has specific dispute resolution techniques, reflecting the basic laws of grassroots dispute resolution practice. By leveraging the core advantages of the virtues, talents, and professional skills of rural elites as an elite group, rural mediation has a composite institutional function, jointly promoting grassroots democracy and rule of law construction from multiple levels such as nurturing, soothing, and inspiring. Focusing on the trend of technological transformation in grassroots social governance, we should actively explore solutions for promoting innovation in grassroots social governance through the construction of theoretical systems, autonomous norms, mechanisms for integrating reason, reason, and law, and the development of organizational teams for people's mediators. This will comprehensively deepen innovation in grassroots social governance in the new era. In summary, as a component of the diversified dispute resolution mechanism, the inherent principles and practical map of rural mediation vividly reflect how to effectively follow the law, consider the situation, and make reasonable decisions, and achieve the important value goal of "harmony" in grassroots governance with the principle of "case resolution brings people together", while adhering to the basic principles of the rule of law. It fully demonstrates how to comprehensively tap into diverse governance resources and achieve systematic governance goals through joint efforts and collaborative governance. Township wise mediation will inevitably become an indispensable and unique "one" in the modernization of grassroots social governance system and governance capacity in China's plan.