ABSTRACT
The chapter elaborates how modern China implemented the “Policy to the Countryside” (政策下乡) along with the “Political Party to the Countryside” (政党下乡) in order to organise a decentralised rural society and strengthen the political trust of peasants. “The rule of law to the countryside” (法律下乡), the “regime to the countryside” (政权下乡) and the “democracy to the countryside” (民主下乡) were also introduced to rural society for the purpose of popularising legal knowledge and regulating peasants bound to previous customs. However, these central efforts met with insurmountable obstacles at the grassroots level since peasants traditionally adhered to family cultures and rural lifestyles. Consequently, the author suggests that national governments should activate the governance function of the family, consider the family as the basic unit of national governance, and play a fundamental role in the institutional integration of rural society.
