Preface; Looking at the "Politics of Peasants" from the "No. 9 Courtyard"; Contents; Abbreviations; 1 Introduction; 1.1 Respect Peasants' Initiative; 1.2 Peasants' Political Demands; 1.3 Peasants' Political Attribute; 1.4 Peasants' Political Behavior; 1.5 Peasants in Political Theories; 1.6 Peasants in Political Changes; 1.7 The Political Appeal of Peasants; 1.8 Concluding Remarks; References; 2 No. 9 Courtyard and Rural China; 3 The "Seniors" in the No. 9 Courtyard; 3.1 Gathering of Many "Seniors"; 3.2 Zhu lao; 3.3 Shi lao; 3.4 Wu lao; 3.5 Ji lao; 3.6 Mr. Zhu Houze; 3.7 Remarks

4 Wan Li and the Rural Reform4.1 Introduction: Rereading Selected Works of Wan Li; 4.2 Breaking Through the Ice; 4.3 High-Level Resistance; 4.4 The Turning Point for Policy; 4.5 The Logic of Reform; 4.6 The Theoretical Starting Point; 4.7 The Space of the System; 4.8 Concluding Remarks: Reformers Are Urgently Needed in Our Times; References; 5 Rural Reform and Local Reformers; 5.1 I; 5.2 II; 5.3 III; 6 A Historical Review on Local Government Reform; 6.1 Once-Clear Reform Targets; 6.2 Tortuous and Blurred Reform Course; 6.2.1 Townships/Town Merging

6.2.2 Streamlining Administration and Delegating Power6.2.3 Separation of Party and Government Functions; 6.2.4 Separating Government Functions from Enterprise Management; 6.3 Problem: What Is the Direction of Government Reform; 7 Grassroots Governance: Cautions for the Government; 7.1 "Feeding" Village Officials; 7.2 Excessively Demanding the "Sound Organization" at the Village Level; 7.3 "Manipulating" Village-Level Elections; 7.4 Viewing Civil Organizations as "Dissidents"; 8 What Is "Rural Governance"?; 9 New Governance of the New Countryside

10 Institutional Environment for Township Governments11 The Fundamental Driving Force for Grassroots Government Reform; 12 Grassroots Organizations and Grassroots Democracy; 13 Civil Organizations and Grassroots Democracy; 14 Grassroots Democracy and Construction of the Chinese Legal System; 15 Grassroots Democracy and Social Harmony; 15.1 Grassroots Democracy Facing New Conditions of the Times; 15.2 The Crucial Effects of Grassroots Democracy on Social Harmony; 15.3 Developing Grassroots Democracy Must Perfect the Party's Leading Style

15.4 Develop Grassroots Democracy to Improve and Strengthen Institutionalization Level16 The "Leadership" and "Dominant Role" of Grassroots Democracy; 17 The Problem of "Participation" in Grassroots Democracy; 17.1 Poor Development of Participation Within the Political System; 17.2 Quickly Developed Spontaneous Participations; 17.3 Broadening Participation Is the Key to Development of Grassroots Democracy; 18 The International Influence of Grassroots Democracy; 19 Basic Strategies for Developing Democracy at the Grassroots Level; 20 A Story of Grazing Prohibition in a "Weak" Village