Evolution And Transformation Of Township Establishment Functions

In the history of China, the rural control model has always been a major political problem for the rulers, and it not only relates to the construction of the state power, but also concerned with the social order in the rural area as well as farmers’ production and living conditions. This paper provides an overview of the history of the Chinese countryside management and control model. From Qin and Han to the middle of the Tang Dynasty, the rural management basically takes "Local Official System" management model, and from the middle of the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty generally uses the model of "Village Autonomy". The state power mainly relies on rural social organizations, such as clan organizations, village organizations, neighborhood administrative system etc. as an intermediary for the indirect management. From the implementation of the New Policies in Late Qing Dynasty to the New Country System of the period of the KMT governance, the rural management is a cut-and-try process from Village Autonomy, the reconstruction of the neighborhood administrative system to the decentralization of authority of the basic-level government.The paper also summarizes that the decentralization of authority after the foundation of new China from the basic level government to the government at the township level, in order to achieve the industrialization and the modernization of socialism, as well as use People’s Commune System instead of township government to achieve a comprehensive, omnipotent management in the rural areas. Since the reform and opening up, the rural management had experienced the period of "Countryside Politics and Village Governance" as well as the post-taxes period of the construction of new socialist countryside.This paper analyzes the creative achievements and main problems in the process of strengthening political power at the grassroots level in China and the development of villagers’ autonomy after the reform and opening up. The basic point of view in this paper is that the grassroots political power has the continuously weakening tendency and the intensified financial difficulties in the era of post-taxes. With the acceleration of the process of urbanization, villagers’ autonomy also appears some new situations, such as the problems of village-level financial position and empty-shell village, etc. The author puts forward to transform the functions of the grassroots government, perfect the grassroots construction of political power, accelerate the supply of the public goods and public services in the rural areas and further improve the construction of the villagers’ autonomy by the means of urbanization.