The Status of Mediation in Contemporary Chinese Rural Society: A Case Study of Xunyang County, Shaanxi Province, P. R. China (Report‪)‬

Introduction Chinese mediation, or "tiaojie" meaning "harmonious resolution", refers to a conventional use of intermediaries (usually social elites and government officials) in resolving interpersonal/intergroup conflicts and restoring social harmony at various levels of the Chinese society. Legitimized by Confucianism and Daoism, Chinese mediation has a long history as a major instrument for the people-ruled (renzhi), propriety-ruled (lizhi), and morality-ruled (dezhi) political, social, and cultural system of traditional China (Cao, 1999; Jia, 2001; Hu, 2005; Wang, 2006) in achieving its social ideal of harmony. It has been the most dominant tool for conflict management and resolution over litigation and negotiation. Mediation has been such a major source of life-blood for social harmony in China that it has been integrated into the Chinese way of life. Even during the Cultural Revolution when the Marxist and Maoist ideology of class struggle prevailed, the mediation system remained intact. Mediation is so pervasive in Chinese life that there are almost as many mediators per 100 individuals in China as there are lawyers per 100 individuals in the United States.