Handan, Hebei Province gathers the silver-haired power of "five elders" to skillfully resolve rural disputes

“Let’s go find the ‘Five Elders’ to comment!” This is a saying that local villagers in Shengying Town, Guangping County, Handan City, Hebei Province often say when there are disputes between neighbors and estrangement among families.

What are the "Five Elders"? Zhang Shichao, director of the Shengying Judicial Office of Guangping County Justice Bureau in Handan City, said that based on the "Fengqiao Experience" in the new era, the town selected more than 70 old cadres, old party members, old teachers, old veterans, and old model village sages from 29 administrative villages to form a "five-old" mediation service team and set up a three-level linkage mechanism of the town party committee, judicial office, and village party branch, with supporting activity venues and funding guarantees, allowing the power of silver hair to become the "lubricant" of grassroots governance.

On November 5, the staff of the "Five Elders" Mediation Service Team of Shengying Town, Guangping County, Handan City, Hebei Province looked through the ledger. Photo by Wu Xiaokai

Zhang Shichao said that there are many disputes and complicated human relations in the village. If issues such as homestead ownership and support for the elderly are dealt with only through litigation, it is easy for "the case to be concluded but the matter to be unresolved." The "five elders" mediators are native-born, familiar with local conditions and knowledgeable about public opinion, and can not only explain legal principles clearly, but also understand human feelings.

"Family conflicts are one of the difficulties in rural governance." Zhang Shichao said that previously, the conflict between a mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law in Caizhuang Village, Shengying Town, intensified due to differences in parenting concepts, and the daughter-in-law refused to fulfill her obligation to support the elderly. Faced with this family dispute, the mediator launched a "Three Generations Conversation" and used the three-step mediation method of "tracing the origin, transposing, and empathizing". It did not simply judge right and wrong, but focused on awakening family warmth, guiding family members to think from their perspective, and using family affection to soften antagonistic emotions. After mediation, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law eased, and the daughter-in-law took the initiative to assume the obligation to support her. The story of filial piety and love for relatives was also widely spread in the village.

On November 5, in the "Five Elders" mediation room of Shengying Town, Guangping County, Handan City, Hebei Province, a mediator listened to the appeals of the masses. Photo by Wu Xiaokai

Zhang Shichao said that the "Five Elders" mediation service team also serves as policy and legal propagandists and rural customs and civilization guides, and took the lead in compiling "A Hundred Questions and Answers on Rural Laws", adapting obscure legal provisions such as homesteads and alimony disputes into easy-to-understand local jingles, making it easier for villagers to understand and remember.

In order to get rid of the limitation of relying solely on human experience and mediation, Shengying Town has established a volunteer training model of "precise empowerment, practice tempering, and resource coordination". Establish a personal competency file for each "Five Elders" volunteer, carry out professional training in hierarchical and classified categories, and make up for the shortcomings in legal interpretation and psychological counseling. At the same time, township cadres, resident lawyers, psychologists, and social workers have been mobilized to form support pairs, and "legal clinics" are opened every month. When complex disputes arise, professional forces are mobilized to collaboratively handle complex disputes, and the standardization of mediation work is promoted.

Since the establishment of the "Five Elders" Mediation Service Team in 2025, it has mediated a total of 76 conflicts and disputes of various types, with a mediation success rate of over 96%. It has effectively implemented the "Maple Bridge Experience" in the new era of "small matters should not leave the village, major matters should not leave the town, and conflicts should not be handed over". In June this year, the Hebei Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs listed it as a typical case of rural governance.

Wang Chao, Secretary of the Party Committee of Shengying Town, Guangping County, said that rural revitalization requires not only the prosperity of industries, but also effective governance. The town will continue to build a strong team, optimize the linkage mechanism, expand the scope of services, and continue to release the "silver age efficiency." (over)