Practical Dilemmas and Countermeasures for Rural Township “Red‑and‑White Events” Custom Transformation: A Case Study of Litian Village, Guangxi

Abstract

Against the backdrop of rural revitalization, transforming outdated social customs is an important lever for building rural civility and strengthening rural governance. In some rural areas, outdated practices such as lavish ceremonies, exorbitant bride prices, reciprocal comparison, and neglected care for the elderly accompanied by lavish funerals persist, increasing farmers’ burdens and constraining rural cultural revitalization. Taking Litian Village, a Yao village in Gongcheng, Guangxi, as a case study, and drawing on rural construction theory and collaborative governance theory, this paper examines the practical measures and outcomes of transforming social customs surrounding red and white events (weddings and funerals). The study finds that the village promotes rural custom governance through a “Red and White Council + grid-based management” model, the “Five Unifications” system, a village-level civilization hall, and the revitalization of the Yao “liangbian zou” (walking both ways) marital custom. Nevertheless, problems remain, including insufficiently deep publicity, villagers’ wait-and-see attitudes, blind spots in supervision, and inadequate multi-actor coordination. These problems are rooted in the constraints of local face culture, the limited binding force of village covenants, and the lack of positive incentives and linkage mechanisms. Accordingly, countermeasures are proposed from the perspectives of precision governance, model-based guidance, public service improvement, and the construction of a multi-actor co-governance pattern, so as to provide practical reference for ethnic minority townships seeking to deepen the transformation of social customs.