Deeply embedded in the everyday survival strategies of rural residents， face （or mianzi） operates as an informal mechanism of social control. It produces a localized order in rural governance， compensating for the limitations of administrative and legal systems in reaching the human sentiment and moral obligation. In traditional rural societies， the face-based order played a particularly prominent role in behavioral constraints， dispute resolution and public participation. As rural society undergoes modernization， the social conditions that once enabled the effective operation of face-based order have changed， leading to a weakening of its functions. Nevertheless， contemporary practices in rural environmental governance reveal that the order-generating function of face has been reactivated in this context. It manifests in the form of rule-abiding behavior motivated by personal dignity （“face compliance”）， contract-conscious sanctions （“face punishment”）， and communal oversight rooted in shared reputation （“face-based supervision”）. The mechanism of this regeneration can be traced to the transformation from the network of acquaintances to the community of governance， which provides a new field for the operation of the face-based order； the evolution from local ethics to universal morality， which develops new value standards for the normative basis of the face-based order； and the shift of the farmers’perceptions of face from reciprocity-driven sentiment to contract-oriented rationality， which injects a new cultural foundation into the operation of the face-based order. Regardless of social transformation， the effective functioning of the face-based order relies on the three major elements： identity recognition， social evaluation and self-discipline. These elements represent the intrinsic genes that allow the order function of face to transition from tradition to modernity.