Reaffirming the principle of rural residents’ autonomy is an essential component of rural governance modernization. The foundation of rural governance lies in villagers' proactive participation in village-level public affairs as governance actors and their capacity to achieve collective action， thereby cultivating the autonomy of rural governance. Taking the practice of the“ Red Plum Index” in Village L of City A in eastern coastal China as an example， this paper， within the analytical framework of motivation–behavior–goal， presents the practical process， operational mechanism and implementation effects of point-based governance in the village under the incentive mechanism. The research results indicate that through the mediating effect of the “mian zi” mechanism， the practice of points-based governance establishes three core incentive conditions---motivation generation， behavior shaping and goal management---which effectively stimulate the endogenous momentum of rural governance， ecourage villagers' active participation in public affairs， and help overcome the dilemma of collective action， thereby realizing the integrated governance model that combines autonomy， rule of law and morality. However， as an informal institutional arrangement， the points-based system can sustain rural self-governance only if it is embedded within the formal institutional framework of China’s current rural governance， forming a long-term governance mechanism. Moreover， the successful experience of the points-based governance system in Village L does not necessarily guarantee its replicability elsewhere； its application should be adapted to local contexts and socio-economic conditions.