Abstract: The fishery disputes in the Poyang Lake area in late Qing and the Republic of China are not only the historical norm,but also the realistic situation of the aquatic society.Under the multiple factors of history and reality,the traditional practice of fishery dispute mediation in the lake area includes“old arts”,“old rules” or“old chapters”,the state power factors,clan social forces,traditional and customary factors and other forces in Poyang Lake area played games with each other to construct the dynamic scene of autonomy and heterarchy of the grass-roots society in Poyang Lake area in late Qing and the Republic of China,it is helpful to understand the operation logic and its inherent law in different times by analyzing the traditional practice and its main basis in the mediation of fishery social disputes in the lake area.