Abstract: Driven by market demand, the management of river sand has become a significant challenge in global natural resource management. Scholars from both domestic and international communities have conducted extensive and in-depth research on the exploitation, impact, and management of river sand. However, previous studies often approach the topic from a single perspective, focusing on legality and rationality analysis, and lack an in-depth discussion from the perspective of emotional rationality. Moreover, most studies focus solely on river sand itself, neglecting the existence of the “human” element, and prioritize resource “rights” analysis while overlooking the dynamics of “power” in resource governance. Based on the inherent requirements for achieving rural ecological revitalization, an investigation and study of the long-standing tensions of “emotional rationality,” “rationality,” and “legality” in the development and management of river sand resources in the Han River Delta over more than 40 years of reform and opening up, as well as the equity games conducted by multiple subjects based on “emotion, reason, and law,” shows that only by achieving coordinated governance of emotion, reason, and law can river sand management transition from disorder to harmony, laying a solid foundation for achieving the goal of clear rivers and peaceful seas.

Key words: river sand governance, “emotion, reason, law”, collaborative governance, rural ecological revitalization, Han River Delta