党的十八大将依法治国确立为治国理政的基本方略。在建设法治社会、实现法治中国进程中,以何者为先导来推进法治社会建设,是目前需要深入思考和研究的问题。通过对集中反映我国社会矛盾的信访制度所做的实证研究,本文发现在当下的中国社会,以法治政府为先导推动法治社会建设,是一个更为务实和最具操作性的做法。 The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will establish the country according to law as a basic strategy for managing state affairs. In the process of building a society ruled by law and realizing the rule of law in China, which one is the precursor to promote the building of a society ruled by law is the issue that needs deep thinking and research. Through the empirical research on the petition system which reflects the social conflicts in our country, this paper finds that it is a more pragmatic and operational approach to promote the construction of the rule of law in the current Chinese society by taking the rule of law and government as the guide.