陸世儀(1611-1672)撰有《治鄉三約》（1卷），也曾有機會擔任約正一職施行其鄉治理想，然而，他卻選擇力辭，放棄能實踐鄉政願景的大好機會。對此，陸世儀雖有提出屬於個人性的原因說明，但可以思考的是：除了陸世儀個人意願的因素外，是否另有其他可供探究的原因呢？尤其，縱使是鄉約理論，仍是帶有可操作的性格與實踐的要求，一旦理論要被施作時，具體現實情境的面對，是無可避免的。然觀陸世儀所據以提出辭去約正的理由，僅有個人意願的說明，卻沒有客觀現實層面的分析；這不免令人心生好奇。循此，本文試圖將未付諸施行的鄉約理論，放在明清江南地方社會的背景上來思考和討論，分析《治鄉三約》施行的難度。從而使陸世儀的鄉治構想，有一定的時代背景與社會基礎可說。經本文的討論，發現陸世儀放棄約正一職，在現實條件的客觀因素上，和明代的家族發展，或許有著一定的關係可說。

Lu Shiyi (1611-1672) wrote Zhixiang sanyue (Three Covenants for Governing the Rural Districts). Although he had the opportunity to be a yuezheng (a local chief) to implement his township governance ideal, he declined the offer and gave up this great opportunity to realize his township governance theory. He declined this opportunity for a personal reason, but no one accepted this excuse. In particular, although these Three Contracts are merely theory, there are characteristics of implementation and requirements of realization. When a theory is practiced, it is necessary for operators to face scenarios in reality. However, Lu simply declined the local chief's offer for personal reasons without specifying any unbiased views on the social condition. Therefore, this paper discussed and analyzed the difficulties in implementing the Three Contracts in terms of the social background in the south of Yangtze during the Ming and Qing dynasties, aiming to uncover the historical and social context of Lu's township governance. This paper found that family development in the Ming Dynasty should have played in important role in Lu's declining of the local chief's offer.