以往對明中期以後王學人士社區治理措施的研究，主要集中在官府倡辦「鄉約」 和推行「十家牌」等舉措上。而對其同時並重家族與社區的建設，很少涉及。這一缺失，忽 略了實施鄉約的社會基礎。本文以江西樂安縣流坑村為例，加以說明。 流坑村是五代建村的單姓村落，傍河依山，具有發展竹木貿易的良好條件。至明中期，以木 業為主的商業活動大大加強其財富實力，同時也導致了族人因消費觀念和方式變化而引發的 一系列社區內部矛盾加劇。以董燧為代表的鄉紳精英，通過入會、講學等方式，引起江右王 門主要人物對流坑的關注。董氏鄉紳的主要措施在於強化家族組織建設，如建立了以「彰義 堂」為中心的捐銀入主新制度；完善了以祖墳風水為依據的族產佔有理論，並配合有造神等 措施；確立了宗子制並保證其長期主祭的可能；組織了分班輪流管理族務的鄉紳班子；建造 了規制嚴整、防禦力強的街巷敵樓體系，並定期舉辦士人之會，鄉約講會相配套的村族之會 ，呈現出內涵豐富的社區建設畫面。 明中葉以後，政府急於維持和重建鄉村秩序。在江西吉安、撫州二府以北的「腹心地區」， 歷史悠久、人數眾多的大族，成為政府的主要依靠力量。在贛南主要用於「治山中賊」的「 鄉約」，在腹心地區被大族手作控制地方社會的手段之一。基層社會控制權的部分讓渡，在 此進行得比較自然而平穩。

　　　　　Past research on community governance by the Wang Yang-ming School afte r the mid-Ming period, has mainly focused on such official institutions as "coountry contracts" and "ten-family registers". Not much research has been done, however, on the rural construction of equally important, though smaller, social units at the clan or village level. Addressing this research topic, this paper is a case study of Liu-keng Village, Le-an county, in Jiangxi Province, as an illustration of the social foundation upon which the system of"country contracts" was implemented. In the Five Dynasties period, Liu-keng Village was a single surname village. Geographically, the village was bordered by mountains, while a river flowed nearby: conditions thus were favorable to the development of bamboo and timber trade. During the mid-Ming period, commercial activity-mainly timber trade-not only brought prosperity to the village, but also changed the consumption habits of the clan, eventually leading to a succession of conflicts. Thanks to members of the gentry elite such as Dong Sui, who joined literary societies and gave lectures, attention of the Jiangyou scholars was drawn towards Liu-Keng Village. Programs implemented by elite members of the dong clan to strengthen clan structure, in included the introducti on of a new juan-yin-ru-zhu system, that revolved aro und the Zhang-i Hall; the perfectioning of the theoretical grounds of clan estat e, which was based on geomancy of the ancestral grave; the establishment of the tsung-tzu system, which ensured that a designated heir would serve a regular ba sis as Master of Ceremonies; theforming of a group of members of the local gentry who were to take turns managing clan affairs; the construction of carefully esigned and well-defended neighborhood watch-towers; and the holding o f clan meeting with the literate members and headmen of the village. After the mid-Ming period, the central govenment became impatient to maintain and reconstruct order in the countryside. Authority over local communities was entrusted to the major clans of the hinterland of Ji-an and Fu-zhou, who had an ancient clan history and were quite numberous. The "country contracts", originally a means to "strike the rebel forces in the mountains" in southern Jiangxi, were now also used for control of local societies by the major clans from the hinterland. The delegation of authority over the lower levels of the social structure, was in this case a natural and smooth process.