明朝遺民以「正統論」為題目發表文章，魏禧是最重要的一位。他的〈正統論〉三篇，隨著其文集的刊刻而廣泛流播，深受注意。確實，魏禧經歷明朝滅亡、滿清問鼎、南明偏安的混亂與政權分立時期，加上他的〈正統論〉只說到南宋為止，且強調東晉、南宋偏安為正統，故此引來眾多不同的臆測和詮釋。不少時賢後俊對魏禧的〈正統論〉作出回應，當中有讚賞並或加以補充的，也有指責並持相反意見的。而在紛紜意見之中，以其寫〈正統論〉的目的在於正南明、黜滿清最為普遍。不過，本文透過分析魏禧的〈正統論〉和他的其他文章，並結合其家族在明亡後的取向，和清朝重要官員為其出版〈正統論〉，指出他實際上既不正南明，也不正清朝，而是將兩者歸入「統」而不「正」的格局；其三統上下流動之說，正說明他在等待「正統」的來臨。另外，本文肯定魏禧作為一個知識分子，在改朝換代、新政權出現的時候，自覺地提出「正統」的標準及要求，可視為是對以往政權的合法性最徹底的全面反思。故此，魏禧雖然不願意出仕清朝，但是〈正統論〉的發表，實際上亦是他經世思想的重要一環。

Wei Xi魏禧 was the most important of the Ming loyalists who wrote on the theory of legitimate succession in the Qing dynasty. His three articles entitled "On Legitimate Succession" were widely circulated and drew much attention due to the publication of his collected works. Wei experienced the chaotic period of the Ming demise, the Qing invasion, as well as the stand of the Southern Ming emperors; his articles, covering only up to the Southern Song dynasty, stressed the fact that Eastern Jin and Southern Song rule, which retained partial sovereignty of the mainland, was still the legitimate government. This led to various conjectures and interpretations of his meaning. Many of his contemporaries and scholars of the later generations responded to Wei's "On Legitimate Succession," with some admiring his ideas, and occasionally providing supplementation, while others criticized his viewpoints. The most popular interpretation among these responses was that Wei wrote the articles with an aim to advocate the legitimacy of the Southern Ming and delegitimize the Qing. However, through the analysis of Wei's "On Legitimate Succession" and his other articles, as well as the political attitude of his clan toward the reality and the fact that the three articles were published by important Qing officials, this paper attempts to argue that Wei regarded neither the Southern Ming nor the Qing as legitimate. To Wei, both of them were ruling without legitimate succession. His assertion of the "up-and-down floating of the three legitimate successions" revealed that he was waiting for a legitimate rule. In addition, the paper also points out that Wei, being an intellectual, consciously raised the issue and demanded a "legitimate succession" in the dynastic transition after the rise of a new reign, which can be considered a thorough examination of the legitimacy of previous regimes. Although Wei refused to take office under the Qing, the publication of his "On Legitimate Succession" indeed was an important part of his idea of statecraft.