《南贛鄉約》是中國古代鄉約的重要代表，研究《南贛鄉約》對於瞭解中國古代的鄉治思想具有典型性意義。《南贛鄉約》的思想來源，主要是三禮尤以《周禮》為甚，並糅合了《呂氏鄉約》與洪武的《聖諭六言》的部分思想，而陽明心學是其誕生的自身理論基礎。《南贛鄉約》的主旨在於立人心、厚風俗，陽明為善去惡的善惡觀尤其成為其鄉治思想的精神內核。《南贛鄉約》在歷史上產生了重要的影響，但同時也存在不可忽視的歷史局限性。《南贛鄉約》雖然標榜鄉村自治，但默認暴力型國家機構在整治鄉村以形成良好的鄉村秩序的合理合法性，因此極大地擠壓了普通民眾的自由空間，為惡勢力的擴張提供了更多的可能。

Township Covenants of Southern Jiangxi is one of important representative covenants of ancient China, and the study of Township Covenants of Southern Jiangxi has typical significance to understanding rural governing thoughts of ancient China. The thought of Township Covenants of Southern Jiangxi originates from the Three Books on Rites, especially from the Rites of Zhou, incorporating some of the ideas of “Lv’s Township Covenants” and “Six Ways of Speech of Imperial Decree” in Hongwu Period, while Yang-ming’s Philosophy of the Mind is the theoretical basis of Township Covenants of Southern Jiangxi. The purport of Township Covenants of Southern Jiangxi lies in establishing the Mind of Man and making people simple and honest. The good and evil view of practicing good and removing evil of Wang Yang-ming especially becomes the spiritual core of its rural governing thoughts. Township Covenants of Southern Jiangxi has an important influence in the history, but it has inevitable historical limitations. Although Township Covenants of Southern Jiangxi advocates rural autonomy, it turns a blind eye to the rationality and legitimacy of the violent state organs in the process of rehabilitating villages to form a good rural order, thus greatly squeezing the free spaces for common people and providing more possibilities for the expansion of the evil forces.