「忠」的概念在傳統的解讀上，通常是指「忠君愛國」，但是如果「忠君」和「愛國」兩者發生衝突或不能兩全，應做如何之調處，恐怕頗有難處。尤其是這種狀況發生在兵荒馬亂，百廢待舉的國情理，更突顯二者之間的矛盾。筆者以南宋草創時期的三位宰相為例，對其政治上的表現做詳實之論述，希望帶給讀者一個思考的方向，究竟傳統的思維與現代人的看法，在「忠」的意義上有無交集，而所謂「姦臣」或「忠臣」的定義是否有在商榷的空間，史官之論可有偏頗之處。同時，藉由對這三位宰相之評析，讀者也可一窺南宋政權建立的辛苦歷程。

The concept of "loyalty" in imperial China is often referred to as being loyal to the emperor and thus loyal to the country. However, what if there is a contradiction between these two loyalties? This paper intends to discuss on this issue using the three chief councilors (zaixiang 宰相) of the early Southern Song Dynasty. Also, to put the concept of "loyalty" into a comparative perspective would provide us a new insight into the discussed period of history.