南戏“忠孝不能两全”虽在《琵琶记》中已经提出，但经过仔细分析发现，《琵琶记》之“忠”是有其名而无其实的；真正把“忠”、“孝”两个概念都落到实处、形成忠孝冲突者自明邱濬《五伦全备记》始。这一由虚到实的转变不仅折射出作品成型的时代特色，也与作者的身份地位、个人经历有着密不可分的关联。如果对“忠孝不能两全”的形成作一细致考察，就会发现它并不像有些论者所说的“封建制度的内部矛盾”那样简单。从根本上说，这是作为家庭之个人与作为集体之个人两种身份不能合理协调时形成的两难之境，具有跨时代、跨地域的普遍性；具体来说，“忠孝不能两全”作为这种矛盾在中国的反映又带有浓厚的中国色彩：忠、孝两种观念间的推及关系以及不平等性使这两种愿望往往集中于一个个体之上，这也是形成此类戏剧冲突的根本原因。

The contradiction of “loyalty or filial piety” in Nan-tradition Drama is mentioned in The Tale of the Lute, however, careful analysis finds that the “loyalty” in The Tale of the Lute is not a true loyalty, instead, the real concept and contradiction of loyalty and filial piety are formed in Qiu Jun’s “Wu Lun quan bei ji” in Ming dynasty. This change from blank conception to real contradiction does not reflect the characteristics of the times when the work is done, but also has a close relationship with the author’s status and personal experience. As long as there is a careful survey on the contradiction of “loyalty or filial piety”, it will turn out to be far more complicated than a simple “inner contradiction in feudalization”. Fundamentally, it is a dilemma formed in the inconsonance between the individual in a family and the individual in a collectivity, existing in all times and in all regions. To be specific, the contradiction of “loyalty or filial piety” has its own Chinese characteristics: the derivative relationship and inequality between the concept of loyalty and filial piety put these two desires on one individual, which is the essential factors for the formation of such kind of dramas.