漢代名臣張良與諸葛亮，歷來因政治功業與高尚人格而備受推崇，但也有論者指摘其行事的瑕疵。而自北宋中期開始，二人首次被賦予「儒者」之名，新的論辯因而展開。部分士人讚許張良、諸葛亮事跡合乎儒家規範之處，並將二人塑造為儒者典範，從而強化儒家學說的正當性。然而，部分注重學術純粹性的士人，則批判張良、諸葛亮學術駁雜，並認為這是二人不足為法之處，進而提醒士人應當追尋更高的理想。南宋時期，隨著論辯深化，諸葛亮的儒者形象被進一步肯定，更名列儒家賢哲系譜；相較之下，張良的儒者身分則持續遭受質疑。二人的儒者形象演化，至此產生分歧。分析張良與諸葛亮被賦予儒者之名的現象，得以觀察宋代士人定義儒者內涵的過程，以及建立典範的嘗試，具有現實政治與學術思想的雙重意義。將儒者之名與歷史上的名臣相互聯結，表示宋人更注重儒者的政治實踐，與前代頗為不同。張良與諸葛亮的案例，也顯示宋代士人心中歷史典範的複雜性，在企盼「回歸三代」的同時，對漢、唐則採取辯證態度，其中內涵值得仔細分疏。這是討論宋代士人的理想與典範時，應當注意的事實。

Zhang Liang 張良 (?-189 B.C.E.) and Zhuge Liang 諸葛亮 (181-234), two famous statesmen in the Han dynasty, were usually praised for their political achievements. In the Song dynasty, however, they were named as Confucians (ruzhe 儒者) for the first time. Later, Song literati started to discuss weather Zhang Liang and Zhuge Liang really followed the Confucian principles . On the one side, some scholars believed that Zhang’s and Zhuge’s deeds practiced Confucian virtue. On the other side, criticizers argued that their learning were not based on Confucianism. As the debate developing, Zhuge Liang became more accepted as a Confucian in Southern Song dynasty, while Zhang Liang’s Confucian image was intensely criticized or even denied. The debates reflected things which Song literati valued, and it also symbolized their attempts at defining the Confucian and establishing a Confucian paradigm. The connection between a statesman and the term ‘Confucian’, as Zhang Liang and Zhuge Liang, meant that the definition of the Confucian in Song dynasty was not only focused on their abilities in teaching Confucian Classics, but also emphasized political achievements. In summary, the case study about the Confucian images of Zhang Liang and Zhuge Liang provides a way to analyze the political and intellectual thoughts in Song dynasty.