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Secondary sourceBook1915

The Ethics of Confucius

Miles Menander Dawson · 1915

A 1915 edition arranging sayings of Confucius and his disciples on the conduct of the 'superior man,' with a portrait of Confucius.

This book presents and organizes sayings attributed to Confucius and his disciples, centering him as the source of the teachings.

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About this source

What it is

This 1915 book, The Ethics of Confucius, was compiled by Miles Menander Dawson with a foreword by Wu Ting Fang, a former Chinese minister to the United States. It arranges sayings of Confucius and his disciples 'upon the conduct of the superior man' according to a plan attributed to Confucius himself. The edition includes a reproduced drawing of Confucius based on a traditional portrait.

Why it matters

Though Confucius died many centuries earlier, his teachings continued to be collected, translated, and reinterpreted, as this book shows. The involvement of a Chinese diplomat in writing its foreword highlights how Confucius's ideas remained a point of connection between Chinese tradition and the wider world in the early 1900s.

Look closer

  • What does the inclusion of a foreword by a Chinese diplomat suggest about how this book was meant to be received?
  • The portrait of Confucius is described as based on a traditional image, not an original likeness—why might that matter?
  • How might arranging sayings 'according to the plan of Confucius' shape the way readers understand him?

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