This article diachronically analyzes how the British newspaper *The Times* presented Confucius from 1785 to 2019. Using corpus linguistics and discursive news values analysis, the study examines how news values shifted over time. Before the 1840s, Confucius was often Westernized and religionized, compared to Western thinkers and religious figures to reduce audience distance. After the 1840s, Confucius became increasingly associated with Chinese identity, leading to a shift towards presenting more Chinese contexts. The portrayal of Confucius also transitioned from representing ordinary Chinese people before the 1880s to representing elite Chinese identities afterward. The study provides valuable historical data for social studies in the British context.

Cheng Chen, Renping Liu