Antedating of "Confucian"

Tue Mar 20 02:13:09 UTC 2012

Confucian (OED 1837)

1694 William Wotton _Reflections upon Ancient and Modern Learning_ 145 (Early English Books Online)  If the _Chineses_ think every part of Knowledge, but their own _Confucian_ Ethicks, ignoble and mechanical, why are the _European_ Missionaries so much respected for their Skill in Medicine and Mechanicks?

Fred Shapiro

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