Abstract: Sun Guangting was a very important but under-appreciated person in modern Yunnan history. He was the deputy director of Yunnan Higher School, the supervisor of students studying in Japan, and a member of the National Assembly. He was the teacher of Li Gen and Tang Jiyao, and throughout his life he interacted with Sun Yat-sen, Zhang Taiyan, and Zhang Shizhao, opposing Yuan Shikai's claim to the throne and exposing Cao Kun's bribery of elections. His ideology was rooted in Confucianism, and he had a good intention to use the sages as weapons to save the declining world. His writings mostly expounded sage thoughts, based on the world's moral and human hearts, righteous and stern, and vastly evolving. His poems, describing the will and reason, have the appearance of Song poetry of ancient elegance and erudition. The study of his case will enhance the understanding of the face and achievements of the modern Yunnan literati community.

Key words: Modern literature, Yunnan famous confucians, Sun Guangting, life thought, poetry and writing, Zhang Shizhao