As one of the most important translators in the late Qing Dynasty, Bao Tianxiao rendered plenty of education novels. Xin’er jiuxueji, translated from Cuore, an Italian novel by Edmondo de Amicis, was the most well-known among them. Ertong xiushen zhi ganqing (Children’s Moral Cultivation), another education novel translated in 1905 from Cuore, has always been regarded as an earlier version selectively translated by Bao. However, after my investigation of the publication information, as well as careful comparison of several texts, I verify that Ertong xiushen zhi ganqi was actually a complete translation from the Japanese version 3000 Leagues. The selective translator was Hara Hōitsuan, the Japanese translator, instead of Bao. Hōitsuan’s Japanese version in 1902, however, was not derived from the Italian original but from an English translation by Isabel F. Hapgood in 1887. In addition to clarifying and confirming the translation history of this story, I try to observe the features shown in these translations. The main methodology used in this study is close reading. It is a thorough method particularly essential for the research of translation history. The research results reveal that Bao was not an unfaithful translator as he has always been regarded. His translation was mostly influenced by his source text, the Japanese translation, among other factors, such as his admiration of Lin Shu’s traditional writing style. In addition, the hope for a juvenile China, rather than the old China, was reflected in the young boy’s pursuit in this touching story, and the new world, with its modernity, was presented as a metaphor of utopia.