Abstract: To advance high-quality education for the new era, it is essential to strengthen the educator ethos by cultivating paragons, exemplary educators, who can serve as role models. China’s distinct educator ethos encompasses a lofty mission, deep commitment, innovative philosophies, and exemplary ethics, providing significant guidance for nurturing these exemplary educators. Inherently, the educator ethos and the concept of an exemplary educator align in their educational goals, core principles, and practical dynamics. In terms of guiding the development of a high-caliber teaching workforce, this ethos is of paramount value. It serves as the cornerstone for achieving both the educational goal of virtue cultivation and Chinese path to educational modernization. Practically, the path involves leveraging educator ethos to strengthen teachers’ guidance in education of moral and core values and to enhance their pedagogical competencies. It also entails advancing institutional reforms to systematically cultivate the exemplary educators of the new era.