dudgeon attended the university of edinburgh and the university of glasgow, in the latter of which he graduated m.d. and master of surgery in 1862. in 1863, he was appointed to the medical mission of the london missionary society to serve at the hospital in peking established by william lockhart, arriving in china in december 1863. he was also medical attendant to the british legation in peking (modern-day beijing) from 1864-1868. dudgeon was appointed professor of anatomy and physiology at the imperial college (tongwen guan) during the 1870s and 1880s. in "wanderings in china", constance frederica gordon cumming wrote: