Emotional and behavioural problems (EBPs) affect more than 30 million adolescents in China, with the prevalence of depression among middle school students reaching 24.3%. Grounded in the Confucian ethics of filial piety and self-restraint, which shape the traditional “combination of kindness and authority” parenting style, this study explores the mechanisms through which authoritative parenting influences adolescent mental health via resilience. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1,028 middle school students aged 10–18 in Shenyang, the core region of Confucian culture. Culturally adapted scales were used to assess Confucian values internalization, parenting style (S-EMBU), resilience (CD-RISC), and EBPs (SDQ). Hierarchical regression and moderated mediation modelling with PROCESS (Bootstrap = 5,000) revealed that parental emotional warmth, as the core of authoritative parenting, significantly reduced the risk of EBPs (β = -0.34 to -0.36, p < 0.001), with 39–41% of the effect mediated through resilience. Confucian values strengthened this pathway, with the mediating effect in the high-internalization group being 37.2% greater than that in the low-internalization group (Δβ = 0.38 vs. 0.21, p < 0.01). The mediating contribution of fathers’ emotional warmth (40.76%) was significantly higher than that of mothers (38.78%, Z = 2.17, p = 0.03), reflecting the cultural role division of “strict father and kind mother.” These findings suggest that Confucian values enhance the emotional warmth component of authoritative parenting, thereby fostering resilience and reducing EBPs among adolescents. It is recommended that cultural resources such as family maxims and self-cultivation courses be integrated into family interventions and school mental health education systems to form culturally adapted strategies for promoting adolescent development.