Guo Zhongshu

Guo Zhongshu ( 929 – 977), courtesy name Shuxian (or Guobao, according to Xuanhe Huapu ), was a Chinese calligrapher, painter, philologist, and scholar during the Five Dynasties period and Song dynasty. He was noted for his paintings of landscapes and structures.

Early in his career, Guo Zhongshu served under the Later Han governor Liu Yun until Liu was murdered by the usurper Guo Wei. He later served in the Later Zhou and Song imperial governments, but was banished multiple times for behavioral problems. Especially in his later life, he was known for his eccentricity. Su Shi's eulogy as well as later anecdotes celebrated his apparent free spirit, wit, courage, and egalitarian tendencies. Alexander Soper, however, saw symptoms of schizophrenia which he blamed for Guo's death.

Early life Summer Palace of Emperor Ming Huang (明皇避暑宮), collection of Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts.

Guo Zhongshu was from Luoyang, while his ancestral home was in Shanghe County. (The exam was for children under 15 who could recite Classics and compose poetry in both the shi and fu forms, recommended by the prefect and personally tested by the emperor. ) He was also good at calligraphy, especially the seal script and the large seal script. Once, when shown a manuscript in the rare bird seal script, he was so absorbed by it that he read and copied it overnight.

During the Later Han dynasty, Liu Yun—a cousin of the Later Han emperor Liu Chengyou—was named the military governor of Wuning Circuit (武寧, headquartered in Xu Prefecture) in 948. Guo Zhongshu, who was around 19 at that time, went to Xu Prefecture and served as a prefectural judge under him. Realizing this is a conspiracy, the 22-year-old Guo Zhongshu angrily lambasted the 69-year-old Feng Dao, who had disloyally held high positions under the Later Tang, Later Jin, and the Liao dynasty before Later Han:

(Su Shi's eulogy (included in his Dongpo Ji 東坡集) offers a different account. It states that Guo Zhongshu resigned from his post before 950, following a quarrel with Dong Yi , a staff supervisor . )

Later Zhou and Song dynasties Traveling on the River in Snow (雪霽江行), latter half of 10th century, collection of National Palace Museum. Guo Zhongshu re-emerged in officialdom when Guo Wei was still emperor. He likely denied his former relationship with Liu Yun, because official records claimed he "swung his sleeve and spurned" Liu Yun when the latter offered him a position. At any rate, around 952, he had concurrent positions in the Imperial Clan Court and the Directorate of Education (where he was the I Ching specialist). but he did not mend his ways there. After he drunkenly beat up a local clerk named Fan Di and failed to report for duty, he was arrested and further banished to Lingwu.

Zhao Guangyi became the emperor in 976, and being a connoisseur he summoned Guo Zhongshu back to the imperial court and provided him with sumptuous gifts such as silver belts. Ending his 15-year exile, Guo Zhongshu returned to the Directorate of Education to assume the position of master of records . Initially the emperor had him stay with a eunuch named Dou Shenxing . Guo Zhongshu had a long lush beard, but suddenly he shaved it all off. Dou Shenxing was puzzled and asked him. Guo Zhongshu replied, "Don't mind me, I'm just awkwardly imitating." The eunuch (undoubtedly beardless) was so infuriated he complained to the emperor. the palaeographic compilation Han Jian , which, among other materials, features the inscriptions of the Stone Drums of Qin. The name of the dictionary means "making the bamboo sweet" and refers to the process of preparation of the bamboo slips for writing (so called , 殺青, "killing the green" ). Despite being included into the bibliographic chapter of the History of Song, this work was much neglected during the following dynasties. Veracity of some interpretations in the Han Jian was not proven until the second half of the 20th century.

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