Guo Zhongshu

Guo Zhongshu (c. 929–977) was a Chinese calligrapher, painter, philologist and scholar of the Five Dynasties and Song periods. He is remembered above all for his landscapes and his depictions of buildings, and his figure interests historians both for his work and for the eccentric character attributed to him in the sources.

A native of Luoyang, he was a child prodigy who passed an imperial examination for young candidates and excelled at seal script. He first served the governor Liu Yun, whose murder by Guo Wei opened a period of political danger for him. He then entered the administration of the Later Zhou and Song dynasties, from which he was banished several times because of his behaviour.

During his years of exile and wandering he became famous as a painter. Aristocrats who hosted him had to offer good wine and have a white scroll ready, since if he was not in the mood he would leave without painting. After returning to court in 976 he again clashed with the rules, and he died in 977 on the road to a new exile. Su Shi wrote a eulogy praising his free spirit, while Alexander Soper suggested that he suffered from schizophrenia.