Guo Zhongshu

Guo Zhongshu (c. 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.