Guo Ziyi

Guo Ziyi
Duke of Dai 代國公 Prince of Fenyang 汾陽王
This image is from a book called "Wan xiao tang - Zhu Zhuang - Hua zhuan (晩笑堂竹荘畫傳)" which was published in the 10th year of the Republic of China (民国十年), 1921.
Born	697
Died	July 9, 781 (age 83-84)
Issue	8 sons, including Guo Ai , father of Empress Dowager Guo
Posthumous name Zhongwu 忠武
Father	Guo Jingzi 郭敬之
Occupation	General

Guo Ziyi (Kuo Tzu-i; Traditional Chinese: 郭子儀, Simplified Chinese: 郭子仪, Hanyu Pinyin: Guō Zǐyí, Wade-Giles: Kuo¹ Tzu³-i²) (697 – July 9, 781), formally Prince Zhōngwǔ of Fényáng (汾陽忠武王), was the Tang dynasty general who ended the An Lushan Rebellion and participated in expeditions against the Uyghur Khaganate) and Tibetan Empire. He was regarded as one of the most powerful Tang generals before and after the Anshi Rebellion. After his death he was immortalized in Chinese mythology as the God of Wealth and Happiness (Lu Star of Fu Lu Shou). Guo Ziyi was a reportedly a Nestorian Christian.

Guo Ziyi was born into the family of a middle-class civil servant in Hua Prefecture (華州, present-day Hua County in Shaanxi).

Around 735 Guo Ziyi was saved from a court martial by the poet Li Bai, who intervened on his behalf with the local commander.

Unlike other members of his family, Guo Ziyi entered political life through the official military examinations instead of a literary exam (for civil servants). He passed the military examinations in 749 and became an officer in the border regions of the Tang Empire and quickly rose through the ranks to become a jiedushi (regional military governor).

Limited records exist about Guo Ziyi before the An Lushan Rebellion; it was during the rebellion that he earned his fame. When rebellion broke out in 755, Guo Ziyi was assigned to protect the Tong Pass, a strategic location on the Chinese frontier. A large force of ten thousand rebels were marching toward the pass. Guo Ziyi took advantage of the situation by luring the rebels onto the plains in front of the pass where there were only scarce settlements. The rebels saw little to loot and were discouraged, while the Tang troops were prepared to fight, motivated by the desire to protect their families in the Tong Pass and the capital of Chang'an. Guo engaged the seven thousand troops at the Battle of Qingbi and scattered the rest while suffering few casualties to his own force, winning his first victory.