Guo Pu

Life

His great-grandfather was 郭銀, his grandfather 郭瑲, his father 郭清, and his mother 李氏; his younger brothers were 郭樞, 郭楨, and 郭棟, and his wife was 李氏. His sons were 郭炘, 郭炯, 郭炤, 郭焜, 郭焞, 郭煥, 郭煓, 郭熠, and 郭燁.

In 1534, he ranked 57th in the Henan provincial examination; in 1535, he ranked 31st in the metropolitan examination, received a jinshi degree in the second class, fourth place, and was selected as a shujishi of the Hanlin Academy.

After entering the Hanlin Academy, he served as a compiler, reader-academician, and expositor-academician; he also held the posts of 持節冊封副使, 左春坊左庶子, Hanlin Academician, and 太子賓客. In 1542 he served as 持節冊封副使; in 1546, as a provincial examination official; in 1551, as 左春坊左庶子; and in 1552, as chief examiner for a provincial examination.

In 1553 he became Vice Minister of Rites and served in the Western Park; in 1557 he was Hanlin Academician and 太子賓客, in 1560 he became Minister of Rites, and in the winter of 1561 he was appointed Minister of Personnel. By the end of the Jiajing reign, he was Minister of Personnel, had received the additional title Taizi Taibao, concurrently served as Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall, and participated in handling state affairs.

At the time, Grand Secretary Xu Jie was senior and powerful, while Gao Gong, relying on his talent, acted wilfully. Gao and Guo served together in the cabinet and, as fellow natives of Henan, were close as townsmen; they treated Xu Jie with some disdain. When the emperor died, Xu Jie drafted the testamentary edict without consulting Gao or Guo, and the two consequently fell out with him. Censors impeaching Gao often implicated Guo as well. After Gao retired on grounds of illness, Guo, feeling insecure, requested retirement.

He mourned his father in the third month of 1563 and was allowed to resume office despite the mourning period in the fourth month of 1565; in the third month of 1566 he concurrently became Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall. In the first year of Longqing (1567), he held the titles Shaobao, Shaofu, and Taizi Taifu, and served as chief compiler of the 《肅宗實錄》 and as 同知經筵重錄; in the ninth month he retired, returned home, and lived in seclusion east of Anyang.

Writings and associations

Pan En was his disciple. His associations with Hu Song, Zhang Han, Fang Hongjing, Liu Hui, Wang Weizhen, and Li Weizhen included congratulatory messages, letters, replies, and poems or prose.

Titles associated with him include 《大明會典》 in 180 juan, 《三士嘆》, 《九字圖說》, 《修治萬金渠記》, 《續志》 in three juan, and 《郭樸文集》 in five juan, as well as 《兵部尚書襄毅王公邦瑞墓誌銘》 and 《南京禮部右侍郎贈禮部尚書崔文敏公銑傳》.

His writings included epitaphs for Wang Bangrui and Wang Weizhen; biographies of Cui Xian, Wang Ke, Wang Xun, Li Qin, and Li Sui; a sacrificial text for Zhang Tongde; a lament for Zhou Xianchen; and a spirit-way stele inscription for Zhang Yongming.

Death and posthumous honors

He died on the eighteenth day of the fifth month of 1593. He was posthumously granted the title Taifu and the posthumous name Wenjian, and was buried on the south side of Hanling on the second day of the eleventh month of the following year.