An Guo (; 1481–1534 AD), was a Chinese

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James Printer (1640 ...

, and

antique An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...

collector from

Wuxi Wuxi ( zh, s=无锡, p=Wúxī, ) is a city in southern Jiangsu, China. As of the 2024 census, it had a population of 7,495,000. The city lies in the southern Yangtze delta and borders Lake Tai. Notable landmarks include Lihu Park, the Mt. Lings ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

Province during the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

(1368-1644 AD). He was considered one of the wealthiest persons throughout the Ming Dynasty. An Guo is best known for improving the techniques of bronze

movable type Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable Sort (typesetting), components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric charac ...

, and his broad collection of antiques and art pieces. Due to the large amount of money and land in his possession, he was nicknamed "Millionaire An" (安百万).

Charity

After An Guo became extremely wealthy, he started helping the locals with preventing attacks and burglaries from

Wokou ''Wokou'' ( zh, c=, p=Wōkòu; ; Hepburn romanization, Hepburn: ; ; literal Chinese translation: "dwarf bandits"), which translates to "Japanese pirates", were pirates who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th century to the 17 ...

(倭寇), by providing financial support to the

military of the Ming dynasty The military of the Ming dynasty was the military apparatus of China from 1368 to 1644. It was founded in 1368 during the Red Turban Rebellion by Hongwu Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang (Hongwu Emperor). The military was initially organised along la ...

, as well as sponsoring the construction of

defensive walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with to ...

. Also, he rebuilt and maintained a shrine by establishing a joint estate using some of his own land, and constructed a huge pleasure garden, which was later named Xi Lin (西林, West Garden), to provide work opportunities to those who were in poverty because of a severe famine.

Personal life

An Guo was born in 1481 in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China, whose father was a landlord. When An Guo's father passed away, he succeeded to half of his father's land, which was approximately 50 acres. An Guo loved sweet olive so much, that he planted sweet olives for about 1 mile from his house. Therefore, his

art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin Chinese), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by artists, poets and writers in the Sinosp ...

(''hao'' in Mandarin, ) is "Guì Puō" (桂坡), which means "sweet olives on a hillslope" in Chinese. An Guo's printing house is named, "Gui Puo House" (桂坡馆). At the peak of his powers, An Guo was estimated to own 1 million acres of land located in today's

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

Changzhou Changzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling, and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Zhen ...

, etc.

Family

An Guo had seven sons, An Rushan (安如山; 1503-1570), An Rupan (安如磐; 1507-1568), An Rushi (安如石; 1513–1564), An Ruyue (安如岳), An Rujing (安如京), An Rugang (安如岡), and An Ruling (安如陵). Though An Guo himself never achieved any rank or degree in the Chinese

imperial examination The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the Civil service#China, state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureau ...

(科舉), his eldest son An Rushan, grandson An Xifan (安希范; 1564-1621), and great grandson An Guangju (安广居; 1593-1644) all received

jinshi ''Jinshi'' () was the highest and final degree in the imperial examination in Imperial China. The examination was usually taken in the imperial capital in the palace, and was also called the Metropolitan Exam. Recipients are sometimes referre ...

(進士) degrees. An Guo's grandson, An Xifan, who was the second son of An Rushan, was one of the main leaders of the

Donglin Movement The Donglin movement () was an ideological and philosophical movement of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties of China. The movement was established in 1604, during the Wanli era of Ming, when Gu Xiancheng (1550–1612), a Grand Secretary, an ...

, and a co-founder of the

Donglin Academy The Donglin Academy (, Wade–Giles ''Tung-lin''), also known as the Guishan Academy (龜山書院 ''Guīshān Shūyuàn''), was a former Chinese educational institution in Wuxi, China. It was originally built in 1111 during the Northern Song dyna ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:An, Guo 1481 births 1534 deaths People from Wuxi Chinese printers 16th-century Chinese businesspeople 16th-century printers