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Guo Jingming (; born June 6, 1983), also known as Edward Guo, is a Chinese
young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...
writer, director, and businessman. While in high school, Guo began publishing articles online under the pen name Disiwei (“Fourth Dimension”), which earned him the nickname Xiao Si (“Little Four”). He rose to fame by winning first prize consecutively in the 2001 and 2002 New Concept Writing Competition. Since his first novel, ''On the Edge of Love and Pain'' (2002), he has established himself as a commercially successful yet critically polarizing writer in China, with bestsellers such as ''Ice Fantasy'' (2003), '' Rush to the Dead Summer'' (2006), ''Cry Me a Sad River'' (2007), and the ''Tiny Times'' trilogy (2008–2012). As a businessman, Guo founded Island Studio in 2004, publishing ''Island'' magazine until 2006. He founded CASTOR in 2006 and Zui Co., Ltd. in 2010. The two companies played a major role in China's young adult literature market until they merged in 2019. In 2008, Guo joined
EE-Media EE-Media is a C-pop (Mandopop) record label, founded in Shanghai, China in 2004 by Long Danni under the parent company Hunan Broadcasting System. History The company was created after the success of '' Super Girl'' and '' Super Boy'', national ...
as its Literary Director. Since the 2010s, he has shifted his career focus to being a
filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...
and
showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...
, with works such as ''
Tiny Times ''Tiny Times'' (), also known as ''Tiny Times 1.0'' is the first installment of the film series written and directed by Guo Jingming. The movie is based on Guo's best-selling novel of the same name. Plot The story follows four young women who ar ...
'' (2013–2015)'','' '' L.O.R.D'' (2016–2020), '' The Yin-Yang Master'' (2020-2021), and ''
My Journey to You ''My Journey to You'' (), is a 2023 Chinese television series directed by Gu Xiaosheng also known as Guo Jingming. It starred Yu Shuxin, Zhang Linghe, Ryan Cheng and Lu Yuxiao in the leading roles. The series aired on iQIYI with 24 episodes on Se ...
'' (2023).


Early life

Guo was born in
Zigong Zigong ( zh, s=自贡 , ), formed by the merger of the two former towns of Ziliujing (Tzuliuching, literally "self-flow well") and Gongjing (Kungching, literally "offering well"), is a prefecture-level city in Sichuan, Southwestern China. Demo ...
, Sichuan province, located in the southwest of China. Guo's father, Cheng Jianwei, is an engineer who works in a state-owned enterprise; his mother, named Zou Huilan, works in a local bank as a clerk. Guo showed strong interest in reading during his early years. His mother bought many books to inspire him in reading, explaining everything until Guo was able to understand. Guo was able to memorize what he read or heard, such as stories that people read to him. Guo was able to recite them after listening to it only once. Guo's mother strongly supported his interest in reading, and let him pick any books he liked in the store. Guo's writing talent emerged during his middle school years, as he avidly read Chinese literature and Wuxia fiction, particularly works by Jin Yong and Gu Long. This extensive reading taught and inspired him in his own writing, leading Guo to begin submitting to magazines. In 1997, he published his first poem, "Loneliness," in the national magazine ''Rensheng Shiliuqi''. The contemporary poem expresses Guo's personal feelings of melancholy during his school years, for which he received 10 RMB (approximately 1.5 US dollars) as payment from the magazine.


Career

Encouraged by his mother and motivated by the promise of guaranteed university admission for winners, Guo participated in the third and fourth New Concept Writing Competitions, a national writing contest sponsored by ''Mengya'' magazine. To win first place, he studied nearly all the winning entries from the previous two New Concept competitions, analyzing the judges’ preferred style. He filled out seven application forms and submitted seven 5,000-word essays. He works, "Script" and "Our Last Song on Campus," eventually won the first prize for both of the contests in 2001 and 2002 respectively. However, by the time Guo participated in the competition, guaranteed university admission was no longer offered to winners. With his less-than-stellar
Gaokao The Nationwide Unified Examination for Admissions to General Universities and Colleges (), commonly abbreviated as the Gaokao (), is the annual nationally coordinated undergraduate admission exam in mainland China, held in early June. Despite the ...
scores, he missed his dream school
Xiamen University Xiamen University (XMU; ) is a public university in Siming, Xiamen, Siming, Xiamen, Fujian, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Pro ...
, instead going to
Shanghai University Shanghai University (SHU) is a municipal public university in Shanghai, China. It is owned by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government. The university is part of Project 211 and the Double First-Class Construction. Shanghai University mai ...
, where he majored in TV and film production until he eventually dropped out. After publishing his first novel, ''On the Edge of Love and Pain'' (2002), Guo found great commercial success in his fantasy novel ''Ice Fantasy'' (2003), which he finished during the college summer break. Since then, he established himself as one of the best-selling writers in China. Transporting from the small town of Zigong to Shanghai, Guo realized that "he was caught up by the abundance of the city". He decided to stay in Shanghai "with nothing and no one to help me except for the limited fame I gained through the writing contest". On Christmas Day in 2003, Guo gathered five of his close friends in the newest McDonald's in Shanghai, decided to establish a writing studio called "Island." Since then, Guo has launched his writing and business career, becoming one of China's most successful publishers and managers in the young adult literature market. In 2006, at 23, Guo became the youngest member of
China Writers Association The China Writers Association (CWA) is a subordinate people's organization of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC). Founded in July 1949, the organization was initially named the China National Literature Workers Association. ...
.


Controversy


Plagiarism

In 2004, Guo published a novel ''Never Flowers in Never Dream'' while he studied at Shanghai University. The book portrayed a triangle love "featuring harmless forays into the Beijing underworld". Never Flowers in Never Dream has sold 600,000 copies in the first month after releasing. However, soon after, a court found that the book has "shared 12 major plot elements and 57 similarities with another author". The novel that Guo was accused to plagiarize is named "In and Out of the Circle" written by Zhuang Yu. In 2006, the court made the final judgment, which announced that Guo has violated Zhuang Yu's copyright, and ordered him to pay Zhuang Yu 200,000 RMB (approximate $25,000) as compensation and apologize to Zhuang. Guo has paid the damage fee; however, he refused to apologize or admit the plagiarism, or talk about this case. Guo's success was muted by the controversy of plagiarism. After the affair of plagiarism, Guo has been called "Super Plagiarism Boy", "out-and-out thief", and "no sense of decency" by outraged people; however, it did not affect the support of his fans. Guo's next musical album and novel still sold very well, so that Guo responded that "I felt upset but soon realized that selling well was where strength lay". In 2007, he was voted on Tianya.com, one of the country's biggest online forums, as China's "most hated male celebrity" for the third year in a row. Guo, nevertheless, said people criticized him because they had never read his book, so he would not pay attention to their false judgments, though he hated to be misunderstood. Guo also announced that he would prove to people they were wrong even if it would take ten years to clarify. On December 21, 2020, Guo and
Yu Zheng Yu Zheng (; born 28 February 1978) is a Chinese screenwriter and showrunner. He is known for historical romance dramas such as ''Palace'' (2011), ''Story of Yanxi Palace'' (2018), and '' The Double'' (2024). Biography Early life Yu was born ...
were named in a joint letter signed by 111 Chinese film and television industry insiders. The letter called for an immediate end to the publicity and promotion of the two, citing their history of plagiarism and misconduct, and urged adjustments to the related variety shows they were currently participating in. On December 31, 2020, after more individuals joined signing the letter, Guo and Yu Zheng each issued apologies through their respective Weibo accounts. Guo also offered Zhuang Yu all the revenue he had received from ''Never Flowers in Never Dreams'' as a form of compensation.


Sexual harassment

In August 2017, Li Feng, a former signed writer under Guo's company, posted on
Weibo Weibo (), or Sina Weibo (), is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily ac ...
accusing Guo of sexually harassing him in 2010. He further revealed that “Guo frequently sexually harasses and assaults male authors signed to his company, as well as male employees. To my knowledge, there are at least five cases, and there may be more that I'm unaware of.” Guo denied the allegations.


Notable works


''Ice Fantasy''

Guo's ''The Ice Fantasy'' (幻城) was initially serialized in the magazine ''Mengya'' and published as a book in 2003. It is a fantasy novel revolving around two princely brothers.


''Tiny Times''

A series of books containing 3 books entitled 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, following a group of young girls on their journey as they navigate between relationships, work and friendship in Shanghai.


''Legend of Ravaging Dynasties''

A series of books in memory of Guo's 10-year writing career.


'' Rush to the Dead Summer''

A romance novel about several young people.


Filmography

*''
Tiny Times ''Tiny Times'' (), also known as ''Tiny Times 1.0'' is the first installment of the film series written and directed by Guo Jingming. The movie is based on Guo's best-selling novel of the same name. Plot The story follows four young women who ar ...
'' (2013) *''
Tiny Times 2 ''Tiny Times 2'' ( zh, s=小时代:青木时代) is a 2013 Chinese romantic drama film and the second installment of the ''Tiny Times'' franchise directed and written by Guo Jingming. The film was filmed together with the first film, and is bas ...
'' (2013) *''
Tiny Times 3 ''Tiny Times 3'' () is a 2014 Chinese romantic drama film and the third installment of the ''Tiny Times'' franchise directed and written by Guo Jingming. Filming started in Rome on December 10, 2013. The film released on July 17, 2014. Plot Gu Li ...
'' (2014) *''
Tiny Times 4 ''Tiny Times 4'' ( zh, s=小时代4:灵魂尽头) is a 2015 Chinese romantic drama film and the fourth installment of the ''Tiny Times'' franchise directed and written by Guo Jingming. Originally scheduled for release in February 2015; it was d ...
'' (2015) *''
Ice Fantasy ''Ice Fantasy'' () is a Chinese epic fantasy television drama based on Guo Jingming's bestselling novel, ''City of Fantasy''. The drama was produced by Shanghai Youhug Media, directed by Ju Jue Liang, and stars Feng Shaofeng, Victoria Song, Ma ...
'' (2016) *''YES! MR FASHION'' (2016) *'' L.O.R.D: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties'' (2016) *'' Rush to the Dead Summer'' (2017) *'' Cry Me a Sad River'' (2018) *'' L.O.R.D: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties 2'' (2020) * '' The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity'' (2020)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guo, Jingming 1983 births Living people Chinese children's writers Writers of young adult literature Chinese publishers (people) Writers from Zigong Businesspeople from Sichuan Film directors from Sichuan Chinese male novelists