Guo Jingming (; born June 6, 1983), also known as Edward Guo, is a Chinese young adult 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. With the breakout success of Ice Fantasy (2003), he established himself as a commercially successful yet critically polarizing YA writer in China, followed by bestsellers such as 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 as its Literary Director. Since the 2010s, he has shifted his career focus to being a filmmaker and showrunner, with works such as Tiny Times (2013–2015), L.O.R.D (2016–2020), The Yin-Yang Master (2020-2021), My Journey to You (2023) and Veil of Shadows (2026).
Early life
Guo was born in Zigong, 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. In 2006, at 23, Guo became the youngest member of China Writers Association.
Controversy
Plagiarism
In 2004, Guo published a novel Never Flowers in Never Dream while he studied at Shanghai University. Guo has paid the damage fee; however, he refused to apologize or admit the plagiarism, or talk about this case. 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.
Extravagance
Guo has courted controversy for his perceived extravagance and materialism, particularly through his publicly expressed taste for luxury goods and lavish properties, sensibilities that also inform his Tiny Times novel series, set against the cosmopolitan glamour of Shanghai. A widely circulated but inaccurate claim holds that Guo purchased a costly, historic Shanghai mansion that once belonged to Wang Jingwei's fourth concubine; while Guo does own a house in Jing'an District, Wang had only one wife. In a 2015 interview with China Newsweek, Guo characterized the criticism of his spending of lawfully earned income as “moral coercion,” describing himself as a "catalyst" and "symbol" of the social tensions produced by the widening wealth gap.
Sexual harassment
In August 2017, Li Feng, a former signed writer under Guo's company, posted on Weibo 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 (2013)
- Tiny Times 2 (2013)
- Tiny Times 3 (2014)
- Tiny Times 4 (2015)
- Ice Fantasy (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)