1. Guo Wei, known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Later Zhou, was the founding emperor of the Chinese Later Zhou dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, reigning from 951 until his death in 954.
13 Facts About Guo Wei
1. 2.
When Guo Wei was born in 904 in Yaoshan, the Tang dynasty had disintegrated into regions controlled by warlords fighting amongst one another.
3.
Guo Wei was just a toddler when his family moved to Taiyuan, as his father Guo Wei Jian became the prefect of Shunzhou, serving the Taiyuan-based warlord Li Keyong.
4.
Guo Wei grew up into a muscular young man interested more in warfare than agriculture.
5.
Guo Wei was fond of drinking and gambling, and frequently participated in brawl; his wife Lady Chai often advised him not to indulge in these activities.
6.
Guo Wei was therefore more interested in recruiting brave and talented soldiers than enforcing the law, so when an inebriated Guo stabbed a menacing marketplace butcher to death following an argument, he let Guo walk free, eventually summoning Guo back to serve him.
7.
Li Jitao was killed a few months later and all of his former soldiers, including 19-year-old Guo Wei, were assigned to the cavalry rotations.
8.
Guo Wei delved into the available literature on military strategy as much as he could, particularly enjoying Spring and Autumn Annals for a Wider World, recommended by a blood brother Li Qiong ; Guo Wei regarded Li Qiong as a teacher as he asked Li to explain to him parts of the Annals which he could not understand.
9.
Guo Wei was already familiar with life under the Shatuo people as he had lived under their rule since he was nineteen years old.
10.
Guo Wei served as the Assistant Military Commissioner to Liu Zhiyuan.
11.
However, when the teenage Liu Chengyou assumed the Later Han throne in 948, court intrigue enabled Guo Wei to usurp the throne in a coup and declare the establishment of the Later Zhou dynasty on New Year's Day in 951.
12.
Guo Wei was the first Han Chinese Emperor in northern China since 923.
13.
Guo Wei's rule was stable, and he passed reforms that attempted to relieve pressures on China's massive peasantry.