Guo Jingming

Guo Jingming (born June 6, 1983), also known as Edward Guo, is a Chinese young adult writer.

In addition to being an author and businessperson, Guo is also a teen pop idol and popular celebrity figure.

On the other hand, Guo is a polarizing figure.

In 1988, Guo went to elementary school in his hometown, Zigong.

Guo's reading ability improved in school.

He expanded his reading volumes, which built up his foundational ability to write.

Consequently, Guo became the best student in writing class.

Guo's writing talent emerged in his middle school years.

Guo continued to read, including famous works Chinese literature and Wuxia fiction, especially those written by Jin Yong and Gu Long.

Large amount of reading taught and inspired him more in writing, so that Guo started writing for magazines.

In 1997, Guo published his first poem, "Loneliness", in a national magazine named "Rensheng Shiliuqi".

"Loneliness" is a contemporary poem, expressing Guo's personal feelings of melancholy during school times.

Guo received 10 RMB (approximately 1.5 US Dollars) as the remuneration from Rengsheng Shiliuqi magazine, and it meant a lot to Guo as well as his family.

With his mother's encouragement, Guo attended the third and fourth New Concept Writing Competition, a national writing game sponsored by Mengya Magazine.

The "Script" and "Our Last Song on Campus" eventually won the first prize for both of the contests in 2001 and 2002 respectively.

Guo's success rapidly spread throughout the nation.

The "New Concept" contest transported Guo from Zigong to Shanghai, "a bustling and prosperous metropolis", where "I could easily find a lot more books to read than in my hometown," said Guo.

A year later, in 2003, Guo published his first novel—Huan Cheng(幻城).

The novel sold 800,000 copies in the first couple months, which won him accolades as "one of the most popular writers" in China.

Huan Cheng(幻城) has sold more than 1.5 million copies in the past years, which made Guo well-known and popular throughout the country.

While Guo finished his high school, he attended college in Shanghai, and determined to stay there after graduation; but Guo gradually realized that "he was caught up by the abundance of the city".

However, Guo still decided to develop 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 started his writing and business career in a 140 m2 apartment studio.

Guo is the president of Ke Ai Entertainment Company, which was established in 2004 by himself.

Ke Ai mainly produces teen magazines such as "Top Novel" and "Island".

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.

Yet three of his four novels have sold over a million copies each, and by 2007, he was one of the best selling authors in China.

In 2008, Guo Jingming signed a contract with Tian Yu Entertainment Company.

Soon after, Guo was hired by Changjiang Publishing House in 2009 as a vice editor.

Guo Jingming was the youngest member in China's Writers Association when he was just 23 years old.

Guo is also a screenwriter and film director.

Guo wrote and directed Tiny Times, Tiny Times 2, Tiny Times 3 and Tiny Times 4, all based on his own novels.

Guo Jingming was born in a middle-class family 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.