Guo Zixing

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Guo Zixing (died 1355) was a rebel leader in late Yuan China and the father-in-law of Zhu Yuanzhang, who would found the Ming dynasty. He came from Dingyuan. His father was a fortune teller and his mother came from a wealthy family. Guo was a skilled fighter but hot-tempered. He led a White Lotus group and believed big changes were coming, so he used his money to hire loyal soldiers. In February 1352 he and four allies captured Haozhou.

From the start, Guo’s leadership was shaky, and the Yuan response was weak at first. Zhu Yuanzhang joined Guo’s command in April 1352 and soon became Guo’s favorite. Guo’s younger wife helped arrange Zhu’s marriage to Guo’s adopted daughter, who would later become Empress Ma. Zhu grew close to Guo’s wife and even took her daughter as a concubine. Guo put Zhu in charge of Chuzhou and Hezhou.

Yuan forces pressed Haozhou, and internal strife followed. Guo was briefly kidnapped by rival leaders but Zhu rescued him. A siege of Haozhou continued until 1353 when the Yuan general Jia Lu died. After Peng Da’s death, Zhao Junyong became the strongest leader, and Guo and Zhu fell out for a time. In late 1353 Guo gave Zhu independent command, helping Zhu rise. Zhu captured more towns and built a large army. Guo later joined Zhu again, but tensions remained.

Guo Zixing died in 1355. His elder son and brother-in-law claimed his title, but Zhu soon used Han Lin’er’s authority to consolidate power and removed the rivals. Guo’s younger son briefly served as Zhu’s deputy in 1356 but was executed after plotting rebellion, strengthening Zhu’s control over the Northern Red Turbans. Later historians worried about slander in the History of Ming, but explained Zhu had sworn loyalty to Han Lin’er and linked Guo Zixing’s biography with Han’s.