The Guo Jingzhong 郭静中

Guo Jingzhong (?–1644) was a native of Xiuwu, Henan Province, who lived during the late Ming to early Qing Dynasty. He styled himself Yingyangzi (Master of Welcoming Yang).

As recorded in Shanxi Tongzhi (Gazetteer of Shanxi Province): In his youth, he enjoyed traveling to seek spiritual pursuits beyond mundane life. When he reached Huashan (Mount Hua), he encountered an extraordinary person surnamed Liu, who taught him the Golden Elixir Technique (a core alchemical practice in Taoism for cultivating immortality) and the Five-Thunder Method (a Taoist ritual art for invoking thunder to control weather, exorcise evil, etc.). Thus, Guo Jingzhong was skilled in praying for rain, and his prayers were often remarkably effective—his reputation soon spread far and wide. Officials from provincial administrative offices, provincial judicial offices, and prefectural/county governments frequently invited him to set up altars for rain-prayer rituals. Later, the governor of Shanxi Prefecture, admiring his fame, built a Taoist courtyard in Huibai Garden and invited Guo Jingzhong to serve as its abbot.

Fu Shan (also known by his courtesy name Qingzhu), a renowned scholar of that era, once studied under Guo Jingzhong as his disciple. Additionally, Guo Jingzhong formed a spiritual friendship (a bond between individuals pursuing transcendent ideals, beyond ordinary social ties) with Zhao Nanxing, a prominent litterateur.